A New Light by Katie Winters

Author:Katie Winters
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Katie Winters

Chapter Fourteen

Kristine slept like a log in the guest room. Thick, hand-knitted blankets wrapped around her, and fluffy pillows cradled her tired head. At various times through the night, she woke up to the memory of Patrick’s sexual harassment lawsuit— and she clutched the blankets, weeping until exhaustion took over and allowed her to sleep. New York City was graciously miles and miles away. It was like a monster she’d left behind.

The next morning, an eggshell blue sky stretched for miles and miles above the glittering snow. Kristine and Kim sat in the kitchen and gazed out at it, mesmerized at the stillness of the land and the glorious sky. It was true that in the city, Kristine so often missed the bigness of the sky, as it was normally punctuated with skyscrapers. Once upon a time, she’d thought skyscrapers were beautiful. What had she been thinking?

Kristine made coffee and cinnamon rolls, and together, Kim and Kristine feasted, warming their insides as the radio played Shania Twain, Alanis Morrissette, and Ace of Base. Kristine checked online to see that the roads had been cleared in downtown Bar Harbor, but that the crew hadn’t made it quite this far out yet. They would soon, probably by late afternoon.

“Jennifer’s texting me every three minutes,” Kim complained with a laugh. “She thinks I’m probably dead by now.”

“She doesn’t trust me, I take it?” Kristine asked, taking their plates to the dishwasher.

“She doesn’t trust anyone,” Kim affirmed. “But she needed time off from me. I love her to pieces, but she can be overbearing— and I don’t take kindly to that. I might have snapped at her a few times.”

“You’ve been through a lot. You’re allowed to be in a bad mood here and there.”

A knock came from the front door. Kristine snapped the dishwasher closed and hustled to answer it, knowing it could only be one person. Sure enough, when she opened it, Robbie stood, broad and firm and all bundled up in the doorway. In his hands, he held another Tupperware, this time filled with brownies and blondies. His smile was welcoming and warm.

“Good morning! Quite a storm last night!” His voice echoed through the house.

“Uh oh. He brought more food, Kim!” Kristine took the Tupperware and opened the door wider so he could enter.

He kicked off his boots and removed his coat, which he hung up to dry. “The snow is beautiful out there. The drive from my place was a dream.”

“I can only imagine!” Kim called from the kitchen. “Now, get in here, so I don’t have to yell across the house.”

Robbie cackled and practically skipped into the kitchen. Kristine had never seen a grown man skip like that before. She followed after him, watching as he dipped down to hug Kim hello.

“Pour yourself a mug of coffee and sit down,” Kim ordered.

“Aye, aye, captain.” Robbie reached for a mug in the cabinet and joined Kim at the table. His smile waned slightly as he said, “I’m afraid I have some bad news.

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.