Olivia walked out of a room in the back of the house looking ready to model the latest in activewear. She sported a pair of leggings, an athletic long-sleeve shirt, and a headband. Trainers graced her feet, and she held a jacket over her arm. She looked very together. Maybe she was an alien.

Ten minutes later, they were in the blessedly warm car heading east toward Redmond.

“Why didn’t we go to Redmond in the first place?” Chase asked.

Olivia glanced over at her, offering a protein bar. “I had my reasons.”

Chase shook her head at the offering. “Which were . . .”

“Not any of your concern.” Olivia opened the protein bar and took a bite before turning the radio to the damn orchestra crap.

“Right. So then do you care to explain to me this whole deal? Like why we’re, like, here? ’Cause I’m not sure how this is supposed to help me get my life on track. It’s totally weird.”

“It’s part of the process.”

“Which is code for Shut up and don’t ask questions?” Chase asked, watching the vivid green world pass by outside the window. She’d not even known there were so many shades of nature. Cobalt mountains hunkered on the horizon, crouching low in the stretch of valley and meadow below. Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.

“That’s not what it’s code for.” Olivia turned down the radio with a sigh. “Before I started my own business, I worked in Long Beach at a clinic that serviced emotionally and physically abused children, most of them from low-income areas. Every now and then, social services sent us a client who hailed from a privileged background. One time I got assigned a kid who had been a child actor.”

“Who was it? Lori Shiffen? ’Cause she was fuuuuucked up.”

Olivia’s eyes flashed with irritation. “I’m not telling you who it was. That information is confidential. But anyway, I mistakenly thought working with her would be easy, but I soon realized she had similarities to my clients who lived in poverty. She just wore a prettier dress.”

Chase made a face. “So you’re saying someone like me is like a poor person? ’Cause that’s not true. And I don’t get what that has to do with being in whatever the name of that town is.”