LITMIR.BIZ

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worth. She eked out a living by working at a large discount store, but, as usual, she had nothing to give her son. She expected Savanna to use what she had left from her parents’ estate to provide Gordon with the best attorneys possible.

      Frowning, Savanna scrolled up and read several of the other texts her mother-in-law had sent over the past several weeks. She hadn’t answered any of them, nor had she picked up Dorothy’s calls. She knew Gordon’s mother was trying to use guilt to manipulate her. But it never ceased to amaze Savanna that Dorothy could think she was the one to let Gordon down. He’d let her down, in the worst possible way, but only after his own mother had screwed up his childhood.

      You’ve filed for divorce? Gordon hasn’t even been in jail a week. I should beat your no-good ass. If this is all the faith you have in him, he’s better off without you.

      Savanna wasn’t sure he was better off without her, but she was convinced of the opposite.

      Why won’t you pick up? How is avoiding me going to help the situation? You have my grandkids, for God’s sake! I have a right to see them.

      Except she’d never shown any interest in Branson and Alia before. She’d brought them a bag of candy occasionally when she’d come for dinner, but that had been the extent of her involvement in their lives. Savanna would never forget how upset Branson had been when his grandmother told him she’d attend his school play and then stood them up, calling two days later with some lame excuse that didn’t even make sense.

      How can you pretend to be a loving wife when you abandon Gordon so easily? He’s always worshipped the ground you walk on, been a good husband and father, and you do this?

      Was he being a good husband and father when he was out stalking women—attacking and raping them? How could Dorothy make such a ludicrous statement?

      But that was Dorothy. She never troubled herself much with reality.

      He would never have abandoned you in your hour of need. He would’ve believed in you and fought for you until the end—and you should be doing the same for him.

      The police had found Theresa Spinnaker’s blood in their van! Was Dorothy completely delusional?

      You coward! You won’t be able to avoid me forever.

      Dorothy had driven down from Salt Lake after that message, but Savanna had refused to let her in. When she’d started cursing and kicking the door, Savanna had called the police, who’d escorted Dorothy off the property. That was the night Savanna had received the worst text of all.

      Gordon’s going to kill you when he gets out.

      Savanna always shivered when she read those words. The only thing that made them bearable was the fact that she didn’t think Dorothy meant them literally.

      Forcing herself to put down her phone, she slid Alia over—Savanna could barely move, was already feeling claustrophobic simply by circumstance—and tried, once again, to go to sleep.

      * * *

      The motel had a free breakfast, so Savanna was able to feed her kids the following morning, but she still wasn’t sure Gavin would show up. At ten, she hadn’t heard from him. He hadn’t even asked for her cell number last night.

      Was she on her own?

      She could only assume she was. She was trying to figure out the best way to hire some help and get back to her new place—would a Craigslist ad work in such a small town?—when the phone in her room rang.

      She thought it might be the motel manager. She’d asked for a late checkout in case she needed the extra time, but the caller turned out to be Gavin.

      “You had breakfast yet?” he asked.

      “We have,” she replied.

      “Then are you ready to go?”

      She breathed a sigh of relief. “We are.”

      “Great. I bought the lumber for the bridge and brushed up on a few how-to videos. We should be all set.”

      So that was why he hadn’t come sooner. He’d been shopping. She could tell he was joking about the YouTube stuff. But she was so happy to hear from him she had no comeback, just sincere gratitude. “Wow. That’s nice of you. I was afraid... I was afraid maybe you’d changed your mind about being so neighborly.”

      “I wouldn’t leave you stranded. I would’ve called earlier, but since I had to go to Santa Barbara to get the wood, I thought I’d let you sleep.”

      “Kids at this age don’t sleep late.” Most of them didn’t wet the bed, either, but poor Branson had had another accident last night. Fortunately, she’d put a plastic tablecloth under the sheets so she wouldn’t have to worry that he might ruin the mattress. But she felt bad for him. She knew he was embarrassed and hated that her son was struggling so much as a result of his life being turned upside down. “Still, thank you. I appreciate the thought.”

      “No problem. I’m outside, so whenever you’re ready.”

      She disconnected, called the front desk to let them know they could have the room and gathered the few items she’d brought with them, which she shoved into the school backpack she’d borrowed from Branson. “Gavin’s here. Let’s go,” she told the kids, and ushered them out the first-floor motel room to find their new neighbor sitting in the lot with the engine idling.

      “I didn’t know your truck was blue!” Branson said as he got in the back seat. “It looked black last night.”

      “Of course it’s blue,” Gavin said. “Is there any better color?”

      Branson beamed as he scooted over to make room for his sister. “No.”

      “Do you have some more soda?” Alia asked.

      He smiled at her in the review mirror. “At the house I do.”

      Savanna eyed the lumber that filled the bed of Gavin’s truck while putting the backpack between her kids. “That’s a lot of wood,” she said as she climbed in front.

      “A big part of the old bridge is lying around on the property, but it’s so rotted there’s really nothing we can salvage from it, so...I think we’re going to need to start from scratch.”

      “Of course,” she muttered with a sigh. Nothing could be easy, although now that she could see the town in full daylight, she was encouraged. Nephi looked sad and depressed by comparison. In Silver Springs she could easily find evidence of the wealth and affluence that was so prevalent in parts of LA. Tasteful murals covered several of the buildings downtown. There were no empty or run-down businesses—and something else was different. It took her a moment to realize what, but after they drove a few blocks, she said, “There are no chains here!”

      “Chains?” Gavin echoed.

      “You know, businesses. McDonald’s. Best Western.”

      “Oh, right. Chain stores aren’t allowed. The town promotes small business.”

      “I’ve never heard of a town taking such a stand.”

      He grinned. “Welcome to California.”

      The cost of living would be greater here if she couldn’t run to a box store every time she needed groceries or school supplies for the kids, but she thought it was a sacrifice worth making. She was looking forward to coming back and exploring, to walking into a store without fear of being recognized and reviled...

      She studied a secondhand store that appeared to be particularly well run. Maybe she could find a few things for the house there to help her get by... “This place has a strong Southwest flavor,” she said.

      “There’s a lot of Spanish Revival architecture,” Gavin agreed.

      “Like the motel where we stayed—with its white walls, red tile roof and bell tower.”

      “Is that a positive thing or a negative thing, in

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