“Don’t be nosy,” Pearl called out.

Stevie leaned the crutches against the washing machine and limped on into the kitchen. “Alpacas are fine. I had a few hours after I checked on Gracie Langston’s poodle and her two new puppies, so I cleaned the tack room. Mama told me that I could relieve the stress of my problems with hard work, so I gave it a try.”

“Did it work?” Mia asked.

“Nope,” Stevie answered. “Maybe I didn’t work hard enough.”

“If you cleaned that nasty tack room, you worked plenty hard,” Addy said as she set a pot of potato soup on the bar. “We’re doing buffet style tonight.”

“Smells and looks wonderful,” Stevie said. “Is it okay if I wash up in the sink?”

“Fine by us,” Pearl told her. “Anyone who will tackle that part of the barn can wash their hands anywhere they please. Want to talk about your problems? Got to do with the house?”

“That’s part of it, and thank you for getting a crew together to pack everything for me. I went by there today and said goodbye to the house. Does that sound crazy?” Stevie asked as she washed and dried her hands. “It’s like I’m grieving for something that has no life and never did.”

“Oh, honey.” Pearl filled a bowl with soup and carried it to the table. “That house has been very much alive. If the walls could talk, they would tell about the day Ruth brought you home from the hospital and how she was so proud of you for following your dreams. That’s just two incidents that come to my mind.”

“What about this house?” Mia asked. “What would it tell us?”

“Too many things to count,” Pearl said, and smiled. “I’ll say grace for us right here at the bar.” She bowed her head and said a quick prayer, asking God to bring Sonny and Cody home safely and giving thanks for all the natural things that they could enjoy. “Amen. And now back to memories in a house. Sonny was raised right here in this place, and all three of our boys were as well. Then we had the privilege of you and Addy coming to live with us during some tough and lonely times.”

Mia took her food to the table. “I never thought about it like that. I guess you really did need to say goodbye to your house, Stevie. But you mentioned puppies? Gracie didn’t say anything about puppies at church last Sunday, and she’s always telling us something about Fifi.”

“Well,” Stevie said with a giggle, “she’s embarrassed that her precious poodle has been out slumming with the neighbor’s corgi. They will be some strange-looking dogs if they get poodle hair and short legs.”

Pearl laughed. “Gracie is probably mortified.”