Page 3 of When Cardinals Appear

“I’m here now.” My hands on my hips, I lifted my chin. “How long could it possibly take?” I hoped I sounded more confident than I felt. If the state of the house was any indication, it would take a lot of time and effort.

“There are court deadlines we need to meet.” After riffling through the stacks on the table, he thrust a document at me. “This is the calendar of court dates. I set all of this up under the apparently incorrect assumption you were on top of things.”

My chest tightened as I scanned the paper. He was right, but I sure as hell wasn’t going to tell him that. “What about the house?” I waved a hand at the unpacked kitchen. “You didn’t need me to clean or pack up all of Mom’s stuff.”

“I was a little preoccupied with setting up my law practice.” Steven glowered at me, and I resisted the urge to shrink away from him. “And for your information, I cleared my calendar for Friday so we could start sorting Mom’s things and prep the house for sale.”

“Oh.” My defiance deflated, and I hung my head. “I’m sorry.”

“It is what it is.” He glanced at his watch. “Listen, it’s late, and I know you’re tired. Why don’t you get settled, and you can look these over this evening. We can meet at my office tomorrow morning around ten to go over it all. How does that sound?”

I blew out a breath. Some time alone was exactly what I needed. After traveling all day, I could use some downtime, though I had no idea how I would get through all that paperwork in a single night.

Steven gave me a quick hug before he left. As I stared at the documents, a sinking feeling hit my belly.

I’ll feel better once I’ve unpacked and grabbed a bite to eat. I went to the front hall and gathered my suitcases before climbing the stairs to my old room. It was exactly as I had left it, with posters covering the walls, a netted hammock full of stuffed animals hanging in one corner, and my bookcases overflowing with all my favorite stories, including every book Jane Austen had ever written. Mom had planned to turn my room into a craft haven once I went off to college, but between my summer visits and then Mom’s cancer diagnosis, things had changed.

Really, my insistence that Mom not overexert herself had put a pin in most of her plans. Melody McAllister was always a force to be reckoned with. Even as the cancer weakened her physically, mentally, she remained strong and determined. Maybe stubborn was a better descriptor. I smiled and shook my head, remembering how exasperated some of the nurses were when Mom insisted on doing things for herself despite how difficult those tasks were for her. But my smile faded as quickly as it had appeared. At the end of the day, all the determination in the world hadn’t been enough to save Mom.

I set my suitcases on the bed and unpacked my clothes. Leaving grad school had been rather anticlimactic. Graduation wasn’t the same without Mom there. It was a quieter affair than I’d expected. After taking the spring semester off to care for Mom, I’d had to catch up on my studies. My friends had all graduated in May, which meant very few people came to celebrate. Mom had always been so proud of her children’s accomplishments, and I could almost picture her in the crowd, cheering louder than anyone else.

Tears pricked behind my eyelids, and I blinked them back. I didn’t have time to fall apart. First things first, I needed to fulfill my duties and settle Mom’s estate. Maybe once I returned to the West Coast, I’d finally find time to grieve.

After setting up my toiletries in the bathroom, I yawned and stretched. The thought of sifting through legal documents drained what little energy I had left, but I needed to make up for the time I’d lost avoiding the task. If I didn’t take care of it that night, Steven would kill me.

I went downstairs and grabbed one of the stacks and a snack before climbing upstairs to my room. As I read through the boring legalese, my eyelids drooped, and I lay back on the pillow to rest for a moment.

The sunlight streaming through the curtains woke me, and I blinked bleary eyes at my surroundings. Where am I? Instead of seeing the pristine walls of my Seattle bedroom, I found myself staring at demotivational posters my brother had given me as a joke when I was a teen. Each one depicted an inspirational scene such as a guy climbing a mountain at sunrise or a bear catching a fish, but underneath was a cynical quote or emoji. I loved them.

Rubbing my eyes, I tried to remember how I got there. Had I slept through the night?

Mom! I scrambled out of bed, sending papers flying, and rushed to the living room, only to find it empty and silent. The reality of what I’d lost crashed over me again, and I stumbled to the couch. That was why I couldn’t stay there. If the promise to my mother wasn’t enough to drive me away, the painful reminders alone would spur me to go. Even if I moved clear across town, I would never be able to move far enough away for the memories to dissipate. Seattle hadn’t been far enough. California wouldn’t be far enough, either, but at least it was a fresh start.

When I regained my composure, I returned to my room and gathered the papers I’d scattered in my panic. I took them to the kitchen, where the other stack still sat on the table, mocking me. I swore it grew overnight. The microwave clock said it was seven in the morning, which meant I had only three hours to sort through everything before I needed to leave to meet Steven at his office.

“Before I dive into this mess, I need coffee!” I set a mug in the Keurig, added a dark-roast pod, and pressed the start button. The air filled with the delicious aroma of roasted hazelnut. An unopened box of cherry toaster pastries was in the cabinet. Fortified with food and caffeine, I prepared to breach Paper Mountain.

After what seemed like hours, I finally finished signing the real estate forms and took a break to sip my lukewarm coffee. The kitchen had a large window on the back wall, which overlooked the small yard. Mom had kept bird feeders on the deck, and they had sat empty since she died. All the birds must have moved on to more plentiful homes.

As I gazed out at the quiet wintry morning, a spot of red caught my eye. I stood and walked toward the window, fascinated by such a bright color against the barren, snow-covered landscape. A little cardinal flitted around the railing of the deck. It was the only wildlife out that early, as even the squirrels seemed to be hibernating in their warm dens.

The cardinal stopped moving, and its small black eyes met mine. We gazed at each other for some time. Its vibrant red feathers reflected the first rays of the sun. Without thinking, I lifted my hand to open the window, startling the bird, and it flew away.

I shook my head and returned to the table. While I couldn’t explain it, my steps were a little lighter, and I drank the rest of my coffee before rinsing the mug in the sink. I hadn’t reviewed the will yet, but I’d run out of time. Oh well. If I didn’t get through everything before I needed to leave, I would just go through it with Steven at his office. The important thing was getting the house on the market. Until it sold, we couldn’t finalize the rest of the estate.

After one more glance out the window to see if the cardinal had returned, I went upstairs. I chose a dark-blue sweater and a pair of slacks—a respectable outfit for visiting a lawyer’s office, even if said lawyer was my brother.

With great care, I put everything Steven had left into the respective folders, slid the folders into a bag, bundled up for the cold, and walked out to Mom’s old car. As I approached, I wondered if it had been driven at all since I left for school. I climbed behind the wheel, dropped the bag in the passenger seat, and started the engine. The morning air was frigid, and my damp hair formed icicles as I waited for the car to warm. I cranked up the heat, knowing it probably wouldn’t put a dent in the cold before I reached Steven’s office.

I backed down the driveway and onto the small cul-de-sac that held my childhood home. Most people were heading to work, and I waved at a couple of neighbors. Old Cassandra Winters was out in her bathrobe and slippers, grabbing the paper. My heart rate kicked up its rhythm, and I swallowed then shook my head with a scoff. As children, Steven and I were convinced Ms. Winters was a witch. Mom often sent us over with baked goods, and her house always had an overpowering scent of sage. Ms. Winters had two cats, one gray and one black, who enjoyed swirling around our legs in an almost menacing manner, as if the cats wanted to trip us.

As I pulled onto Main Street, I saw the same quaint little shops and restaurants that had been there since I was young. Collins Hardware Store sat on the corner of Main Street and Chesapeake Way, though it looked like it had recently received a fresh coat of paint. Betty’s Boutique Salon was already hopping with elderly women coming in for their weekly shampoos and sets. I sighed. When was Cedar Haven going to join the twenty-first century?

My car suddenly jolted and made a popping sound. What the—? I pulled over on the shoulder and got out. The driver’s-side tire was flat. A quick glance behind me confirmed I had driven over a pothole.

Great. Just what I needed on my first day back in town. I reached into the car and grabbed my cell phone.

“Hey, Lanie, are you on your way?”

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