Ember's eyes popped open with a look of surprise and mild terror.  The flight attendant was trying to get her attention gently, but ran headlong into her dream like a cheery bulldozer with a southern accent.<br/><br/>"Ms. Brantley, I'm sorry to wake you, but you'll need to put your tray table and seat back up. We'll be landing soon."<br/><br/>Ember looked at her and tried not to frown.  Before she boarded the plane in Vegas she had been awake for 36 straight hours and she was pretty damn tired.  She and some friends owned Prometheus Lighting and Signs and they had had a big display to finish and install.  The hot new hotel had a hot new club and she and her team were lucky to get the gig.  For months, they crafted the wall to wall neon that served as the centerpiece of the design scheme.  They put the finishing touches in just moments before the opening night party got underway.<br/><br/>And party she did.  Shot after shot.  Smoke after smoke.  People were in awe of her work. People wanted to get close to her like moths to a flame.  People also jumped back like they were burned as soon as she took an interest.  So, in general, she chose not to be interested by people.<br/><br/>The only person that never let her down had been her grandmother.  She was warm sunshine on your face, the smell of baked goods and curling up with a thick blanket and a good book in front of a fire all rolled into one.  While Ember's mom asked, "When are you going to focus on studying something useful and get a real job?", Grandma Hazel thought that her interest in glass blowing was perfect.  If her mom hadn't wanted her to be fascinated by flashy signage, then maybe she shouldn't have moved them to Vegas.  Sneaking into clubs since she was 15 hadn't hurt either when it came to her love of neon.<br/><br/>Ember braced for the plane's descent and was glad when it stuck the landing and taxi'ed to the terminal.  She grabbed her bags, journeyed to the rental car village and picked up the keys to the small SUV whose penalty she either would or would not have to pay due to the smell of smoke she would probably leave behind.<br/><br/>She left the airport, got on the highway and let memories, instinct, and okay, a little GPS, guide her to her destination.  Her grandmother died before she could tell her they had got the job.  She missed the funeral.  Mom and her sisters were pretty pissed that the house had been left to some mysterious trust.  She promised herself she would go back and visit grandma's place one more time when things slowed down.  Once she knew the date of the club's opening, she booked a flight for the next day.  She didn't know she would be a hot mess in desperate need of sleep, but she woke up more and more as she smoked and took the winding roads that led her<em>home.</em><br/><br/>Every summer she and her cousins met up at grandma's when they were kids.  She stayed there off and on at other times as well.  Her mom was flakey and didn't<em>settle down</em>in Vegas until she was almost a teenager.  Until then, home was grandma's house.  And she needed to go home.<br/><br/>She was getting close.<em>Over the river, and through the woods as grandmother's house we near, no one asks about school, no one thinks I'm a fool, no one questions my career…</em>OK, that's not how the song goes, but it might as well have.  She was thinking about grandma and feeling lonely when the house came into view.  She wasn't sure what she expected when she turned into the driveway, but it wasn't a welcoming party of leather and lace.  Who the hell was this?<br/><br/>Then they all turned to her and stared.  Raine?  Gale?  And who was the guy in the hat?<br/><br/>Confused, she got out of the car and went over to the group.  Raine threw her arms around her.  Gale looked surprised, then gave her a big cheesy grin and she turned to include him in the cousin love fest underway.  The guy in the hat cleared his throat and stared expectantly.  He finally got their full attention and said, "Good, now that you're all here, we can begin."<br/>