Coming Home for Fall 4 (Ferndale Secrets #4)

Chapter 1

Standing at the base of the stairs, Mallory waited and watched for any sign of her sister’s car. When she heard her mother gasp, she jolted and rushed upstairs to check on her. “Mom?!” she called out, rounding the corner of the upper hallway.

But there was no answer. In fact, everything was silent. Had she misheard?

“Mom?!” she called out again.

“I’m in the bedroom, honey!” her mom responded. “Just, um... give me a second.”

Inching toward the partly ajar door, she hesitated to push it open. “Is everything alright?” Mallory asked.

“I’m fine!” Callie insisted despite the tension in her voice. “I was just startled. Sasha was—uh—she was using the master bathroom… I—I didn’t know anyone was in here so... I was just startled when I saw her.” She let out a nervous laugh. “That’s all.”

Mallory frowned. What had Sasha been doing in the master bathroom? But before she could ask any questions, Sasha darted out of the room with her sleeping baby.

“Sorry,” she muttered, evading Mallory’s gaze, “excuse me.”

“Oh...” Mallory didn’t have time to say anything else before Sasha disappeared into her room and shut the door. Stepping into her parents’ bedroom, Mallory carefully approached her mom who stood in the doorway of her closet, furiously pushing aside dress after dress. Mallory cleared her throat.

“I know you’re there,” Callie said without looking back.

“I just didn’t want to scare you after that…” she replied, letting out an unsteady breath.

“No need to walk on eggshells,” Callie said with another nervous chuckle. “I’m not fragile, I was—just caught off guard...” Plastering on a smile, she turned to her daughter and gestured to the dresses. “Now come help me pick out what to wear.”

“Why do you need to change?” Mallory arched her brow. “It’s just Ariel and the kids coming.”

“Yeah, but I’m sweaty from cleaning this morning and I feel gross. Plus, I smell like baby formula.” Callie pulled out a brown knit dress. “What about this?”

“Well, if you’re trying to avoid sweating more”—she eyed the dress up and down— “that wouldn’t be my first choice.

” Gingerly brushing past her mom, Mallory perused through the options.

“It’s not really cold today. And we both know you’re gonna be out playing with the kids, so how about this.

” She pulled out a short-sleeved cotton jump suit.

“Oh, perfect!” Callie clapped her hands. “I honestly forgot I had that.” She grabbed the hanger from Mallory and stepped into the bathroom, leaving the door cracked so they could talk. “While I’m thinking about it, did I mention that Taylor and Erica are arriving at the crack of dawn tomorrow?”

“I don’t think so.” Mallory glanced around the room while her mom was out of sight, searching for any clues about what Sasha had actually been up to. However, nothing seemed amiss, so she sat on the edge of the bed and waited for an opportunity to discuss the strange incident.

“They bought their tickets last minute,” Callie explained, “so they’re on a red-eye. They’ll be getting here early, so I figured I’d give everyone a heads up.”

“Ah. Well, I’m sure they won’t wake me up, so it’s fine.”

Callie chuckled. “I said that to your brother too. You could sleep through a war.”

“Yeah, probably.” She sighed, kicking her feet back and forth a few times. “So, uh… Why exactly was Sasha in your bathroom?”

“She—she ran out of soap.”

“And she just came in here without asking?” Mallory tilted her head. “That’s a little inconsiderate... I’m surprised she’d do something like that.”

“Who says she didn’t ask me first?”

“Well—you said you didn’t know she was in there... that she startled you. If she’d asked you about it, why were you so taken aback?”

Callie didn’t answer right away.

“Mom?”

“Hm? Oh, sorry dear, I was just focused on getting these strings tied in the back.” Callie stepped out of the bathroom dressed in her soft green jumpsuit and walked over to Mallory.

Turning her back to her daughter, she gestured with the ties between her fingers.

Without a word, Mallory reached up and helped tie the strings. “What were you saying?”

“I don’t get how she could’ve scared you if you’d known she was in here?” She asked with a dubious tone, making a bow at the base of her mother’s neck. “You’re telling me the full story, right?”

Callie scoffed. “What?!”

Mallory shrugged. “I’m just a little confused.”

Turning to face her daughter, Callie shook her head and crossed her arms. “Well, since you’re under the impression that I’m lying... Why don’t you tell me what you think Sasha was doing, hm?”

“I never accused anyone of lying…” Mallory stood up from the bed, keeping her voice calm. She didn’t want to put her mom in a mood before Ariel and the kids arrived. “I was just trying to get the story straight, that’s all.”

“There’s nothing to get straight,” she said, her expression hardening. “There’s no ‘story.’ I told you what happened and that’s that. Why are you making this into a big deal?”

“That’s not my intention. When I heard you gasp earlier, I thought something was wrong.” Mallory raised her hands in defense. “Not trying to interrogate, I was just worried about you.”

Callie’s face softened. “Oh. Well, I’m sorry I scared you. But really, I was just startled when I saw Sasha in the bedroom, but everything’s fine. There’s no reason to worry.”

Although Mallory doubted this, she could feel the tension rising in the room and decided to yield this time. “Alright, I guess I overreacted a bit.”

“It’s fine.” Callie waved for Mallory to follow her through the open bedroom door. “Let’s go downstairs. Your sister will be here any second.”

“I’m coming, I’m coming.”

On their way out, Mallory glanced back once more in a last attempt to see if anything seemed out of place, but the room appeared perfectly in order.

*

Ariel and the kids arrived like a tornado.

Barreling through the front door, Ariel didn’t even stop to say hello. “I have to pee so bad!” she announced, darting down the hall towards the bathroom. Her kids filed in afterwards, one by one, with their own complaints.

“That was the longest car ride ever,” Hannah groaned before throwing herself down onto the living room couch. She hadn’t even bothered to take her shoes off, which Mallory knew was driving Callie crazy, even though she stayed silent. “I’m never doing it again.”

“Well, I hope that’s not true,” Callie muttered with a dejected expression.

Having not received a hug from her daughter or her oldest grandchild, she reached down in a desperate attempt to embrace her grandson, Micah.

To her surprise, he relented and wrapped his arms around her legs.

His eyes were red and glossy from crying. “What’s the matter, honey?”

“I got car sick,” he said, looking up at her with a pitiful expression. “And Becca made fun of me the rest of the way.”

“No, I didn’t!” Becca yelled, struggling to drag her heavy pink backpack into the house. “I said you smelled bad because you did!”

“That’s not my fault! I threw up and my shirt got dirty!” Micah stomped his foot. “I wanted to change, but mom said no cause we were only twenty minutes away from grandma’s.”

“It’s okay, sweetheart,” Callie said, running her hand through his dark hair. “I’ll take you upstairs and we’ll clean you up. Do you have a fresh shirt in your bag?”

“It’s in the car.”

“You guys go ahead. I’ll grab the rest of the luggage,” Mallory said. “And bring up a clean shirt in a minute or two.”

Callie thanked her with a smile and then took Micah upstairs. Mallory grabbed Becca’s backpack and strained to lift it over the threshold. “Sheesh! Girl, what’s in here? Rocks?”

“She brought all her toys,” Hannah said from the couch. “And two video games. It’s like she thinks we’ll be here for months.”

“I can see that,” Mallory said, setting the bag down on the recliner.

A moment later, David walked out of the kitchen and greeted his granddaughters.

Mallory then stepped outside and began unloading the luggage from the back of Ariel’s minivan.

By the time her sister emerged from the house, she’d offloaded almost all the bags and placed them on the front step.

“You don’t have to do that,” Ariel said, taking the last duffle from Mallory’s hands. “I was just about to—”

“It’s okay.” Mallory shook her head and smiled. “I’m happy to help. I know the car ride was… a lot.”

“That’s an understatement.” Ariel brushed a couple strands of dark red hair from her face. It was a new color on her, and it complemented her soft blue eyes.

Mallory chuckled and shut the trunk before they made their way back to the house. When they reached the front steps, Mallory bent down to grab a couple bags, but Ariel tapped her arm and stopped her.

“Before we go in,” she said, keeping her voice low, “I wanted to ask… is that woman here?”

“Sasha?” Mallory nodded. “Yeah, I think she and the baby are hiding out in my—her bedroom. Something kinda weird happened this morning and now I think she might be feeling embarrassed.”

Ariel’s eyes widened. “What happened?”

“That’s what I’d like to know.” Mallory shrugged.

“Huh?” Ariel furrowed her brow in a confused expression.

“It’s an odd situation. Mom says one thing about it, but I’m not sure I believe her.”

Ariel tilted her head, searching Mallory’s gaze for a more definitive answer.

“I’ll tell you the story later,” Mallory replied and shook her head, “but right now, I need to get a clean shirt for Micah before Becca and him start fighting again.”

“Right, okay.” Ariel sighed. “Thanks. If it’s okay with everyone else, I might leave the kids with you guys for a half hour or something?” She rubbed her forehead. “I could really use a shower and twenty minutes to decompress.”

Mallory beamed and placed an affirming hand on her sister’s shoulder. “Take all the time you need.”