Plain Cover-Up. Alison Stone

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СКАЧАТЬ let someone get away with it. The familiar, mocking voice threaded its way through her brain, not helping her headache. Not one bit.

      This is not about me, her rational voice countered. This is about Naomi.

      Determined not to let her doubts pull her off course, Naomi drove toward the barn then wondered if she had gotten turned around. She wasn’t exactly the queen of directions. A car with an attached trailer sat in the driveway. It wasn’t until Christina drove past that she saw the unmistakable Sold sign and the barn behind it.

      Her pulse raced in her ears and her mouth went dry.

      Ignoring all the alarm bells in her head, Christina slowed to a near crawl. The front door was propped open, as if movers were bringing in boxes. Her heart raced as she heard Dylan’s stern warning not to do any investigating on her own. Then anger seeped in to replace her anxiousness. What right did he have to tell her what to do?

      What harm could it do to knock on the door and welcome new neighbors to the small town? People still did that right? She had never done it, but people did. Indecision had her shifting her foot from the brake to the accelerator.

      Go to work.

      Go. Go. Go.

      No. No. No.

      Before she had a chance to overthink it, she glanced in the side mirror, the rearview mirror and over her shoulder, then made a sharp U-turn. She slowed and turned into the driveway and parked next to the trailer and climbed out.

      As she approached the house, she promised herself she wouldn’t go inside, instead staying out in the bright sunlight. What could happen out here? She knew better, but she couldn’t stop herself. Naomi’s sweet face flashed in her mind. She had to do this for Naomi.

      Christina hadn’t yet figured out exactly what she’d say when a frail woman appeared in the doorway, her head wrapped in colorful fabric. The woman came up short, surprise evident on her pale face. She hadn’t been expecting anyone.

      “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.” Christina smiled, suddenly feeling foolish.

      The woman’s skin seemed translucent. Dark shadows marred the skin under her eyes. The vibrancy of her blue eyes wasn’t diminished by the lack of lashes or brows. The pretty scarf hid what was no doubt a bald head. A hesitant smile graced the woman’s thin lips. “May I help you?”

      Christina blinked rapidly. Not planning ahead hadn’t been a good idea. It was so unlike her. She had always planned ahead. College. Med School. Clinic in Apple Creek.

      Check. Check. Check.

      Yet here she was, gesturing awkwardly toward her car, partially hidden by the trailer. “I was driving by the house and noticed someone was moving in. I thought I’d stop by and welcome you to Apple Creek.” She really wished she had thought to stop by the diner to pick up one of Flo’s pies or something. Well, truth be told, she hadn’t expected to see cars in the driveway or to stop when she had.

      “Thank you.” The woman’s reply came out more like a question.

      “My name’s Christina Jennings. I’m a physician at the healthcare clinic in town.”

      The woman nodded slowly, as if she was still trying to figure out what this woman was doing in her front yard. “Any relation to Nick Jennings?”

      “Yes.” Christina smiled. “He’s my brother.”

      “Small town, right? I knew him from way back when. Actually my husband knew him. My name’s Linda, by the way.”

      Before Christina had a chance to ask her more questions, Linda descended the steps and crossed over to the trailer. The back doors were yawning open. The woman reached in and slid a box toward the edge of the trailer and stopped. “I’m sorry, but I don’t have time to chat. I have a lot of work to do.”

      Christina glanced toward the house, wondering if this woman was alone. “Can I help?”

      The woman blinked slowly. “No, thank you.” She leaned her hip on the back of the trailer, as if the short walk had drained her. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be rude. I’m tired and there’s so much to do. My son and his father are supposed to help me, but apparently there’s some work to be done on the mechanicals in the basement.” She lifted a thin shoulder. “Figures the first thing we realized this morning was there was no hot water.” She frowned. “We had some work done on the house for the past few months. Then we moved a lot of the big stuff in last week, but we had cleaning and the rest of the packing to finish before we could completely move in. It’s been a long road, but we’re almost there...” She drew in a deep breath, then exhaled. “And I’m tired.” She shook her head and gave a weary smile. “Wow, didn’t mean to unload on a complete stranger.”

      Compassion warmed Christina’s heart. “Moving is a lot of work. I moved not long ago myself.” She remembered the cleaning and the sorting and the lifting, and she had been healthy. Christina couldn’t imagine the strain on top of a serious illness.

      “Had you moved away from Apple Creek?”

      “Oh, no, I just recently relocated a little farther out into the country. I like the space.” Christina didn’t mention that she grew up in the large house on the escarpment. Her parents’ sprawling estate was a landmark of sorts in town, an oddity. However, depending on how well Linda knew her brother, she might already know all that. “How about you? What brings you to Apple Creek?”

      A shaky hand went to the woman’s head covering. “My son, Matty, and I lived only ten minutes away. We were in a rental. His father—” there was something about the way she said “his father” and not “my husband” that was very telling, or maybe Christina was reading too much into it “—recently got a job in Apple Creek.” She held out her palm. “So here we are. Looks like we’ll be here for a while.”

      “I hope you enjoy your new home.” Christina shrugged off a vague sense that she used to know this woman.

      Linda looked around, as if tuning into her surroundings for the first time. “All this space...this far out in the country. It’ll take some getting used to.” Her words had a wistful tone. “It seems so remote.”

      Christina found her opening. “Well, there’s another reason I stopped by.”

      “Oh?” Worry lines creased Linda’s eyes.

      “Was anyone in your barn last night?”

      “No.” Her answer seemed too abrupt. “Why do you ask?”

      “Oh, it’s just...well...” Christina stammered. She never stammered. Her comment to Dylan last night that she wasn’t some cartoon-character sleuth was about to come back to haunt her. That’s exactly how she was acting. Unprepared. Foolish. Babbling. “I was driving by here and I thought I saw some activity by the barn.”

      Linda frowned. “I’m not aware of anything, but I didn’t stay here. We arrived this morning.”

      “Did your husband or son stay here?”

      She hesitated for a moment and the color heightened in her cheeks. “No, we were too busy packing for the big move.” Linda stifled a yawn. “The move is wearing me out. I really need to get СКАЧАТЬ