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there.
    She clomped down the wooden plank stairs all the way to the unfinished basement. The familiar smell of dust and mustiness took Katie back more than a decade to when she and her sisters had played down here. The closet under the stairs had been the headquarters for their members-only club and Savannah and Lindsey had been typical tyrannical copresidents. When Katie had finally gotten tired of being the club gofer, she’d formed her own club and had convinced her mom to become the only other member.
    Katie smiled at the memory, then it struck her again that moments like this were on their way out of her life. Sure, she would still have those memories, if she strained her brain. But just walking around this house brought back so many good times that she knew she’d never think of otherwise.
    “Good morning,” Mrs. Hale— Claudia —said from behind a pile of boxes. “I hope you slept well. Your dad was going to wake you before he went to work, but I figured you needed the rest if you were still asleep.”
    “Morning,” Katie said, straining to be friendly. “Thanks. I guess I was tired. I always sleep extra well here.”
    “About time Sleeping Beauty showed up to help.” Savannah emerged from behind another tower of boxes and headed toward Katie, arms outstretched.
    “About time you came by to say hello.” Katie smiled and wrinkled her nose as they hugged. “Thanks for the dust bath.”
    The middle Salinger sister hadn’t changed much in the months since Katie had last been home for a visit. Her auburn hair was pulled up sloppily and her eyes showed fatigue. Part of being a mother to two kids, Katie guessed. The amount of dust on Savannah’s black yoga pants and old Hard Rock Cafe T-shirt made Katie’s nose itch.
    “The kids have been dying to see you, but we spent a good chunk of the day yesterday at a museum in Topeka with some of Logan’s friends.”
    “Where are the kids?” Katie asked, looking around. She could hear their voices, but there were so many places to hide in the basement that she couldn’t even tell which direction the noise was coming from.
    “They’re in the other room, looking for the boxes of toys that Mom packed away.”
    “Oh, I have dibs on my G.I. Joe stuff!” Katie headed into the back room of the basement, groaning as she imagined going through all the boxes in order to prepare for the move.
    “Hey, guys,” she called out to the kids, who were engrossed in the contents of a plastic storage bin.
    Her niece and nephew ran to her and attacked her with fierce hugs, making her laugh.
    “I heard you’re searching for toys,” Katie said.
    “Grandma said there might be LEGOs!” Logan hopped back to where they’d been rummaging through a large box. The adorable round-cheeked boy rarely just walked anywhere.
    Katie paused momentarily at Logan’s use of Grandma, referring to Claudia. Yet another thing she needed to get used to if she was going to hang around here for a while. Up till now, she’d mostly been able to avoid the impact of her dad’s marriage. She shook her head to bury her thoughts.
    “From what I remember, you already have enough LEGOs to build a small house,” she teased.
    “I want to build a big house!”
    Katie laughed and went over to hug him again. “How’s it going, Allie Cat?”
    “Okay.” Her lanky niece smiled, her brown eyes twinkling.
    “You looking for LEGOs, too?” Katie asked, motioning her closer with her good arm. Allie was on the shy side, but irresistible with her curly brown hair pulled into a ponytail and a smattering of freckles across her cheeks.
    “No. Just looking for anything that’s neat.”
    “It’s like a treasure hunt, isn’t it?”
    Katie turned around and began scavenging, one-armed, through the boxes behind Logan, not sure what to expect. Her mom had had a reputation for saving everything . Judging by the number of boxes, bins and bags filling most of the basement, Katie doubted anything had been touched since