Free The Lullaby Sky by Carolyn Brown Page A

ma’am,” Travis answered.
    Sophie threw her hand over her mouth, but the little girl giggles escaped around it. “I’m not a ma’am. That’s for old women, and I’m just a little girl.”
    “And it’s not for all old women.” Aunt Birdie’s smile erased a few wrinkles but not many.
    “I will try to remember that,” Travis said seriously. “Do you ladies want me to follow you into town this morning with my truck and trailer so we can bring whatever furniture you buy home today?”
    “Can I ride in the truck with you?” Sophie asked.
    “That’s up to your mama,” Travis answered. “But if she doesn’t mind, I would sure enough love the company. It gets awful lonely in the truck when I’m all alone.”
    “Can I please, please?” Sophie locked gazes with Hannah. “And can we get the paint for my rainbow today and can we paint my room next and can I have a poster of Frozen on my wall and—”
    “You better catch a breath,” Hannah butted in. “Yes, you can ride with Travis, and thank you for offering to go with us, Travis. And yes, we can get the paint for your rainbow, and yes, you can have your room done next. But we’ll see about the poster later.”
    “Done with the wisdom of a queen,” Travis whispered.
    Hannah’s phone buzzed before she could answer. She fished it out of her pocket, hit a button, read a text message, and all the color drained from her face. Her fork hit the floor with a clatter and landed under the table. Travis leaned to pick it up at the same time she did, and their heads bumped together.
    “Are you okay?” he asked.
    She rubbed her forehead and handed him the phone as she picked up the fork and then took it to the kitchen sink. Travis followed her, the phone in his hand and cold chills shooting up his spine.
    The text message read: Chocolate chip pancakes. Rainbows. Blue walls. White trash.
    Hannah pulled the magnetized grocery list pad from the refrigerator door and wrote on the top sheet:
     
    Bugs. More, but where? What do we do?
     
    Travis scribbled on the bottom of the pad:
     
    I’ll get a bug detector and go over every inch of this house, inside and out and your car as well.
     
    Hannah laid a hand on his and squeezed. That was enough fuel to keep Travis going for the rest of the week. Damn that man for taking the sparkle out of Hannah’s eyes and putting fear right back in.
    “What’s wrong?” Aunt Birdie asked.
    “Not a thing,” Hannah said with a forced giggle. “Clumsy old me dropped a pancake on the floor. I was going to clean it up, but there might be some little starving ants that would enjoy it for breakfast. Anyone want more coffee while I am up?”
    With a frown on her face, Darcy held up her cup and glanced down at the floor.
    Hannah carried the pot to the table and laid her phone beside Darcy’s plate. Darcy’s whole body stiffened as she handed the phone to Aunt Birdie.
    “Stalker!” Aunt Birdie said loudly.
    “Is that our new word for today?” Sophie asked.
    “No, our word for today is rainbows .”
    “Then why did you say stalker ? Is that like Jack’s beanstalk that you read to me about?” Sophie asked.
    “Something like that. A stalker is like that giant who climbed up the beanstalk so he could do mean things. Remember what happened to him?” Aunt Birdie talked more loudly than normal.
    Sophie’s black curls bounced when she nodded. “Jack chopped down the beanstalk and the giant got dead.”
    “That’s what happens to stalkers. Someone comes along and chops down the beanstalk and they get dead.” Immediately the phone buzzed in Aunt Birdie’s hand, and she handed it to Hannah. “It’s time to get out the ax,” she whispered.
    The text message was from Liz. Wyatt got called out early. Are you awake? I’ll bring muffins if you’ve got coffee ready.
    Hannah’s thumbs quickly typed something back, and then she laid the phone on the counter. “That was Liz. She’s coming over with muffins.”
    “Yay!” Sophie