Beyond the Quiet: Romantic Thriller Read Online Free

with the moving car, I dug in my purse for my card. “I’d be happy to show you something else, if you’ll—”
    “No thanks.” Reaching the street, she spun the car around and took off without another word.
    I stared after the disappearing car. Some strange people in this world.
     

Chapter Three
     
    By the time I pulled my white Toyota onto my driveway, I was so relieved I almost cried. No more nicey-nice faces, no more screaming children. Just a quiet evening with a good book and a nice soak in my oversized tub.
    My condo was actually a two-story townhouse in Upper Yucaipa, and the back of the building faced the San Bernardino Mountains. My unit, the end one, had an unrestricted view. Oh, how Mac had loved it. When we first toured the property, he got as far as the patio and waited while I checked out the rest of the rooms. I think it could have been gutted and he wouldn’t have cared as long as he could see the mountains.
    Today, they were spectacular.
    In the growing dusk, a tinge of blue shaded the snow-capped peaks as they pushed their way through a layer of wispy clouds. Beautiful and mysterious, they rode the sky like a jagged island of bluish-white, standing miles above foothills lost in a sea of fog.
    During his last months, Mac had often asked me to help him to the patio where he’d sit and gaze endlessly at the mountains. Savoring the beauty today, I took a deep breath and wished with all my heart that he could be there to share it with me. This has to be for you, Mac, I silently told him, hoping that from somewhere, he could still see the view that he had so loved.
    Inside, I tossed my briefcase on the wing chair, kicked off my shoes, and padded barefoot into the kitchen. I poured a tall glass of Diet Coke and looked at my watch. Shanna should be home by now. Talking to her so soon after that awkward scene at the airport would be tough, but I wouldn’t be able to relax until I’d made sure she and Kyle had arrived in Minneapolis safely.
    Downing a full glass of soda and wishing it gave courage, even false courage, I punched the numbers.
    “Hi sweetheart. Get home okay?”
    “Of course.” Her tone was stilted, her words clipped.
    There was an awkward pause and I could hear the slight hum of the wires. I longed to beg her to understand, but something, pride, perhaps, kept me silent.
    “How did Kyle like the trip?”
    “He was wide awake,” she answered, her voice a little warmer, “but the woman in the seat next to me gave him all her attention. He loved it.” She asked me about the house, and I tried to sound natural as I told her about the afternoon, but we soon ended the call. I think we both wanted to avoid excha nging harsh words.
    Was I doing the right thing? In trying not to be a burden, was I causing Shanna more pain? Thinking back to our conversation at the airport, she’d s eemed to be pleading with me to make the move now. But why? Her marriage was secure, and since she’d given birth to Kyle, she had the complete family she had always wanted. An intruding widowed mother was something she didn’t need.
    Slipping off my jacket, I hung it in the closet next to the others, arranged in blacks, grays, and navy blues. Off to the side, price tags intact, was the red blazer Mac had encouraged me to buy two years ago. After a year, he finally gave up trying to get me to wear it.
    But jewelry was something else. How I loved artificial diamonds and rhinestones, and the bigger the stone, the better. Mac had teased me about my gaudy taste, but I loved watching the sparkling reds, blues and yellows, always reminding me of the magic of long-ago fairy tales where, no matter what had happened, the main character wound up living happily ever after.
    I pulled the cotton shell over my head and shrugged out of my bra. My nipples puckered at the sudden change and I lightly massaged them, savoring the luxurious feel of freedom.
    The last couple of years Mac had pestered me to leave off my bra. Finally