“You’re getting pie.”

Delaney looked over at Theo. “Yeah, but that’s after we get everything packed. I was hoping for something yummy to get me energized to do all this work.”

“Would it help if I told you that there’s an empty moving van in the parking lot and three men that brought it over here? You pack the boxes, they’ll move them. Mom told them we’d probably be done by eleven, so shake a leg, Doc. We’ll have you sitting in front of the pie in no time.”

“God, I love Odette,” Delaney said, grabbing two boxes and heading toward the back of the bungalow.

“I second that,” Theo agreed following her friend.

The three of them began disassembling Indigo’s bedroom. Early morning sunshine fell through the slats of the white wooden blinds that covered the one large window. The room was painted a pale yellow, and in the middle of the far wall sat a canopy bed. Both the canopy and the comforter were white with a tie-dye swirl of pink, yellow, purple and blue. Delaney began boxing up the toys that were strewn all over the floor while Jordan carefully packed all of Indigo’s books. Theo went straight to the dresser and pulled open a drawer. She pulled out a shirt and checked the tag, realizing that Indigo had grown in the six months she’d been living at the barn.

“I guess we just pack everything and store it,” she said. “Most of these clothes are too little for Indie now, and she hasn’t asked for any of these toys or other things.” She sighed. “I can’t throw anything away … but I don’t want to bring something back to the barn that will upset her, either.”

“No,” Delaney said, running her fingers over the head of a furry stuffed cow. “We don’t want to upset her.”

Theo filled a box with the contents of two drawers, each shirt, pair of pants and sweatshirt folded and organized neatly so everything fit.

“I hate to ask this because I know how much you love having her with you, but do you think she’ll ever want to move back here with Cleopatra?”

Theo shrugged. “I don’t know what the future holds, but I do know she’s not interested in anything that has to do with the hotel right now.”

“They had a rough therapy session yesterday,” Jordan offered.

“Damn, Theo,” Delaney said, reaching out to put her hand on her friend’s arm. “I’m sorry.”

Theo was sure she heard a tremble in Delaney’s voice, and she looked up to study the other woman’s profile. “Doctor Gardner suggested that maybe we could start up our Wednesday dinners here at the Madeleine when Patty moves back. He didn’t say a single thing about Indigo living here again, he just mentioned dinner and it brought up so much emotion for her. She said this wasn’t her home anymore, that this was a bad place and that she didn’t want to leave the barn.”

“That poor kid,” Delaney said, closing her eyes. Her chin dropped to her chest and Theo glanced over at Jordan who was also watching Delaney. “She’s been through a lot.”

Theo moved closer to Delaney and Jordan stopped packing books.

“Are you okay?”

Delaney sniffed and shook her head as though that might ward off the tears that seemed to be coming.

“Yeah, I just … that night on the lake … I think about it sometimes, and I know I could have easily lost both you and Scrappy-Doo, and …” Her voice faltered and she reached up to wipe the moisture beneath her nose. “Losing people we love is just so hard … it’s the hardest thing in the world.”

Theo knew Delaney loved her, and there was no question about how she felt about Indigo. That night on Darby Lake had been terrifying, and Theo was sure Delaney was being truthful about how much it had affected her. Still, she wasn’t convinced that what Delaney was feeling now had anything to do with the events that had taken place the previous summer.

“Sweetie, you can talk to us about anything. You know that, right?”

“We won’t even make fun of you,” Jordan said. When Delaney looked up and caught his gaze he gave her a smile. “Probably.”

Delaney shook her head and scoffed. “Stop it,” she told him. “I know. I’m okay. I’m good.” Theo watched as Delaney pulled herself back together again. “I’ve never actually been in this room before. I know Indigo’s lived here since she was born, but when I think of Indigo’s home, it’s always with you at the barn.”

Jordan placed a few more books in the box he’d been packing, then taped it closed. He uncapped a black Sharpie and scribbled across the top before assembling yet another box. “I have an idea.”

“What’s on your mind, tree man?”

Theo packed all of Indigo’s underwear and socks, cleaning out what remained of her dresser drawers. She walked over to the closet and began pulling some of the dresses that hung there.

“Giving Indigo a brand-new bedroom. She and Mom were on the internet the other day. They were furniture shopping.”

“Is Odette leaving your dad or something? She ready to buy a place of her own?”

Both Jordan and Theo laughed when Delaney suggested it because the thought of Max and Odette Reilly separating was a ridiculous notion.

“She was looking for bookshelves.”

“Oh, yeah,” Theo said, taking all of the hangers from the rod and putting them in a separate box to take back to the barn. “She told me about that. She’s got a big project going on. She’s redoing Max’s office.”

Delaney had stripped Indigo’s bed and had put the comforter and sheets in a laundry basket. She reached up to pull one of the spindles from a post holding a corner of the canopy, but she couldn’t quite reach it.

“Hold on, Mighty Mouse,” Jordan teased stepping up to help her. He went to each corner and pulled the fabric free, and Delaney gathered it up, stuffing it in the laundry basket with the rest of the linen.

“Thanks, Paul Bunyan,” Delaney shot back. “Are you gonna tell us your idea or what?”

Theo began boxing up the shoes that sat on the floor of the closet. There were sandals and flip flops, snow boots the child had worn the winter before and a single pink fuzzy slipper.

“Indie got really excited about a bunk bed she saw online. The bottom bunk had a full mattress, the one on top was a twin. There were stairs on the side. Big wide ones with drawers underneath, not a ladder. The wood was painted white, and she kept asking Mom to go back so she could look at it. She’s been very serious about sleeping in her own room these last few months. Maybe we could change the space up for her. When was that room last painted?”

“Oh,” Theo said, rocking back on her heels. She looked up at Jordan. “It’s been a long time ago. I was in middle school I think.”

“She’d probably have fun picking out a new color, and she could shop for new bedding,” Delaney said. “I hate shopping, but I know Indigo is totes into it.”

Theo grinned at her friend. “Totes,” she confirmed. “That’s a fun idea,” she told Jordan. “I like it. I like it very much.”

“We could make it a Christmas present. Maybe from the both of us?”

Theo watched Jordan’s face for a moment, then she smiled at him. “Absolutely,” she told him, tossing a pair of swim shoes into the box and pulling herself to her feet. She walked over to where Jordan stood and wrapped her arms around his waist. “Thank you. Thank you for coming over here during your busiest time at the farm and helping me do this. Thank you for bringing movers. Thank you for caring about Indigo the way you do.”

Jordan wrapped Theo into a hug and pressed a kiss against her temple. “Just promise me you won’t let Delaney paint.”

Theo laughed and looked over at Delaney.

“I’m not even mad,” Delaney said grabbing another box and heading to the single bathroom that separated Indigo and Patty’s bedrooms. “I’m good at many things. Painting isn’t one of them.”

She disappeared and Theo looked around the room. Almost everything had been packed and the space looked abandoned. No matter how much Theo loved having Indigo live with her at the barn, she couldn’t help but feel sad. She heard Delaney as she rummaged through things in the bathroom.

“Do you want to toss Indie’s toothbrushes?”

Theo concentrated on the heat she felt coming from Jordan’s body before she replied. “Yeah,” she said. “Hang on. I’ll be there in a second.” She felt Jordan move his hand across her back and she closed her eyes.

“We’re almost done here,” he said. “I’ll get the guys to move the furniture if you go and finish the bathroom.”

Theo nodded. “Okay. Jordan?”

“Yeah?”