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“You didn’t have to do that,” she said, setting down the coffee on the hood of my car.

“I know. But I like making a good impression.”

Lacey seemed to hesitate before taking the bag and digging through it, pulling out the maple bacon glazed donut. Once again, I’d guessed right on her preferences.

I also handed her a napkin for the donut as she grabbed her coffee and seemed to inhale it like she needed the liquid to live.

So far, so good.

She sat on the porch steps and I joined her, digging into a croissant filled with prosciutto, brie, and lavender honey. We ate in silence and I wondered if that was how the day was going to continue. I’d much rather have someone who didn’t want to chat than someone who talked my ear off. So many people were exhausting to be around.

Lacey finished her donut and dusted her hands off before drinking the last dregs of her coffee and sighing.

“I guess we should get started,” she said, putting both hands on her knees and standing. I finished my croissant and then wiped my hands with a disposable wipe from my purse.

“How do you want to do this?” she asked.

“It’s really up to you,” I said. “My suggestion is to start with one room and clear it out. We can’t clean or decide how to decorate until we have a blank slate.”

Lacey nodded and clenched her jaw. “Sounds good.”

I followed her to the front door and we both gazed down the hallway.

“Start from the front and work our way back?” I asked.

She adjusted her hat and nodded.

“Oh, before we get started, what are you planning on doing with the leopard?” I pointed to the gaudy thing at the base of the stairs.

“I didn’t have any plans for it, why?”

“My sister wants it. The sister who gave me your name,” I said.

Lacey snorted and I stared at her. “Your sister wants that?”

I let out a sigh. “She does.”

She stepped closer to the leopard and peered at it from a few angles. “She’s welcome to it, then. I don’t think it’s a leopard made by a famous artist or anything.”

“I’ll check,” I said, turning the leopard over so I could read the bottom. There was a very faded MADE IN CHINA sticker on the bottom.

“Safe to say it’s not worth much,” I said, turning it upright. It was much lighter than I thought. Must be hollow in the middle.

“Sure, fine. One less thing I have to deal with,” Lacey said, crossing her arms.

“Great, thanks,” I said, picking the thing up and carrying it out to my car. I shoved it in the backseat and went back into the house. Lacey had a somewhat panicked look on her face.

“Hey,” I said, my voice sharp to get her attention. “One thing at a time.”

Lacey swallowed and then nodded. “Let’s do this.”

* * *

The next two hours were mostly silent with the exception of me asking what Lacey thought we should toss, and what should go into the storage unit to be dealt with later.

Items started piling up in the yard. Lacey told me that we could fill her truck with the storage unit items and she’d handle taking them over.

“We’re making progress,” I kept telling her as we dragged more and more things to the yard. Lacey just nodded when I said it. She’d been sneezing a lot, so I’d handed her a mask to put on so she didn’t breathe in all the dust we’d kicked up, and I put one on myself. Of course, mine was pink. She’d taken the white mask I’d provided.