The Edge of the Light Read Online Free

d’you guys do?”
    â€œMe and Mrs. Kinsale? Nothing much. Talk mostly. Or we play with her dogs.”
    He frowned. “It’s sort of strange, you ask me.”
    â€œI like her, Der. I can learn from her.” She saw his expression shift, and she knew at once what worried him. She added, “I’ve never told her. Or anyone else.”
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œYou know. You. Rejoice. And,” she added hastily, because she knew very well that he didn’t want to go there a second time inone day, “if I bring it up with you, it’s only because I think you’re going to be bummed out until you make everything right.”
    â€œBy doing what?”
    â€œBy telling the truth.”
    He looked at Diana’s house for a long moment and then back at her. She could sense tension in him, but the AUD box prevented her from hearing his thoughts. He said with his dark eyes grown even darker, “That works for everyone, don’t you think, Becca?”
    Indeed it did. She held her own secrets close. She left them unspoken to nearly everyone, including to Derric, whom she loved. She knew there should only be truth between them, but she’d told herself since the day she’d met him that it was because she wanted to protect Derric Mathieson that she did not tell him what had brought her to Whidbey.
    â€¢Â â€¢Â â€¢
    BECCA GAVE DERRIC a final wave as he reversed the Forester and then drove back to town. She would, she’d told him, take the island bus to get home. Easy peasy to do that, she’d said. He replied with “Nothing’s easy, Becca,” but he’d kissed her, fondly touched her cheek, and kissed her again.
    She went to Diana Kinsale’s front door, removing the AUD box’s earbud from her ear and removing the box itself from her waist. The device would not be necessary.
    She saw that lights were on in the house, and when she rang the bell, Diana’s dogs began barking. Through the window, Becca saw four of them charge from the sunroom through the livingroom and into the entry. They were followed by a stately black poodle who, as ever, did not join in their raucous greeting. From somewhere within, Becca heard Diana’s voice calling out. The barking dogs fell silent. Diana, she realized, had been working with them.
    She tried the door. It was unlocked, as usual. She called out, “It’s me,” and was immediately surrounded by the canine pack. They pressed their noses to her pockets. She dug out the treats that she usually carried when she came to Diana’s, and these they devoured with considerable joy. Even the poodle seemed interested. Oscar approached, deigned to be patted on his curly head, and accepted a treat.
    Diana’s voice came from the doorway to the kitchen. “Hello, Becca. I had no idea it was time already.”
    Becca looked up and immediately felt a quiver of concern. Diana appeared tired, which wasn’t strange. But she also looked ragged. Her posture wasn’t its usual military stance, and the skin beneath her eyes seemed loose. Becca said to her, “You okay, Mrs. Kinsale?”
    â€œI’ve been strolling down memory lane.” She indicated the direction she’d come from. “Basement,” she told Becca. “I’ve finally started on it. Thirty years of living in this house and the basement is crammed. That’s the trouble with basements. Why throw something out when you can just toss it down the stairs and tell yourself you’ll get to it later?”
    â€œWhat about these guys?” Becca indicated the dogs. Not Oscar, but the rest of the gang. They’d long been far tooungovernable as a group to come into the house. “How come they’re not in their run?”
    â€œThey’re in training. Watch.” Diana turned to the dogs. “All dogs come,” she said, and they obeyed her. “All dogs sit,” she said, and again they obeyed.