Silver Falls - Anne Stuart [37]
“I couldn’t ask that of you.”
“I’m offering. In fact, I’m insisting. Kristen’s a bit of a drama queen, and Sophie calms her down. So don’t you worry about dinner. I’ll get pizza and we’ll watch some dumb teenage comedy and everything will be fine.” Maggie’s eyes narrowed. “I’m worried about you. I think you need a break without having to worry about Sophie.”
“Easier said than done.” She wanted to deny that she needed help—she’d been on her own for so long she wasn’t used to having someone else she could depend on. Which was a funny way to think, considering she was newly married.
“That sounds good,” she said after a moment. “And don’t worry about us. If things get too stressful I can always take Sophie and leave town for a little while. We haven’t been away from here in the four months since we arrived.”
For a moment Maggie didn’t say anything. “That might be a good idea. Are you going to tell David where you’re going?”
“Why wouldn’t I?” She looked at Maggie. “Seriously, is there a reason why I shouldn’t? You’d tell me if there was?”
“I have no reason to tell you not to tell David where you’re going,” Maggie said carefully.
“Maybe he could even come with us.”
Maggie didn’t blink. “Maybe.”
“What aren’t you telling me, Maggie Bannister?”
“I’m telling you everything I can tell you. If I were you I’d be very careful who I trusted in this town. People are never exactly what you think they are.”
“Are you talking about David? Or Caleb?”
“I wish I knew the answer to that, Rachel. I truly do. Keep a close eye on the girls, will you?”
“At least tell me whether we’re safe or not.”
“As far as I can prove, you’re completely safe,” Maggie said, getting back in her patrol car. “Just be careful.”
The house was still and quiet once Maggie picked up Kristen and Sophie. Rachel had done everything she could to talk Sophie into staying home, but Maggie was right—she and Kristen were really doing so much better together, going with the kind of cold-blooded ghoulishness that only teenagers could possess. By the time Maggie came to pick them up they’d moved on to a critical discussion of the relative hotness of the junior varsity soccer team. She watched them leave, Sophie’s long blond hair tangled down her back, Kristen’s dark waves beside hers, bumping into each other deliberately as they walked. They looked so innocent, so normal, so untouched.
That was why she’d come here, why she’d married David Middleton in the first place. To provide a safe, traditional, normal environment for her daughter.
And now, in this cold, rain-drenched, perfect little town nestled in the shadows of Silver Mountain, it was almost as bad as San Francisco had been. At least Sophie hadn’t known the victims, and with the resiliency of youth she seemed to have forgotten that less than six months ago she’d lost her best friend in a similar manner. There were times when Rachel would have given ten years off her life for Sophie’s calm nature.
She waved to Maggie, still in the patrol car, and shut the door behind them. The house was dark except for the lights left on in the family room, and she could hear the voices from the television. She started going through the house, turning on every light she could find. Most of them were those damned energy-efficient models that only cast a cool blue light. She was all for saving the planet but living in this drab darkness was enough to send her over the edge.
Once every one was lit the place looked a little less gloomy. David’s Mayan death masks on the wall weren’t as threatening, the twisted iron floor lamps not as tortured. She moved back to turn off the TV, then thought better of it. The noise, the motion was a companion, making the house seem marginally cheerier. She switched from Jerry Springer to HGTV, then headed back to the kitchen to survey the massive refrigerator David had bought her. The refrigerator that never held enough food, since David abhorred waste.
A nice rare steak and some asparagus would have been perfect,