AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The kids, except for Anabel—who’d wanted nothing to do with walking a dog or cleaning up after him—had begged for a dog. Matt hadn’t been keen on the idea either, but when a string of burglaries had erupted in our neighborhood, he’d changed his mind and said we could get one as long as it was a guard dog. So, we’d all gone to the pound and found the biggest dog we could. He also happened to be the cutest. One look at him, with those big brown take-me-home eyes, and he was ours. Enamored four-year-old Will had named him. “Mama, he looks like a big bear.” And hence his name…Bear. I’ll never forget my little boy hugging our new dog, Bear sitting and giving him wet slobbering kisses all over his face.
Matt had looked the other way, not wanting to upset our son. Later that day, to my horror, he bought a handgun. Real protection. He kept it locked in our safe. Loaded, no less. I hoped we’d never have to use it.
Tanya, still looking frightened, didn’t buy into my words. “Natalie, can you please get him away from me?”
“Of course. I’ll put him outside.” Fortunately, our dog enjoyed romping in our big yard, and the weather was nice. He also had a doghouse to hang out in.
When I returned, Tanya was gone.
I assumed she’d wandered into the kitchen, perhaps to make herself some tea.
Wrong. I found her in the living room. Helping herself to an expensive bottle of cabernet from our bar.
“Dear, what are you doing?” I asked as she generously poured the blood-red liquid into a crystal goblet, filling it to the brim.
“I hope you don’t mind. I needed to chill after Bear.” She put the wineglass to her lips and took a long sip. “Can I pour you some too?”
I held back the urge to reprimand her. And the urge to say yes. “Your father lets you drink?” And this early in the afternoon? It wasn’t even three o’clock.
Another swig. “It’s allowed in the UK to drink with a parent when you’re seventeen.”
“Hmm. I didn’t know that.”
A frisson of guilt rippled through me. Sometimes, I used to share a little wine with Anabel. In hindsight, I wish I hadn’t. Maybe she’d still be here with us.
“Tanya, I’d still like you to put the glass down and the bottle away.” With a slight frown, she obliged. “Now, let me show you to your room.”
Tanya’s face brightened. “I can’t wait to see it!”
My stomach twisted. Now, I wished I’d had that wine. I hadn’t been in that room for over two years. Well, at least in the daytime. Bracing myself with a fortifying breath, I led our exchange student up the winding flight of marble steps.
“Be careful.” I heard the tremor in my voice as I looked over my shoulder to check on her. My new ward was wearing her heavy backpack and had insisted on carrying up her large piece of luggage. By the effortless way she mounted the curved stairs, she seemed to be in good shape, but it still made me anxious. “Hold onto the banister. I don’t want you falling down your first day here.” At that thought, a cold shiver zipped through me.
“Don’t worry, Mrs. Merritt. Whoops! I mean Natalie. I’ve got it.”
To my relief, she gripped the intricate ironwork railing, also original to the house, with her free hand. I let out a breath when we both reached the landing.
Tanya’s eyes darted left and right.
“Which way is my room?”
“To the right.”
I followed her as she wheeled her suitcase across the long hallway. It moved smoothly along the polished dark oak floor. I couldn’t help but notice how gracefully the slender, long-legged young woman moved. Like a gazelle.
“Tell me when to stop,” she called out.
We passed Will’s room, his bathroom, Paige’s room, and another bathroom. When we got to the last door at the end, I said, “Stop!” I made my way in front of her and turned the brass knob. I pushed the door open and was hit by an explosion of shocking pink and sunlight. I felt dizzy. A little nauseous.
“Are you okay?” asked Tanya, sensing my distress.
“Y-yes. I’m just a little winded from climbing those stairs,” I lied. Thanks to my Pilates and Soul Cycling, I was in the best shape of my life.
Catching my breath, I let Tanya enter first.
Her eyes wide, she gasped. “Oh my gosh, I love it! It’s like a princess’s room.”
Indeed it was. Not a thing had changed since I’d last been inside it. I’d instructed Blanca to maintain the room exactly as she had when Anabel was alive. My eyes swept across it, taking in the frilly canopy bed with all her precious stuffed animals, the matching cottage-white furniture, the Justin Bieber posters, her cheerleading trophies, and all the framed photos chronicling her short life. Not a thing was amiss. It was like Anabel could walk in at any moment.
