The Secret Next Door by Rebecca Taylor

Author:Rebecca Taylor
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Published: 2021-09-18T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Three

For late November in Colorado, the days were unseasonably warm. But as soon as the sun dipped below the Rocky Mountains to the west, the temperatures slid with it. Alyson had remembered her coat and a scarf, but several gusts of wind caused her to stop halfway down her street, reach for the bottom of her parka, and zip it up.

All the yards were brown now. The bright petunias, delphiniums, and climbing clematis were long dead. Even the fall mums had turned from their soft yellow, orange, and maroon to brittle bushels of kindling. Only the dark greens of the evergreens and juniper bushes kept the neighborhood from falling into a complete landscaping despair.

Alyson hadn’t been to Jessica’s house since book club night in late September. The night before Elijah’s body was found. Bonnie had been there too—but she hadn’t stayed long.

The thought stopped Alyson on the corner of Jessica’s street. Why had Bonnie left early that night? She wondered if Jessica knew.

She made her way up the Hamptons’ beautiful brick walkway. It was impossible not to think about her own barren and unadorned front yard and entrance. Its utilitarian concrete path and six unremarkable rose bushes. Afterthoughts planted by the builder. Once again, Alyson was reminded that while she did indeed live in the same neighborhood as the Hamptons and Sloans, there was still a Grand Canyon of economic difference between them.

She would love to add landscape lighting, have a professional design, and plant her annuals, tastefully decorate both the inside and the front of her home for every holiday—but they couldn’t afford it.

She thought again of their current credit card statement, maxed out with furniture, kitchenware, and things she had felt they were unable to live without. The size of the number now felt permanently lodged in her esophagus—she could neither swallow it nor force it back up.

She reached for Jessica’s video doorbell, but a voice stopped her. “I seeeee you,” Jessica laughed. “Just come in—it’s open. I’m in the family room.”

Alyson, aware that she was being watched, smiled big as she reached for the door handle. She mentally added a whole-home video surveillance system to her list of modern home accoutrements she and Justin could not afford.

She navigated Jessica’s expansive entrance and main hall, passing the perfectly lit artwork and accent tables that meticulously displayed silver-framed family photos, decorative candles, and manicured potted plants. Jessica was exactly where she said she’d be, lounging on her custom cream leather sectional, a glass of red wine in hand, and her thin legs curled up beneath her. She had a light-gray chenille throw draped over her lap.

“Hello there,” she greeted Alyson. She didn’t bother to unfurl herself, but she did motion for Alyson to take a seat near her where another pale blue throw was folded and ready, should Alyson decide to use it. Alyson navigated around the long end of the sectional, slipped off her Toms, and sank back into the cushions that were neither too soft nor too firm.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.