Two days later, Zoey was sitting on the front porch, still trying to solve the puzzle of raising Hazel, when Mary dropped Hazel off at the bottom of the driveway. She’d been babysitting Mary’s children while Mary worked. When Zoey wasn’t worrying about Hazel, she was worrying about what to do with Dad’s sculptures. She hadn’t heard anything from her neighbor in a few weeks, but she had a feeling the other shoe was going to drop eventually. Karen Schiff didn’t seem the type to give up easily. But Zoey didn’t like the idea of just stacking them in a pile.

Hazel jogged up the steps and accepted the cold can of soda Zoey held out. “Slow day in Repair-ville, Mom?”

“For once, yes.”

The past few weeks had put Zoey on the road more than she was used to, but the increased commercial work had helped put the business solidly in the black. She was much happier heading into business settings than going into strangers’ homes.

She was picking up more vintage repairs, too. The local antiques dealer, Clive Markham, had shared her name with other antiques dealers, and she had a shop full of clocks and mechanical toys. Collectors paid good money for her work, and she enjoyed it.

“To be honest,” she said, finishing her drink. “I’m working now. I’m waiting for a delivery. A guy up in Penn Yan wants me to rebuild his vintage jukebox. It sounds like it will be quite a project, but I’ve got a month to finish it. He wants it working in time for his sixtieth birthday party.”

“Better than scrambling under some old man’s kitchen sink, huh?” Hazel had heard some of the house call horror stories, but she had no clue about the worst ones.

“Definitely. How were Mary’s little ones today?”

“Wired!” Hazel laughed. “Katie’s birthday is coming up, and she was determined to find where her presents have been hidden, so I had to really keep an eye on her so she didn’t destroy anything in her search.”

“Did she find them?”

“Not a chance. Mary put them all at Mike’s place.” Hazel leaned forward, her eyes bright. “He said even if Katie comes to his house, she’ll never find the stuff up in his attic!”

Zoey caught her breath. “Was Mike at Mary’s place today?”

“Today? Yeah. He stops by quite a bit, just like he does here.” Hazel gave her a sad look. “Mary says he doesn’t like to be at his place alone, so he finds excuses to go hang out with people. Is that why he comes here? Because he’s lonely?”

“Well...” Zoey licked her suddenly dry lips. “Mary’s right about him being lonely since he lost his wife. He knows he can hang out here anytime he wants. Does that bother you?”