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CHAPTER FIFTEEN

The entire house was furnished with a taste and style one would expect from Zee. The decor was traditional, very cozy, and comfortable. All the rooms were spacious, with high, beamed ceilings and wide windows. Zee had made a good home for her family.

Lunch was waiting for them in the courtyard. It was served at a round redwood picnic table with a bright yellow umbrella shading it. After Avery had been embraced by Nelson and Zee, she approached Mandy and knelt down.

"Hi, Mandy. It's so good to see you."

Mandy stared at the ground. "I've been good."

"Of course you have. Daddy's been telling me. And you look so pretty."  She smoothed her hand over Mandy's glossy pageboy. "Your hair's growing out and you've got your cast off.''

''Can I have my lunch now? Grandma said I could when you got here."

Her indifference broke Avery's heart. She should have been bursting with exciting things to tell her mother after such a lengthy separation.

As they took their places around the table, a maid carried a tray of food out from the kitchen and welcomed her home. "Thank you. It's good to be back." A vapid, but safe response, Avery thought.

''Get Carole some iced tea, Mona,'' Nelson said, providing Avery with the housekeeper's name. "And remember to add real sugar."

The family unwittingly supplied her with clues like that. From them she gleaned Carole's habits, likes and dislikes.

She remained constantly alert for the clues she might be unwittingly giving away, as well, although only Tate's parents and Mandy were present.

Just when she was congratulating herself on her excellent performance, a large, shaggy dog loped into the courtyard. He came to within a few feet of Avery before realizing she was a stranger.  All four of his legs stiffened, then he crouched down and began to growl deep in his throat.

A dog—the family pet! Why hadn't she thought of that?

Rather than waiting for the others to react, she seized the initiative.

"What's wrong with him? Am I that changed? Doesn't he recognize me?"

Tate threw one leg over to straddle the bench of the picnic table and patted his thigh. "Come here, Shep, and stop that growling."

Keeping a wary eye on Avery, the dog crept forward and laid his chin on Tate's thigh. Tate scratched him behind the ears. Tentatively, Avery extended her hand and petted the dog's muzzle. "Hey, Shep. It's me."

He sniffed her hand suspiciously. Finally satisfied that she posed no danger, he gave her palm a warm, wet stroke with his tongue.  "That's better." Laughing, she looked up at Tate, who was regarding her strangely.

"Since when have you wanted to become friends with my dog?''

Avery glanced around helplessly. Nelson and Zee also seemed baffled by her behavior. "Since ... since I came so close to dying. I feel a bond with all living creatures, I guess."

The awkward moment passed and lunch continued without further mishap. Once it was over, however, Avery was ready to retire to their room and use the bathroom—only she didn't know where, within the sprawling house, their room was located.

"Tate," she asked, "have my bags been brought in yet?"

"I don't think so. Why, do you need them?"

"Yes, please."

Leaving Mandy in her grandparents' care, Avery followed him from the courtyard and back to the car still parked out front. She carried the smaller bag; he took the larger.