Home to Eden by SCHULZE DALLAS

Author:SCHULZE, DALLAS [SCHULZE, DALLAS]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Brothers
Publisher: Don Mills, Ont. : MIRA Books
Published: 1997-09-21T04:00:00+00:00

rlollow-eyed and pale, Kate watched the sun creep through a crack in the curtains and slice a pale gold path across the bedroom carpet. When the thin blade of light slid across the foot of her bed, she stirred sluggishly and crawled out of bed with movements as stiff and slow as an old woman's.

She went into the bathroom and followed her morning routine as if on autopilot, washing her face and brushing her teeth without once looking at herself in the mirror. It wasn't until she was pulling her hair from her face that she caught a glimpse of her reflection. Meeting her own eyes, she felt her fingers start to tremble and she jerked the elastic-covered band into place, ignoring the stinging pain when it pulled at her scalp. She looked away quickly,

afraid that the past twenty-four hours might have left visible changes.

In her bedroom, she dressed carelessly, pulling on sweatpants and a worn gray sweatshirt. Though she knew the chill she felt came from inside, not out, she pulled on a sweater, tugging it close around her as she went into the kitchen.

She measured coffee into the filter and pushed the button to start the water heating, then moved automatically to check the plants that filled the bump-out window behind the kitchen sink. The window had been one of the reasons she'd chosen to rent the small apartment. She pinched off a few faded leaves and tipped a little water into one or two pots, soothed by the simple tasks.

She'd be able to have a real garden after she and Gareth—

The tenuous calm vanished in an instant. Kate dropped her hand to the counter, her fingers curling into a fist. Gareth. The thought of him sent a lancing pain through her heart. How could she have betrayed him so completely? Guilt twisted her stomach into knots, and she closed her eyes against the burning ache of tears. It was too late for tears. They couldn't change what she'd done. What she and Nick had done.

Nick. His name triggered a flood of memories— him kneeling beside Matthew, power flowing from him. The pain in his eyes when he spoke of his wife

and child. The taste of his mouth, the feel of his hands—

Kate's eyes snapped open. Her hand was shaking as she took a mug from the cabinet and filled it with coffee. She wasn't going to think about that ever again. Or about him.

Sitting at the table, she wrapped her hands around the mug, trying to absorb its warmth into her. But the chill she felt was bone deep and it spread throughout her body in a slow, icy tide. Trembling, she pushed the cup away, folded her arms on the table and let her head drop to them as the tears began to fall.

What had she done?

As far as Nick could see, the one immutable law was that life went on. No matter what happened— good, bad or indifferent—the sun still rose every morning and the world kept on turning.

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