The Twilight Wife by A.J. Banner

Author:A.J. Banner
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Touchstone

“Move over, Angelina Jolie,” Jacob says, looking at me as he drives up to the Phelpses’ farm on Dream’s End Lane. “Kyra Winthrop’s in the house.”

“But where is Brad?” I say, grinning.

His face falls. “Damn. We’re history.”

“Anyway, you’re way better-looking than Brad Pitt.”

He smiles. “My name is better, too.”

Twilight spreads across the horizon in a strip of bright orange. I’m in jeans, black boots, a soft beige knit sweater, and simple silver earrings. When I emerged from the shower, Jacob had laid out these clothes on the bed for me. I’m holding the casserole in a glass baking dish warming my lap.

“Seriously, am I fancy enough?” I say. “I mean, I love the sweater you chose for me, but . . .”

“You’re perfect. What about me?” He’s a step up from casual in gray flannel trousers, black turtleneck sweater, and black shoes.

“Perfect,” I say. “Better than Brad, like I said.”

As he drives up to the garage, the sweet smell of freshly cut grass fills me with a deep ache of nostalgia. I’ve been here before, smelling the grass, gazing through the trees at the welcoming lights of the farmhouse.

As Jacob parks beside Van’s truck, Nancy comes out onto the porch, waves at us, and descends the steps, holding her fuzzy white sweater close around her. Van strides out after her in a black T-shirt and jeans, surrounded by two leaping black Labrador retrievers.

Jacob lifts my hand to his lips and kisses my wedding ring. He squeezes my hand, the way he squeezed my hand on the deck of the ferry as the island came into view. I remember now. There was no wind in the harbor. It was early summer. He took my hand and slipped a wedding band on my finger, made of hammered gold.

What’s this? I gasped in delight and bewilderment.

To replace the one you lost.

Jacob . . . Tears of joy and confusion blurred my vision. The ring was gorgeous but a little loose.

You used to be a six, he said.

Only a half size off. I turned my new gold wedding band around and around on my finger. I was brimming with hope, worry, and trepidation. I thought our wild trip to the island might be the biggest mistake of my life.

“Kyra, come on.” Jacob is standing next to the truck at the Phelpses’ house, waiting for me to get out. Nancy rushes down the porch steps, and the next few minutes pass in a haze of hugs, greetings, and the dogs weaving around our legs, their tails wagging. Nancy introduces them as Salt and Pepper.

In the house, the dogs flop on the rug in front of the woodstove in the corner, their tails thumping.

In the spacious living room, Van’s tending the fire. He smiles at me, his expression betraying nothing of what we discussed when he visited. Nancy disappears into the kitchen and returns with a plate of deviled eggs and raw veggies. “Appetizers. Help yourselves.”

“Wine?” Van says, putting a bottle of white on the table and popping the cork.

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