Just a Breath Away by Carlene Thompson

Author:Carlene Thompson [Carlene Thompson]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Severn House Publishers
Published: 2018-01-17T16:00:00+00:00

TEN

Kelsey applied another coat of mascara, blinked rapidly to dry it, then leaned back to look at her face in her vanity mirror. Was it because she hadn’t applied concealer on the dark circles under her eyes, or did she really look at least five years older than she had two weeks ago?

‘I do look older, concealer or not,’ she said aloud. ‘I look more than five years older.’ She turned her gaze toward Gatsby, who always lounged on the vanity devotedly watching her apply makeup. ‘A month ago, I would’ve been disturbed that I look older. Now I’m glad. Brad Fairbourne used to tell me I’m cold and unfeeling. He wouldn’t look at me now and think I could lose Lori and Grandfather without a shadow on my face.’

Kelsey applied some blush to her unusually pale cheeks. She didn’t care about looking pretty. She only wanted to look normal, to act normal, although her sister had lain on top of her bleeding to death from a stranger’s bullets; even though she’d watched her grandfather running from the inferno of a barn he’d loved and fall ablaze with fire writhing in front her. No, she knew she would never feel normal again, but she could at least give the appearance of being normal. That she could do until they discovered who had caused the deaths of beautiful Lorelei and darling Grandfather Vaden.

Half an hour later, she entered the office of MG Interiors with a smile and said an overly loud ‘Good morning!’ to Giles Miller, with his lean porcelain-skinned face and blonde wavy hair falling halfway over his forehead. He looked at her with surprise.

‘How’s your mother doing, Giles?’

‘Not at all well,’ he said despondently. ‘If you remember, she has another operation scheduled for next week. Wednesday.’

‘Oh, yes, you did tell me.’ At the moment, Kelsey couldn’t remember Mrs Miller’s health problems – only that she seemed to have a new one every few weeks. ‘You’ll take Wednesday and the rest of the week off. She’ll need you. Of course I’m hoping for the best!’ Giles’s pale blue gaze went cold and Kelsey realized she sounded exuberant and insincere. ‘Wish her well from me. From all of us.’

‘Thank you,’ Giles said stiffly.

He stared at her and she decided to abandon the subject. ‘What are you working on?’

‘The Barrett lap pool and fire pit. You assigned that to me.’

‘Oh! I guess I did. If you’d rather not do it …’

‘I’m happy to do it. I’ve already made a lot of progress.’

‘OK. I’m a little absent-minded, Giles. Please forgive me.’

His genteel face softened and he smiled. ‘It’s understandable, Kelsey. We all sympathize with what you’ve gone through lately. I hope you got my flowers for the … well, services.’ He flushed. ‘I couldn’t attend. Mother needed me. But I felt so bad for you.’

Kelsey suddenly felt like she was going to cry. ‘We got the flowers. They were beautiful. Thank you, Giles.’

She wanted to say more but tears were already rising in her eyes.

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