Body and Bone Read Online Free

looking for when she was first compelled to hire a nanny. Marlon had recommended Isabeau, one of his research assistants at Kansas State who needed a summer job. Nessa had wanted an efficient, impersonal warm body who would be in the house while Daltrey slept and Nessa was working.
    But Daltrey had foiled this plan. He’d fallen in love with Isabeau at first sight—­with her wide-­set brown eyes and ever-­present smile, coltish energy, and soft musical voice. He wasn’t interested in anyone else, so Nessa was stuck with a warm, engaging personal-­space invader who obviously believed they were all going to be besties. Luckily, she hadn’t yet noticed that Nessa never offered up any personal information. Isabeau shared everything about herself without reservation. Even worse, Isabeau had mad organizational skills that made Nessa’s life easier in ways she never could have imagined.
    Isabeau’s laptop sat open atop its case on the ground in front of her, one of her long legs extended out to the side, against which Declan MacManus had been lying until Nessa appeared. Now he trotted to her and presented himself for a good butt rub.
    â€œLet’s go over your schedule for the rest of the week,” Isabeau said. She typed on her keyboard. “Okay, so here’s what I’ve got. Daltrey has a doctor’s appointment at eleven this morning. Is it for vaccinations, or—­”
    â€œI told you you don’t need to do this stuff,” Nessa said, setting her coffee cup down on the steps and leaning over to pull some weeds from the flower garden. She didn’t want to talk about why she was taking Daltrey to the doctor again. She was embarrassed by her frantic worry over Daltrey’s muteness.
    She suspected it was because of all the turmoil in their lives, the violence he’d witnessed when John was in a manic phase of his bipolar disorder. She also suspected that her past addictions and risky behaviors had something to do with it, although she’d never mentioned these things to the doctor. She knew she should but, to her shame, she’d hoped a more mundane explanation would come to light.
    â€œBut it’s easier for me if I know exactly what’s going on and when.”
    Isabeau had gone from nanny to personal assistant while Nessa was preoccupied with grief over the end of her marriage. There was no point in fighting it. Isabeau was a force of nature.
    She continued reading from her screen. “I fact-­checked your blog post on Wanda Jackson. She was amazing! I’d never even heard of her before that—­surprise, surprise. I’ll send you a text when that’s done so you can look it over one last time before it auto-­posts at nine tomorrow. Then I’ll work some more on cataloging your music library.”
    Nessa went on pulling stray shoots of grass and weeds from the flower bed.
    â€œI’m a little more than halfway through the A ’s,” Isabeau said, stretching her arms above her head. “Arcade Fire, I think. Seriously. I’ve never met anyone with such a huge collection. I always thought my sister had a pretty good one, but hers was like a drop of water compared to your ocean. How did you get started collecting like this?”
    â€œActually, it was my older brother who got me started in high school.” Ack. It popped out before she could even think about it. She should never multitask. Why would she mention personal information so casually? This was the effect of Isabeau’s constant presence. Nessa needed to be more careful about what she said. She’d been completely tight-­lipped about the extent of John’s problems, and she needed to keep to that standard for all other areas of her personal life.
    â€œI’m kind of in awe,” Isabeau said. “What did you—­”
    â€œI want you to take off early today,” Nessa said. She needed to cut this off. Enough talking