Keeping her head low, Taylor eased her car from the parking spot. Her only choice was to drive behind Ami’s CRV. Luckily, Ami was still talking on her phone and didn’t seem to notice. Just as Taylor made it to the cross street at the end of the block, she saw Phil, in her rearview mirror, approaching Ami’s SUV. Taylor didn’t know what he was going to do, but whatever it was, she hoped it gave her more than a minute’s head start.

Ten minutes later, Taylor turned the key and opened the back door of the Townsends’ farmhouse. Linoleum floor, Formica-topped table with padded vinyl chairs, and more Formica on the counters confirmed that she’d entered their kitchen. Momentarily, she wondered if the interior decorating in Olivia was horribly behind the times or had the whole town had gone retro? Hurriedly, Taylor turned on lights. She tried to turn on the TV; however, it seemed that the cable was off; instead of sound, there was only blue screen. On the kitchen counter, nestled between turquoise blue canisters and an electric can opener, was an old clock radio with numbers that flipped instead of a digital readout. How long had it been since they made those? Trying for the homey effect, Taylor flipped a switch and country music filled the air. Just as Taylor settled onto a vinyl chair at the kitchen table, she heard the sound of a car coming up the gravel driveway.

Moments later the knock at the door confirmed her visitor. Taylor grinned at how Ami had come to the same door she’d just entered. It seemed real people in rural towns rarely used the front door. They also didn’t have staff to welcome their guests. Taking a deep breath, Taylor peered behind the lacy curtain and through the glass. Feigning surprise, she opened the door. “Ami! What are you doing here?”

With a large smile, the blonde office manager handed Taylor one brown paper sack. “You said you were leaving in the morning. Since your grandparents have been out of town for months, I figured there wasn’t much here. I thought you might like some coffee. I got a small creamer too.”

“Thank you,” Taylor replied. “Um, do you want to come in?”

“Just for a second,” Ami said, walking into the kitchen. “I wanted to ask you something before we all got together tonight.” Her lips momentarily pressed together. “Well, two somethings.”

“Okay,” Taylor replied as she took the creamer from the bag and placed it in the refrigerator. Her heart skipped a beat as she realized no light came on within the large appliance. Undoubtedly it’d been turned off for the season. She moved quickly, hoping that Ami wouldn’t notice. When she turned back around, Ami was busy looking at the collection of plates hanging on the wall. “What did you want to ask?”

“The first one is selfish, but…” She hesitated. “…I’m just going to ask. Since you’re looking into the deed, are your grandparents planning to sell?”

Shit! “Ami, with the way Grandpa’s been feeling, they really don’t know. They just want to cover their bases.”

“Will you remember me, if they do?”

Taylor tilted her head to the side. “Remember you? What do you mean?”

Ami reached in her purse and handed Taylor a card. “I recently got my realtor’s license and well, you’ll meet Heather. She works with us too. She’s been doing realty for a while. So to ask you in front of her…” Taylor tried to listen as Ami shared more information about herself in a period of ten minutes than most people do who’ve known each other for years. When she got to the part about her little boy, Taylor’s listening skills went into hyperdrive.

“…we live with my parents. Working for Jefferson will never get me my own house. I really want that for Brian and I’m tired of living under my parents’ roof. I didn’t realize how much I wanted a place of my own until Mel moved here.”

“Mel? Why? Does she make you feel bad about living with your parents?”

Ami shrugged. “Not intentionally, but with the situation with her daughter, she talks about how much better off she’d be living with her. And it made me think about having my own place with Brian.” Ami shook her head. “Mel doesn’t like hearing me talk about Brian, unless she’s talking about how she’s going to win back custody and bring Nicole here to live.” Ami’s eyes got big. “Oh, that’s the other thing I wanted to ask you. Do you have kids? If you do, don’t mention them tonight. Mel gets very uncomfortable.”

“Um, I don’t. I’m not married.” Taylor spied a rack of wine bottles. She really hoped they weren’t being saved for a special occasion. Ami had just opened a treasure box of information, and if the wine would help retrieve more, Taylor was willing to sacrifice. “Would you like some wine before we go to dinner?”

Ami hung her purse on the back of one of the chairs and unzipped her jacket. “You probably think I’m crazy talking about all of this. But the way I see it, you’re practically a neighbor. I don’t know your grandparents that well, but they’re nice people. Sometimes it’s easier talking to people you don’t know. This town’s so small. You can’t say anything that the whole town doesn’t find out.”

It took two tries, but Taylor finally found the glasses. They weren’t wine glasses, but they’d do. The next search was for the corkscrew. She found that in the third drawer she tried. Pouring the wine, Taylor pried, “What happened to Mel? Why’s she so sensitive?”

Taking a drink—bigger than a sip—Ami began, “Well, it took me awhile to get the information. Apparently her ex is a piece of work. She won’t tell any of us his name. Some court-ordered silence thing. I get the feeling he was abusive.”