Path of Secrets

CHAPTER THREE-1

CHAPTER THREE

BY THE FOLLOWING EVENING Lizzie and Donny had made it to Santa Rosa, and by Tuesday afternoon they had taken the SUV off the tow dolly and backed the moving truck up into the driveway of Lizzie’s childhood home in Pantego, Texas.

“Nice to be back here,” she said as she gazed at the familiar structure. “I missed this place.”

She sighed and turned to Donny.

“So, I think we probably ought to go in first, look at Dad’s stuff, see what needs to stay in the house and what needs to move to storage, right?”

“Yep,” he agreed. “And this will get interesting with just two of us.”

“About that,” Lizzie said with a smile. “Faith and Rick should be here any minute. Rick asked Micah to cover at the bookstore so they could come help us lug stuff around.”

“Nice!”

A few minutes later Faith and Rick pulled up at the curb, with Faith leaping out of the truck almost before it came to a complete stop.

“Bestie!” she called out and moved quickly to wrap Lizzie in a huge hug. “It’s so good to see you! I missed you.”

“I missed you too,” Lizzie managed through her sudden and unexpected tears of happiness.

My life is so full, she thought. I am so blessed.

“No ma’am,” Faith admonished, tears starting to brim in her own eyes. “No crying, or I’ll start too.”

Lizzie laughed. “Always know just what to say, don’t you?”

“Hey guys,” Rick called out as he approached. “Lizzie, Faith has been so excited about today. It’s all she’s talked about for a week.”

Lizzie moved to hug him too, then stepped back as Rick and Donny did their usual ‘bro-hug’ thing.

“It’s not all I’ve talked about,” Faith said with an exaggerated eye-roll before grinning and whispering to Lizzie, “but I may have mentioned it a couple times here and there.”

“Oh! I almost forgot, be right back,” she gasped suddenly, and moved quickly back to Rick’s truck. She returned a few moments later with takeout bags.

“We brought food, too,” Faith revealed. “Chinese from your favorite place.”

“How much daylight do we have left to work with?” Donny asked.

“About four hours,” Rick told him.

“Guess we’d better get started, then. Eat first?” Lizzie suggested.

“Sure. Fried rice is better when it’s hot,” Donny chimed in.

Forty minutes later they’d finished the meal and determined what pieces of Frank Zimmerman’s furniture would be staying. Then the work began to move those things destined for donation outside and replace them with Lizzie’s furniture from the moving truck.

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