The House of Last Resort by Christopher Golden

Author:Christopher Golden
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: St. Martin's Publishing Group

BOOK TWO

OCTOBER BELOW

1

October began with the kind of weather that made it feel glorious just to be alive. Early that morning, the breeze rustling the curtains had felt chilly, and by noon, the temperature had only risen to seventy-four degrees. Kate sat in her home office, sipping her third cup of coffee, contemplating the project she’d been working on since starting back to work two weeks before.

Before they had moved, she had worried that the time difference between Sicily and Boston would cause endless anxiety and frustration, keeping her out of the loop when it came to urgent matters and irritating her employers. Instead, she had never felt so relaxed about her job. Most mornings, she sat down at her desk around 8:30, took a ninety-minute lunch hour, and wrapped up at 5:00 p.m., when the team back in Boston had only been at work for two hours. There were frequent Zoom meetings at the end of her workday, so everyone could be sure they were on the same page, but otherwise, she was left to her own devices. In an emergency, they could always call her, but so far, that had only happened once.

It was bliss.

Her phone buzzed, drawing her attention away from her computer screen.

Belinda calling.

Kate leaned back in her chair as she answered the phone. “Is it that time already?”

“What do you mean ‘already’? It’s oh-my-god-o’clock back here, but I’ve dragged my ass out of bed for you.”

“I think we’ll both be glad you did,” Kate replied.

“Fine. I just want you to know I’m pouting.”

“Oh, I can hear your pout halfway round the world.”

They had gotten into this new routine together. At home—though Kate kept chiding herself to stop thinking of Boston as “home”—Belinda would drag her butt out of bed at 6:00 a.m., drink coffee, use the toilet, and force herself into workout clothes. By six thirty—half past noon in Sicily—she would call Kate, and the two of them would go for a walk together.

“How’s the weather there?” Kate asked as she popped her AirPods into her ears.

“Oh, go fuck yourself,” Belinda replied.

Laughing, Kate slipped her phone into the pocket of her shorts, patted the other pockets to make sure she had her house key, and then trotted downstairs and out the front door.

“Come on,” she said. “I love October in New England.”

“Yeah, October is beautiful. All the autumn foliage, sweater weather, pumpkin spice everything. But it’s gray and wet and cold this morning, and I’m too grumpy to go out for a walk this early. It’s lunchtime for you—”

“It’s also seventy-five degrees with a nice, dry breeze and not a cloud in the sky,” Kate interrupted.

“Now you’re just being mean.” Belinda’s breathing grew a bit labored from effort. She had started her own walk.

“Hey, you could move here anytime you like. There are empty houses just waiting for you.”

“Don’t start.”

The two of them had gotten into this rhythm when Belinda began to complain about weight she had gained and that she didn’t have the discipline to lose it without help.

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