Page 30 of Home Changes
Allison jumped at the sound of her back door creaking open. The sun had barely risen, casting a faint golden glow across the town. It was six thirty, and she wasn’t expecting anyone yet.
Kayla Thompson stepped inside with a gust of cold morning air, startling her.
“Oh my God, girl,” Allison gasped, clutching her chest. “I thought you were the homeless woman!”
Kayla froze mid-step, looked down at her leggings and oversized hoodie, then lifted an eyebrow.
“Well, I realize I’m not dressed to the nines, buthomeless?”
Allison laughed, the tension breaking. “Coffee’sdone. Pour us a couple of cups, would you? I’ll be there in a second.”
Kayla moved toward the small kitchen counter in the back break room and began prepping their morning coffee. It was a ritual now and one of the comforting routines of living and working in a town like Hollister. Kayla’s little shop, built next to the bakery, was half seamstress studio and half secondhand boutique. There wasn’t much she couldn’t mend or track down, and her store had become a staple in a town where convenience was king and Walmart was hours away in Spearfish.
While most folks would run down to Rapid or Belle if they needed something, having Kayla next door saved people time.
“So, why’d you call me homeless?” Kayla asked, passing a steaming mug to Allison’s side of the table.
“I didn’tcallyou homeless, silly,” Allison replied with a grin as she washed her hands at the sink. “There’s a homeless woman taking food out of my trash can.”
Kayla paused, cup halfway to her lips, then turned, brows raised. “Are you sure?”
Allison nodded as she dried her hands on a towel. “Yeah. I saw her the other day. She disappearedbefore I could say anything, but I know what I saw. Seth saw her, too. I’ve been leaving real food in there at night, wrapped in plastic. It’s always gone right after I put it out. I haven’t caught her, but she returns the insulated bag. It’s sitting by the bakery door every morning.”
Kayla had fixed her the coffee, just the way she liked it. She sat at the small table and cradled her cup between her palms, warming them.
“Okay. Number one: Who’s Seth? Number two: I left for two weeks for that quilting exhibition in Chadron and a jaunt over to Minneapolis, so I’m completely out of the loop. And number three: Someone took clothes out of my donation box.” Kayla took a sip before continuing, “Not that I mind. I don’t make much off those secondhand pieces. But I knew there were some clothes in there. Alex told me someone had dropped a few items off, but he hadn’t sorted them into the store yet. When I went to check, it was empty.”
Allison frowned and chewed her bottom lip thoughtfully. “I put in a fleece-lined hoodie. An old one, but it was warm. Left it on top of the trashcan the second night. It was gone, too. It’s getting cold at night. Maybe she needed something else to keep warm,” she said quietly.
“Like I said, I don’t care. It just made me stop and go,wait, what?But if we’ve got someone homeless …”
She trailed off, eyes flicking to Allison. “Here? InHollister? I mean, how does that even happen? With the churches, the outreach stuff, people pitching in?”
Allison shook her head slowly. “I didn’t recognize her. Neither did Seth.”
Kayla lifted her hand in the air like she was in second grade, then took another long sip before she said, “Allison. I have a question.”
Allison laughed. “Yes, Kayla?”
“Who the hell is Seth?”
“Seth Hansen. Chester Hansen’s son. He came back to take care of Chester.”
Kayla’s eyes widened slightly. “Oh, that’s right! I heard he was coming back. But Alex said he thought Seth had to leave real quick after showing up? Something like that?”
Allison nodded. “Yeah. Had to go get his military working dog from back east. But both of them are back for good now.”
Kayla leaned back in her chair, cupping her coffee like a lifeline. “I needed this so bad.”
Allison took a sip of her own. The warmth spread through her. It was a needed hit of caffeine since she’d been baking since four thirty. Thesesmall breaks with Kayla were comfortable and part of her routine. They meant a lot to her, and she cherished the time with her friend.
“Anyway,” she said, “I told Ken about the woman. He’s going to have the deputy keep an eye out. When Seth and I were talking with Ken and Sam at the diner, they wondered if maybe the woman came through with some people who passed through a couple of weeks ago. Maybe she’s trying to get away from something or someone.”
Kayla tilted her head. “Abusive relationship?”
Allison nodded. “That’s what Sam was thinking. I only got a glimpse of her, but she was covered in bruises.”
Kayla’s face darkened. “That kind of thing doesn’t happen much out here, does it?”
