Parker smiled. “Go to work. I have stuff to do.”

He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as he lifted his phone.

She blew him a kiss and walked away.

The first media van of the winter showed up as the last truck pulled off the property. Reporters searched for places to film weather stories in Southern California, and the best place was in narrow canyons scorched by summer wildfires. Parker had expected them. A woman about the size of a pencil stepped out of the van before the driver had a chance to pull inside the gate.

“Are you the homeowner?” She was all smiles and lipstick.

“Yes.”

“Would you mind if we came in and talked to you?”

Parker thought about the neighbor down the street, and how others were probably keenly interested in what was going on. Maybe if the news broadcasted what the county was doing, for those who didn’t go to the meeting in late summer to discuss it, her neighbors would heed the “No Trespassing” signs.

“Sure, come on in.”

The van pulled in and lifted their antenna.

Parker stood back and took a photo of the news van and then texted it to her brother and sister. Guess we’re going to be on the news.

She tucked her phone in her pocket and wondered what she looked like. She hadn’t bothered with makeup that morning and put her hair in a ponytail. The fleece holiday print jacket was a step away from an ugly Christmas sweater, but it kept her warm.

Whatever . . . anyone who saw her on the news and knew her, understood she wasn’t a slave to fashion.

The news lady introduced herself . . . Lisa something or other, Channel 2.

“My cameraman is making sure we have a solid uplink,” she told Parker.

“Okay.”

“So who did all the work here?”

Parker gave the woman a few details, which she wrote down. She took down the correct spelling of Parker’s name and asked about the fire. The cameraman walked up with a decent size camera on his shoulder. He rotated them around until he had the backdrop he wanted and set up a tripod.

“Just look at me and not the camera when we’re talking.”

“Okay.” She really should have put on makeup.

The cameraman told them he was ready anytime. Lisa, whatever her last name was, put the microphone to her lips and started asking questions.

Parker answered the questions as honestly as she could. When it came to safety, she made a statement about how the county had done what they could, but that her neighbors downstream needed to understand that it wasn’t possible to tame Mother Nature. If they experienced any real rainfall, there would likely be damage and to take precautions.

When Lisa asked her how she came to that conclusion, Parker simply said, “There are miles of burned steep canyons back there and only a couple of ways for the water and mud to escape. The major artery runs right through my front yard. There are homes all up and down the wash that are a lot closer to the danger than mine is. If the media understands there’s a threat, the homeowners need to do the same.”

“Do you feel your neighbors are taking this threat seriously?”

Parker shook her head. “My neighbors downstream don’t appear to have done anything to prepare for winter.”

“Why do you think that is?”

“People wait around for someone else to save the day, but first responders can only do so much.”

“You sound very passionate about this.”

“I’ve been living it for five months. Tasting the ash every time I walk outside. Yeah, I’m passionate.”

Lisa lowered her microphone and smiled. “That was great. Thank you.”

Parker felt her shoulders relax.

The cameraman walked around a little more, took a few more pictures, and then took some film of Lisa talking with the canyon behind her.

Parker waved as they left the property and closed the gate behind them.

She turned back around and took in the vast, empty section of land that hadn’t been empty since October. Well, empty except for the Porta Potty.

She called Scout over to her and knelt down to pet him. “Well, boy. It’s just you and me again.” Parker walked to where her driveway crossed the wash and sat, let her feet dangle where the culverts carried rainwater. “I really hope this works.”

It was December fifteenth, exactly ten days before Christmas, when it started to rain.

Colin had called her that night, right as the first clouds moved in. “They’re not predicting a lot,” he told her.

“I know.”

“It will take a little time for the basins to fill up.”

They should. “I know.”

“I can come over.”

“I’m okay. Mallory and Austin are both here. We parked a car on the other side of the wash just in case the culverts clog up.”

“Smart.”

They talked a little longer. Colin flirted and took her mind away from the slow trickle of rain that splashed on the skylights. Even the wind chimes weren’t impressed enough to make a lot of noise.

By morning, the sun was out and the sky was clear.

And the basins were full.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

“I know how it looks, but the water will go down and all this will settle.” Colin tried easing Parker’s fears with facts.

The Porta Potty guy was loading the thing on the back of his truck while he and Parker stood on the banks of the wash.

The structures had held and were doing exactly what they’d been designed to do. What concerned him was that they’d had less than two inches of rain and there was already a week’s worth of material to clean out. Even though he knew Parker didn’t want to hear it, he kept it honest with her. “If the next rain dumps more, we can justify bringing everyone back.”

Her eyes were wide. “I can’t believe how much came down.”

“As long as we get rain like we did last night, we should be okay. A little and stop, a little and stop.”

“Like normal.”

It’s the microbursts that caused problems. Parker’s home sat in the center of microburst central. Mountain ranges on all sides locking in clouds that dump and dump. In the years she’d been the responsible party at the house, that kind of weather condition hadn’t happened.

He placed his arm over her shoulders. “This is normal. I promise.”

She wrapped her arms around his waist. “I’m holding you to that.”

“How is everything up at the house?” He only made it to the south side of the wash.

“A little runoff. Not a lot.”

“The guesthouse?”

“So far, so good.”

All good news. After he kissed the top of her head, he broke out of her embrace. “I’ll be here at six to pick you up.” They were going to drive to the crazy neighborhood that loved their power bills this time of year to look at Christmas lights.

“I’ll bring hot chocolate.”

“Is Austin joining us?”

She rolled her eyes. “He doesn’t see the joy yet, he’s seventeen.”

“But Mallory is coming, right?”

“Yup. I was thinking of asking Erin to come, too. She doesn’t get out much.”

He’d noticed that about the woman.