She made her way from that bedroom to her own room across the hallway and peeked in the door. Her first memory was of feeding her stuffed dogs in that room. Then there was all the excitement of getting ready for her first day of school, the mixed feelings when she went away to college, and then weeping uncontrollably when she found out her mother was dying. Her life was in that one room.

“Goodbye,” she finally said and headed back toward the kitchen. What was in the upper cabinets was all salvageable, thank goodness. Her great-grandmother’s gravy boat and cookbooks, and her mother’s good china that Stevie’s dad had bought for her on one of their anniversaries. She ran a finger across the stack of plates and the fancy cups and sighed. At least she would have that much to take with her when she figured out where she would build her next home.

“Hello! Are you in there?” Gracie’s thin voice floated across the living room. “Oh. My. Goodness!” She had a hand to her chest when Stevie limped across the room, carefully avoiding the hole in the floor. “This is so sad. How can you bear it?”

“Mama would want me to take the good memories and not think about this,” Stevie answered, and tried to change the subject. “Did you get done a little early?”

“Yes, and I worried about Fifi the whole time.” Gracie wiped away the one lonely tear that was making its way down her face. “Ruth was such a good neighbor and a wonderful person. I’m glad she can’t see what has happened to her beloved home. You are going to have it remodeled, aren’t you?”

“No, ma’am,” Stevie answered. “I’m calling Bobby Blalock to tear it down as soon as I get what can be saved out of it. If you’re ready to go, I can check on Fifi now.”

Gracie took one more look at the damage, sighed again, and took a step back, allowing Stevie room to force the swollen door shut and lock it. “Just think, if you’d been home instead of holed up in a barn with Cody Ryan, this wouldn’t have happened.”

“How do you figure that?” Stevie asked.

“Ruth taught you to let all the faucets in the house drip when it was freezing weather, didn’t she?” Gracie asked.

“Never knew of her to do that,” Stevie answered.

Gracie sighed again. “Well, I would have told you if you’d been home. But getting back to packing, I’ll be glad to help you.”

“Thank you, but we’ve got it covered,” Stevie said. “I’ll just follow you across the street and leave my van where it is.”

“But what if you need to give the puppies shots?” Gracie asked.

“They won’t need those for several weeks,” Stevie said. “Are you sure you’re going to keep both of them?”