Monday meant Ellie was back to her normal routine—well, sort of—so she'd woken up early. There was a new factor in her routine: Dylan.

Having Dylan around over the weekend had made Ellie feel good. He made her feel relaxed for the first time in a long time.

But maybe she'd gotten a little too relaxed. She'd already shared four cigarettes with him, and had almost cussed in front of Avery.

Now that she was planning to take Dylan out on the town, she felt that all-too-familiar anxiety.

Dylan didn't exactly mix well with her life here. He was like oil, threatening to taint her water-pure image. Thinking about walking next to him through the halls of Lake End made her heart rate increase, and she tried to take deep breaths to calm herself down as she sat on the couch and sipped her first cup of coffee.

On her phone, she opened her newspaper app. Before she even got the urge to scroll through the often-boring articles, the very first article caught her eye: "One More Local Business Catches Fire," by Heidi VanWinkle.

Last night around 2:47 a.m., police were alerted to a growing fire at Mountain Springs Endodontics. Firefighters arrived on the scene quickly, but the building suffered considerable damage. Dr. Galveston, Mountain Springs' only local endodontist, said he will need to shut down business until repairs are made. He has plans to refer his patients to out-of-town specialists.

Police have confirmed their suspicion that this arson attack is part of the string of attacks beginning last month. Three attacks have occurred, but no suspects have been released.

All three businesses that have been targeted are owned by people who live in the Lake End district.

Police have called in an arson investigator from Denver to support their investigation. No further details are available.

Despite having had only a half-cup of coffee, Ellie's newly increased heart rate made her feel over-caffeinated, and she poured the rest of her mug down the sink as she closed her newspaper app. Don't think about the arson, she told herself. Just make breakfast.

Still, she couldn't not think about the arson. Burning buildings and suffering businesses made her fears about being seen around town with Dylan seem so silly.

And the article had finally made it clear that all of the businesses that had been hit by blazes were owned by people with children attending Lake End Elementary. Clay owned a business, their family lived in the Lake End district, and Avery went to school at Lake End. Was the clock counting down until his business was targeted?

Stop, Ellie scolded herself. She pushed the thoughts from her mind and began to make breakfast.

Since Dylan and Clay got a ridiculous amount of fruit at the grocery store, she decided to make smoothie bowls for breakfast, blending frozen bananas with fresh mangoes, pineapple, strawberries, and vanilla extract. Then, she portioned the smoothie mix into bowls and put out toppings: granola, shredded coconut, pumpkin and chia seeds, raspberries, and cacao nibs for the kids.

The sounds of the blender seemed to wake the house up, because she heard her family beginning to stir.

Dylan was the first one into the kitchen. "Is this what people eat here?" Dylan asked, looking skeptical as he gazed into his smoothie bowl.

"It's what healthy people everywhere eat. Something about chewing your smoothie makes it better for you." She had no idea why this was or if it was even true, but she'd bought into the idea without doing actual research, mostly because the bowls looked pretty and Avery always ate healthier foods when he was involved in the creation of his own meal. Ellie felt the urge to take a picture of her bowl, maybe share it on social media to impress some of the other Lake End mothers she'd recently friended, parents who might think, Oh, look at Ellie, she's so talented and so crafty and such a good mother, too. On a second thought, she refrained: Dylan, who didn't do social media, would probably say something snarky. He just didn't understand her new life.

"I don't buy it," Dylan said about her smoothie-chewing factoid, but after mixing in some coconut and seeds, he gave Ellie a thumbs up. "This is pretty good."

Coming out of the master bedroom, Clay was dressed for work in a pair of nice jeans and a button up shirt. He grabbed a mug of coffee.

"Morning, sweetie," he told her, kissing her cheek. "Did you read the paper?"

Ellie nodded somberly.

"What is it?" Dylan asked.

"Somebody lit another business on fire last night," Ellie said.

"Seriously?"

"Seriously. And it's owned by yet another Lake Parent."

"Do they know a motive yet?"

"No. Does someone burning buildings really need a motive? It's probably a fucking psychopath."

"What's a psychopath, Mommy?" Avery asked, wandering into the kitchen in his pajamas, causing Ellie to realize she had just cussed in front of her child.

"It's nothing you to need worry about, my sweet pterodactyl," she said, sweeping him into her arms and pressing her lips against his cheek. He moved his face to kiss her on the lips, and she turned her head away. "Remember, sweetie, no lip kisses until germ season is over, okay?"

Clay frowned at her as he spooned some of his smoothie bowl into his mouth. He just didn't understand her no-kissing rule. Then he set his barely-eaten smoothie bowl on the counter, causing Ellie to frown. "I'm gonna go," he said, ignoring her look and turning to Avery. "Have fun at school!" He grabbed Avery to hug him, then he turned to Ellie and Dylan. "And good luck with the school stuff today."

"Thanks," Ellie told him, her tone sounding more upset than she meant it to.

Really, though, luck would be needed. The prospect of successful getting Talia into preschool worried her. Most of the daycares and preschools in Mountain Springs had massive waiting lists, so it was recommended to enroll your child a year before they would even start. But Dylan had just arrived three nights ago, and Talia needed to be signed up as soon as possible. If they couldn't find her a spot, she would more than likely wind up staying home with Ellie all day once Dylan found work. It wouldn't be the worst thing. Ellie wouldn't be able to put in as many hours at Clay's office, but she only worked around twenty hours a week anyway, all administrative work like payroll and scheduling meetings, most of which she could do from home. Still, with all of the housework, meal preparation, playdates, activities, and volunteer work, along with the things she liked to do for herself like working out and occasionally reading, she really didn't want to have Talia home with her all day, even though the girl was a sweetheart. Half-day preschool had brought Ellie her first breath of freedom, a reprieve from having a kid attached to her like a ball and chain, and full-day Kindergarten had brought her even more freedom. She wouldn't give it up so easily.

The first place Ellie planned for them to go in their search was Lake End. Having a relative at the school gave prospective parents an in, or so she'd heard, so maybe, since Avery went there, Talia would have a better chance of getting into the preschool.

After dropping Avery off at his kindergarten class, she, Dylan, and Talia made their way to Lake End's front office, and she felt relieved to avoid familiar faces who might wonder who she was with and why. She'd purposely brought her familial gang to school a bit early so that they could avoid other parents, and she applauded herself for that now.

At the front office, the administrative assistant at the front desk looked from her to Dylan and back again. Ellie ignored her questioning look and asked what the waitlist for preschool looked like. The assistant asked, "For this year, or next year?"

"This year."

The assistant shook her head. "Not good. I can put you on, but it seems like a lost cause at this point."

"Can she be bumped up since she has a relative who goes here? My son, Avery Vanderson?"

"Only if she's a sibling."

Ellie shook her head no, before having the woman add Talia to the end of the list anyway.

"Maybe it's a good thing," Dylan said, a slight smile on his face. "I mean, if the arsonist is targeting parents here..."

Ellie frowned at him. To be joking about arson the night after an attack? He seemed to understand his faux pas, and looked at her and the assistant apologetically. The assistant smiled, probably to ease his discomfort. The woman had to know how tasteless his comment had been.

They turned to leave the school office and ran into Trina on the threshold, who, as usual, seemed sparkly-eyed and ready to take on the world. Ellie startled for a moment, realizing her attempt to evade all familiar parents had failed, feeling her anxiety threatening to take over.

"Hello, Ellie! And you must be the son. Dylan?"

Clay had clearly told her about Dylan's move. That made Ellie feel slightly better, as it saved her from having to explain the situation herself. "That's me," Dylan answered.

"And your daughter?"

"Talia."

"Hello, sweetie. Don't you look like a strong warrior." Trina had the feminism thing down. Having two daughters of her own, she knew the first comment a little girl should hear shouldn't be that she was cute or pretty.

But Dylan had the feminism thing down even more, whether he was aware of it or not. He'd never pierced Talia's ears before she was able to consent as a way of differentiating her from the little boys. He bought her superhero clothes instead of pink dresses, at her request. And he let her cut her hair short. Avery thought Talia was the coolest girl ever.

Accepting the warrior compliment with a smile, Talia stuck her belly out so everyone could admire her Ninja Turtle t-shirt.

Ellie needed to introduce Trina to Dylan, per social etiquette. "This is Trina," she said politely. "Your dad helps her coach soccer."

"Don't be so shy, Ellie," Trina said in her milk-smooth voice. "You help me out, too. The book fair would've been a wreck without you last week."

Ellie smiled, even though she sensed exaggeration in the compliment. If anything, the bookfair had had too many mothers helping, and Ellie's most successful role had been managing them all.

"So, what are the three of you up to today?" Trina asked, looking at Dylan, eyeing him with a little too much interest, but Ellie couldn't blame her. Dylan was interesting. A younger version of his dad, but with lighter features that came from his mom: lighter hair, lighter skin, lighter eyes; some people weren't even aware he was indigenous. He was more hardened than his dad, though, with the kinds of muscles that came from manual labor, not exercise equipment. Rough hands with calloused fingers. Tattoos running up and down his arms, and with the day's warm temperature, he was showing them off. Clay and his ex-wife had never let Dylan get tattoos before he turned eighteen, but Talia's mom had been a tattoo artist, so she'd given him a collection during their brief time together. No masterpieces in Ellie's opinion, but they did make him stand out. Trina studied them right then, probably sizing Dylan up.

"We're trying to find a preschool for Talia," Dylan told Trina, taking in her curious gaze with a smile that made Ellie want to roll her eyes. "This was our first stop. No luck."

"Why don't you let me try to pull a few strings? I'll call you if I have any luck."

"Sure. What's your number?"

Showing off her bleached teeth, Trina told Dylan her number, and then he called her right away so she would have his. After his call had gone through, she told him, "Well, I need to go help the Kinders with their reading time. Expect a call from me in a bit!" Waving, she strolled out of the office in her Columbia hiking boots.

As they left, Ellie wondered how many strings Trina was capable of pulling. Maybe several. Trina did a lot for Lake End, after all, serving as president of LEPO; a rumor that her family donated a sizable portion of money to the school had also floated through the school hallways. "Let's not get our hopes up," she told Dylan, but her hopes were up. That Trina had taken such an interest in her family made Ellie happy, even though she'd been nearly rolling her eyes just moments before. This attention from Trina was surely attention Lana would envy.

"Do all the moms here look like that?" Dylan asked. Ellie knew he was talking about her boobs, so she rolled her eyes for real and hit him in the arm, which made him smile at her the way he used to.

"Hitting isn't nice," said Talia, crossing her arms.

Ellie's eyes went wide with the realization of what she had done. "I'm so sorry! You're very right, sweetheart. I made a very bad choice. Hitting is not nice, and it's never allowed." She looked around frantically to make sure no one had seen her.

"Relax, Elle; it's fine," Dylan said, almost like he was embarrassed by her embarrassment. "You were just being playful."

"Dylan, you don't understand. There was a hitting incident here recently. We need to take it seriously."

Dylan rolled his eyes because he just didn't understand, and Ellie frowned to herself, realizing that having him here was not a good thing for her, not at all. He made her too relaxed, made her forget things and revert to old ways. She had a new life here, and she needed to act accordingly, especially in the public eye.

Dylan was like a mud print on her pristine white carpet, and that made her feel queasy.