“Let me guess, Hattie and I caused the lightning and fires, too?”

“Maybe.” Olive shrugged. “That’s what some people are saying anyway.”

Riley smiled. “Probably even the traffic light going out again and again,” she said. “It’s usually just Hattie who gets blamed for anything bad that happens in Hartsboro, but now all the old gossips are over the moon because they have someone new, an actual flesh-and-blood person to blame.”

Helen stood stunned, shaking her head.

“I wouldn’t worry too much about it,” Riley said. “It’ll burn itself out. Some teenage girl will get pregnant or a guy will leave his wife for another guy and the whole town will have something else to chatter about.”

“Yeah,” Olive agreed. “Take it from me, the best thing to do is ignore it.”

“Damn. I thought maybe I should start dressing in black and drawing mystical signs on the sidewalks,” Helen said, and they all laughed.

“I hear that in addition to being the new town witch,” Riley said with a mischievous wink, “you’re building an amazing house out there.”

“It’s really cool,” Olive said. “They’re doing all the work themselves!”

“Impressive,” Riley said.

“Or crazy,” Helen added. “Idiotic maybe, even?”

They all laughed again.

“Olive’s been a huge help,” Helen said.

“She’s a good worker, that’s for sure,” Riley said. “She’s learned a lot from working with her dad on their house. Have you met my brother, Dustin, yet?”

Helen shook her head. “Not yet.”

“I’ve been talking to dad about having Helen and Nate over sometime for a cookout. You’ll have to come, too, Aunt Riley!”

It was something they used to do all the time back when Mama was around—have cookouts and invite a bunch of people. Everyone would bring something—extra beer, potato salad, watermelon—and Daddy would shoot off fireworks in the backyard once it got good and dark.

“Absolutely, Ollie,” Riley said. “Name the date and I’ll be there.” She turned to Helen. “So, what brought you in? Are you looking for anything in particular for the house?”

“Yeah, actually, I am. I want that soapstone sink you’ve got over there.”

“It’s a beauty. Let’s go mark it as sold and I’ll get a couple of the guys to load it for you.”

“Also, I’m looking for a beam to use as a header. Something old, hand-hewn. Maybe four by four or four by six?”

“We’ll take a look at what we’ve got,” Riley said, leading them back across the vast warehouse of a store.

“Olive tells me you’re kind of a local history expert,” Helen said.

Riley shrugged. “I wouldn’t say an expert. Not by any stretch. But it’s definitely a passion of mine.”

“I told Helen you could let her into the historical society so she could do some research,” Olive explained.