Sadie opened the hall closet and pulled out their Shark vacuum cleaner, a wedding present from one of Annette’s sisters. Naturally, Ethan’s Aunt Celia had gone for the pet hair model, as it was “only a matter of time” before the family adopted a furry friend.

What was it with the Landrys and their dogs?

She dragged the vacuum into Lincoln’s bedroom and removed the childproof cover plate from an electrical outlet so she could power up. She and Lincoln both had a bad habit of tracking sand throughout the house, and his bedroom could certainly use a good sweep.

She also liked to disinfect his toys every few weeks and straighten up his crowded bookshelf. And more often than she’d care to admit, she found herself wiping the walls down with a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. But as she gathered up Lincoln’s dump trucks, stuffed animals, and blocks, a new idea came to mind.

The cushioned bench she’d had specially made for the family room would work great up here. Lincoln could store his toys inside, and the top would serve as a cozy reading spot. And if she moved that bench to Lincoln’s bedroom, that meant she could put the gorgeous steamer trunk she’d found in the attic downstairs.

It had been her grandparents’, a family heirloom that deserved to be in a more prominent area.

So once again, Sadie found herself making the trip to the attic.

“What is it you’re looking for?” Ethan asked, holding the ladder securely behind her. Lincoln tugged on his shirt, demanding they return to their film.

“I’ve already found it,” Sadie said. “I just need to clean it out first.”

“Let me know when you’re coming down then,” he replied with a shrug, disappearing back downstairs with Lincoln in tow.

She unfastened the straps of the trunk and pushed open the top. There’s more stuff in here than I thought.

Sadie bundled up a large stack of papers and photographs and brought them downstairs to her bedroom where she could properly sift through the lot. She spread the assortment across her and Ethan’s king-sized bed, organizing the material into various piles. She couldn’t wait to show her parents some of these pictures. There was one of her mother as a toddler with brownie batter all over her chubby face and a wooden spoon in her hand.

Had Sadie ever seen her mother eat a decadent dessert? Melissa was extremely careful about what she ate, usually deferring to sliced berries and yogurt as an “indulgence.” Seeing her dig into a bowlful of brownie batter—even as a three-year-old—was positively mind-boggling. Sadie imagined her mother came out of the womb requesting a tossed salad with the dressing on the side.