“Oh!” Savannah and Holly exclaimed, both of them checking their wedding rings for a missing stone.

  Holly held her hand out toward her daughter. “Let me see it.” Cassie dropped it into her mother’s palm and Holly studied it, saying, “It looks like a diamond chip, all right. You have good eyes, Gladys.”

  “Well, not so good. I couldn’t see what it was. I just saw it sparkle when the light hit it.” Gladys leaned toward Holly and examined the chip. “It sure is small.”

  Savannah frowned. “I wonder where it came from.”

  “It probably belongs to the family who lives here,” Michael said. “What’s their name?”

  “Verano,” Keith said. “Dino and Vickie Verano. Yeah, we should put it someplace safe and tell them about it when they return.”

  “It could just be a rhinestone from their kids’ dress-up jewelry,” Savannah suggested.

  “Yeah probably,” Holly agreed. She stood up. “But since we don’t know, I’ll put it in this little dish on the buffet and tell Vickie about it when they get home.”

  “This is an interesting old place,” Gladys said, glancing around. “Even though it’s been refurbished, there are still some elements that suggest it was probably built around the turn of the century.”

  “Yes,” Holly said. “It was the original farm house on this property. The contractor, who was hired by the Verano family, decided to keep the house and design the rest of the tract to match—well, sort of. This was meant to be the grande dame of the tract. And it is. But yes, it’s much older than the rest of the houses.”

  “Makes me feel right at home,” Savannah said. “As Keith knows, we live in a turn of-the-century house.”

  “That’s right,” Holly said. “He showed me pictures from when he was there last year.”

  Savannah smiled. “You and the girls will have to come out for a visit. You’ve been so hospitable. It would be fun to reciprocate.”

  “We’d love to. Thank you.”

  “Absolutely; anytime. I want you to meet our family and friends. Well, you’ve met some of them when we all went back east last year.” Savannah said to Cassie and Bethany, “You girls would probably like visiting Aunt Maggie’s and Uncle Max’s cat shelter. They have a lot of cats—sometimes some awfully cute kittens too.”

  “Yeah,” Adam said, “I get to work there sometimes.”

  “What kind of work do you do,” Keith asked, “clean litter boxes?”

  Adam shook his head. “No. I play with the cats and pet them.”

  Keith grinned. “That’s work?”

  “It is when I get paid for it,” Adam bragged. He then said, “I’m finished eating, Dad. Can Cassie and I play with Rags now?”

  “Sure,” Michael said. He laughed. “You’re not tired of him yet? What about when he bugged you all the way home in the car?”

  “I never get tired of playing with Rags. He always has a surprise for me.” He looked at Michael, then Savannah. “Does he have a stash here?”

  “Good question,” Savannah said. “Not that I know of.”

  “Come on,” Adam said to Cassie, “let’s go see if we can find his stash.” He looked around. “Hey, where did he go?”

  “Check the kitchen,” Michael suggested. “He might be having his dinner.”

  After several minutes, the children returned with an announcement. Cassie spoke first. “We can’t find a stash.”

  “But check out what we did find,” Adam said.

  When everyone looked in their direction, Adam opened his hand to reveal a sparkling piece of jewelry.

  “It’s a bracelet,” Cassie explained.

  Holly gasped. “Oh my gosh! Where did you kids find that?” She looked sternly from one to the other of the children. “You haven’t been going through drawers or anything, have you?”

  “Oh no, Mama,” Cassie said. “Their stuff’s all locked in that one room. No one can go in there until Shannon and Stevie come home.”

  “Yeah, we just looked in the open closets and drawers where we’re allowed,” Adam confirmed. “But we didn’t find this in any of those places. It was in the bathtub.”

  “In the bathtub!” Savannah and Holly exclaimed.

  “Which bathroom?” Savannah asked.

  Cassie pointed. “That one where you keep the litter boxes—out by the door to the garage.”

  Savannah took the bracelet from Adam and studied it. “Isn’t this a tennis bracelet?”

  “Sure looks like it to me,” Holly confirmed.

  “Let me see it,” Gladys said. She held it up to the light, squinted at it, and ran it through her fingers. “It looks real. Look at the workmanship. It’s beautiful.” She hesitated, then said, “But it doesn’t look new. It’s kind of old-looking—vintage. It was probably designed before that tennis star made this style bracelet famous.”

  Savannah stared at her mother. “How do you know so much about tennis bracelets?”

  Gladys pretended to take offense. “I’m a woman, Vannie. And I like jewelry.”

  “Yes, but I don’t remember you being such an expert.”

  “I guess you haven’t been paying attention,” Gladys said flippantly.

  Savannah smiled at her mother, then turned to Adam. “So did you look in all the closets and everyplace where Rags might stockpile his treasures? You didn’t find a stash anywhere?”

  “No. Just that bracelet in the bathtub. It’s not yours, Savannah?”

  “I wish,” she said. “But no. I guess we’d better put this in that little plate with the sparkly jewel.”

  “Hey,” Holly said, “did that little gem come from this bracelet?”

  Savannah handed it to her. “I don’t think so. See, these stones are larger.”

  Holly widened her eyes. “Yeah, like hundreds or thousands of dollars larger.” She held it up. “And look how many there are. Gads, this is probably worth a fortune.” She looked at Gladys. “Especially if it’s old like you said.”

  “Yeah, maybe we should put it someplace more secure, Adam,” Michael suggested. He looked around. “How about in that blue covered pot thing over there on the buffet?”

  “Good idea,” Savannah said.

  Adam took the bracelet and lifted the lid on the pot. After looking inside, he announced, “There’s already stuff in here.”

  “What kind of stuff?” Michael asked.

  “I don’t know, papers.”

  Michael finished the last bite of his pizza, then said, “Just put it in there. It’ll be okay.”

  ****

  The following morning, Michael and Savannah were in no hurry to start their day. She remarked. “Why does it take so long to recover from a trip?”

  “I don’t know, but vacationing sure takes a lot out of you,” Michael said as he smiled down at baby Teddy in his lap. “You sure are growing, young man,” he crooned. He tugged at one side of his sleepers. “You’re growing right out of your clothes.”

  “Yes,” Savannah said, “he’s wearing three-month size now. Can you believe it?” She chuckled. “And, as you can see, some of those are tight on him.”

  “Well, he’s a big boy, aren’t you, champ?” He looked at Savannah. “He’ll be three months old next week, won’t he?”

  She nodded. “Yeah, I guess he will.”

  When Michael noticed Teddy smiling at Adam, he said, “Your brother wants some of your attention. Look at that big smile.”

  “Hi, Teddy,” Adam cooed, taking the baby’s hand and blowing raspberries on it. “He likes this, Dad. Watch him laugh. Yesterday, I made him giggle when I did this on his tummy.”

  As Michael and his two sons enjoyed a sweet moment together, Savannah cuddled with Lily. “I see your cute little toesies,” she said, playfully.

  Lily squealed with delight when Savannah gently wiggled the toddler’s toes.

  “You’re my ticklish girl, aren’t you?” Savannah teased, holding her tightly and kissing her little face.

  The lovely moment was suddenly interrupted by Savannah’s cell phone.

  “So where are you today?” Margaret asked brusquely when Savannah answered.

  “Hi, Auntie. We’re in our temporary home in Keith’s and Holly’s neighborhood. Just drove down here from the mountain lodge yesterday. We’re having a lazy morning with the kidlets. How are things in Hammond?”

  “Good,” Margaret said. “Your house is still standing; your sister’s doing well in her new medical practice; Ivey Veterinary Clinic is still thriving; as far as I can tell, your friends are still your friends; and I’m still able to get out of the bed every morning. I guess that’s all good.”

  Savannah chuckled. “Sounds all good to me.”

  Margaret’s voice became whiney, “But I sure do miss you and the kids. When are you coming home?”

  “In eight or nine days. We’ll be home in time for the last friends-and-family Sunday lunch of the month. And in time to harvest and can the rest of the orchard fruit, I imagine.”

  “Oh, Maria, Helena, and I have been doing some canning over at your place. Yesterday we made several batches of plum jelly and some peach jam.”

  “That’s great. I’m so glad the fruit’s not going to waste.”

  Margaret was quiet for a moment, then asked, “How are the kids?”

  “Good. They’re becoming quite the seasoned travelers. Want to talk to Lily?”

  “Sure.”

  “Here, Lily,” Savannah said, handing her the phone. “It’s Auntie. She wants to talk to you.”

  Savannah helped the child put the phone up to her ear and prompted, “Say something, Auntie. She’s listening.”

  “Hi, sweetie. How are you?” Margaret said.

  When Lily continued to listen with wide eyes, Savannah said, “Say hello to Auntie.” Lily giggled.

  “I miss you,” Margaret said. “Hurry home. I love you.”

  After a few moments, Savannah took the phone. “I’m sorry, Auntie. She’s not talkative this morning, I guess. Hey, I need to go start breakfast. Talk to you soon.”

  “Be safe,” Margaret said, ending the call.

  Before Savannah could place her phone on the end table, Lily began to cry. “Auntie,” she wailed. “Me talk to Auntie.”

  “Auntie hung up,” Savannah explained. “Auntie’s all gone.”

  “No! Auntie,” Lily whined.

  When Savannah saw Gladys walk through the room toward the kitchen, she whispered, “Lily, want to talk to Grammy on the phone?”

  Lily sniffled and nodded.

  Savannah placed the call, then handed the phone to Lily. She laughed when she saw Gladys run into the dining room where her phone had been charging. She picked it up. “Hello,” she said. “Hello.”

  Lily remained silent, then she grinned at Savannah and pointed, saying, “Gammy.”

  When Gladys heard her granddaughter’s sweet voice, she looked up and saw Savannah and Lily smiling at her.

  “Lilliana,” Gladys said brightly into the phone, “is that you? Did you call Grammy on the phone?”

  Lily looked across the room at her grandmother and nodded.

  “Say hi to Grammy,” Savannah prompted.

  Lily pointed at Gladys. “Gammy,” she said excitedly.

  Once Savannah and Gladys had ended the call, Michael chuckled. “I guess she’s not going to want a cell phone anytime soon. Maybe a transistor radio.”

  “What’s a transistor radio, Dad?” Adam asked.

  Michael grinned at his son. “Yeah, I guess that was before your time.” He handed Savannah the baby and said, “Hey, Adam, how about let’s go make some French toast for breakfast?” He asked Savannah, “Do we have bread? Eggs? Syrup?”

  “Not yet. We’ll go to the store this morning.” She bounced a little with the baby and said, “Let’s go change your pants, shall we?”

  “How about oatmeal with blueberries and brown sugar,” Gladys suggested. “There are blueberries in the freezer and some of that coconut milk in the cupboard.”

  “Well, that would be a good start,” Michael said. Just then he stepped back. “Whoa, what was that, a tornado?”

  Adam laughed. “No, Dad. It was Rags. Look out, Dad, here comes Lexie.”

  “What a zoo,” Michael muttered under his breath.

  “Michael!” Savannah shouted from another room. “Michael!”

  “What?” he asked, breathlessly as he darted into their bedroom. “What’s wrong?”

  “Look,” she said, staring down at something on the floor under the portable crib. “Is that blood?”

  “Where?” he asked, leaning over. “Turn on the overhead light, for heaven’s sake. It’s dark in here.” Once the light came on, he asked, “Do you mean this piece of paper?” He frowned at her. “It looks like just a piece of paper to me.”

  “Look more closely, Michael,” she insisted, stepping back a few paces with the baby in her arms.

  “DOA,” he read. He looked up briefly at Savannah, then continued reading, “…that’s what you’ll be if…” He turned the torn scrap of paper over a couple of times and frowned. “Where did you say you found this?”

  “Right there where you saw it,” she said. She repeated, “DOA…that means dead on arrival. And look at that red stuff. Michael, it looks like blood to me.”

  “Sure does, hon. Or red ink made to look like blood.” Michael kneeled and looked around, then stood up, and stared down at the piece of paper he held. He ran his hand through his hair. “Looks like some sort of death threat, doesn’t it?” When he saw that Savannah was frightened, he spoke more softly, “But, hon, it can’t mean anything to us. How could it? This isn’t even our house.”

  “Michael, how do you think that got in here?”

  “Heck, I don’t know. Did we track it in on our shoes? Did your cat find it someplace?”

  “Or,” she said, her voice cracking, “maybe someone broke in and left it here.”

  He wrapped his arms around her and the baby. “Now that’s rather absurd, don’t you think? It was probably your cat.”

  “Michael, the kids looked everywhere in this house last night and they didn’t find anything like that.”

  “Yeah, but did they really look everywhere? Besides, I don’t think they were looking for something like this.” When he noticed she was still shaken, he kissed her temple and said, “How about this, I’ll go on an exploration myself. If there is a nook or cranny that Rags can get into, I’ll find it—problem solved. Now let’s go eat breakfast, shall we?”

  She frowned. “What do you mean problem solved?”

  “Well, I mean that piece of paper may have been hiding in a crevice inside this house for—well, for eons until Rags found it and dragged it out.” He took her arm. “Now come on. I’m hungry.”

  When Savannah saw Rags sitting on their bed watching them, she motioned to him. “Come on, Ragsie. Want breakfast? Then you can go with Dad to look for hidey places and cubby holes.”

  ****

  Savannah had just returned from the grocery store later that morning when her cell phone chimed. She smiled when she saw that it was her new friend calling. “Hello, Bert. How are you and sweet Lucy? Is she doing okay?”

  “Oh, she’s great physically.” Her voice tone dropped when she added, “But I think the poor thing is a bit melancholy.”

  “Melancholy, huh?”

  “Yes. I’m not letting her outside anymore and she’s not happy. But I think it’s more than that. Savannah, I think she’s pining for Rags.”

  Savannah laughed. “Really? So Rags has an admirer, does he?”

  “I think so. Listen, I’m coming over your way for a massage today. Can you believe it, my gal moved her practice forty miles away? I’d love to bring Lucy to visit with Rags, if it’s okay. Now, if not, you just tell me. I won’t have my feelings hurt in the least.”

  “Of course, Bert. We’d love to see you and Lucy and I’m sure Rags will too. Yes, bring her. She can stay here while you get your massage.”

  “You’re so gracious,” Bert gushed. “Thank you. Oh, this is exciting. I just know she’ll perk up when she sees her hero.”

  Savannah couldn’t help but smile. “Great. When will you be here?”

  “Around one this afternoon if that works for you.”

  “Perfect. Oh, Bert, thanks for sending us the report from her veterinarian. Sure am glad she has no after-effects from her horrible experience.”

  “No, he said she will probably be sore, but we won’t actually notice it because cats hide pain so well. He said we shouldn’t brush or pet her too vigorously. So tell Rags no rough-and-tumble play.”

  “Gosh, I hope we can keep him from being too lively. Actually, as we told you, he is pretty sensitive, so he’ll probably know he should be gentle with her.”

  “I’m not worried. I’ve never seen Lucy have such a rapport with another animal as she seems to have with Rags. And, while I’m certainly concerned about her physical well-being, Savannah, I also want my little girl to be happy. I’ll see you around one.”

  “Do you need directions?” Savannah asked.

  “No. I’ll plug your address into my GPS and the woman inside that gadget will get me to Birchwood Lane safely.”

  Savannah chuckled. “Good. See you then.”

  “I heard you come in,” Michael said, joining Savannah in the kitchen. “Need help bringing in groceries?”

  She kissed him. “Nope. I’ve got them all. Thanks.”

  He peeled a banana, leaned against the counter, and said, “Adam and Cassie were right. There are no hiding places or secret passageways in this old house.” When he saw her begin to protest, he added, “…and no evidence of a break-in. Keith, Adam, and I looked everywhere. Hon, we must have brought that piece of paper in on our shoe or maybe it’s part of a game the children who live here play and it became separated from where they store their toys. That’s all.”

  Before Savannah could respond, Gladys approached with the baby in her arms. “Just in time.” She said. “Someone’s hungry.” She handed the baby to Savannah. “Here, you sit down and relax with your son and I’ll put the groceries away.”