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"And while I was here, I thought I’d see how you were doing"

"I’m busy," she returned stiffly "Actually, I have a datethe truth, but Steve had asked her out, and even if it wasn’t possible that evening, she would eventually be seeing hie Christian didn’t see "With whom?"

"Not that it’s any of your business, but he’s an old friend of my husband’s" She turned her back to him and removed her jacket

His smile had vanished when she turned around "Does this so-called friend have a name?"

"Of course he has a name What’s the matter, don’t you believe me?"

"I believe you," he said, and looked away as Susannah stepped up to the counter and gave him back his credit card

"Thank you for your order, Mr Dempsey I’ll make sure the flowers are lovely"

She spoke with a little more enthusiasm than Colette deemed strictly necessary

"Thank you," he said, and shot Colette an enigmatic smile that she puzzled over for days

CHAPTER 9

"When e and sner and instructor

Lydia Goetz

B rad and I invited Matt and Margaret over for dinner on the first Sunday in March It was ht of it After Julia’s attack, Margaret still wasn’t the same Julia herself was back in school but refused to talk about what had happened, even to her h the roof; everyone had to walk around it and pretend it wasn’t there At any hint or , Julia disappeared into her rooed her iPod into her ears and zoned out for hours on end

I knew this couldn’t be healthy and I was afraid Margaret’s response wasn’t, either My sister wanted revenge and she wanted it badly enough to hound the authorities day and night

I’d hoped that an evening out with Brad and er, at least for a few hours Every day she arrived at work tense and angry, snapping at me without provocation Just that week, I’d asked her a simple question about an order I’d had her place for circular knitting needles and she’d yelled atshe was a responsible adult and I’d made her feel like a child I hardly kne to respond to the unreasonableness of her attack Thankfully, no customers were in the shop at the ti and then cooking We ood team on the domestic front--and in every other way My husband’s a rill chicken Ia recipe Taiven me It has jalapeño in the mayonnaise, which provides a little kick In addition to the potato salad, I doctored up baked beans with brown sugar and mustard and baked a carrot cake for dessert It’s Cody’s favorite

Unfortunately, it was still too early in the year to bring out the picnic table, so we planned to eat indoors Our goal was a carefree, festive evening in the hope that Margaret and Matt would relax and enjoy the under control by the tiaret almost every day, I was shocked by her appearance when she stepped into the house that afternoon Outside the fagard Margaret looked She’s physically bigger than I aood four to five inches taller than ht and sturdily built Cohtened her over the years Even when Matt was unemployed for months she kept it hidden fro was perfectly fine at home Only when they were about to lose their house did she reveal that anything rong

That wasn’t the case now The dark circles under Margaret’s eyes betrayed her inability to sleep She’d lost weight, too, and her pants hung loose around her waist

After hanging up their coats, I hugged Margaret "I’aret’s direction, and I had the feeling that at the last ed to change her mind, but I was relieved he had

"The chicken’s on the grill," Brad said, shaking hands with Matt and hugging Margaret I loved him all the more for the ay he welco, but she’s been in the kitchen most of the afternoon"

"You’ll see," I teased and we shared a s

"How about a beer?" Brad offered Matt and the two ot a bottle of chardonnay froaret and me Cody ith a friend for the day and wouldn’t be back until later After investigating as at the door, Chase, Cody’s golden retriever, had returned to his bed in Cody’s rooaret asked

"You could set the table" I had the plates, napkins, silverware and glasses ready All Margaret had to do was carry the

"Would you mind if I called home first?"

"Of course not"

She excused herself and hurried into the other roo to Julia, her tone anxious as she checked on her daughter’s safety Were the doors locked? she asked The s? Had she turned the oven off? Julia uard over her, and yet I’