Dead Woman Crossing J.R. Adler (early reader chapter books txt) 📖

Kimberley nodded, but her eyes searched the large windows of the white farmhouse. Where was her mother? Why hadn’t she come out to greet her?

Kimberley began making her way toward the front door with Jessica held against her chest, her little legs wrapped around her mother’s waist, assuming she and David would meet at the pathway heading up the front lawn before ceding his lead forward, but David called out, “The entrance is around back, this way.”

Perhaps the room had its own private doorway to the backyard, Kimberley thought. That would be perfect for her actually. Jessica could play outside just within view and Kimberley could come and go from work without disturbing anyone. They made their way around the side of the house and then veered left down a rock-lined dirt path, deeper into the land. That’s when Kimberley saw it, the little cottage tucked in the crook of the property line. A skin tag that was conveniently hidden within the armpit of this body of land. Compared to the massive farmhouse, the cottage was so small, it looked like a scale model of it. It didn’t have the big wraparound porch, but it was a weathered white-boarded house.

Kimberley stifled a laugh when she thought of a line from the movie Zoolander, “What is this? A center for ants?” Such a silly movie, but it was one she had seen nearly a dozen times thanks to her ex-boyfriend. That should have been a red flag on date one.

“So, what’s your favorite movie?” she had asked.

Aaron had replied confidently without skipping a beat. “Easy, Zoolander. For sure.”

She had first laughed until she saw the confused look on his face and realized he wasn’t kidding. She should have tossed her napkin down and walked out of the restaurant, right then and there. Kimberley immediately erased the thought when she looked down at Jessica, her face smushed against her chest. Red cheeks. Messy hair. Those pouty lips still pouting even when her baby girl was asleep. She kissed the top of her head and returned her gaze to the cottage and then her own feet, careful not to trip.

Kimberley had already figured out exactly what was going on, but she wanted to hear it from David. She wanted to hear the reasoning why she and her daughter had to live in quarantine, separated from everyone else. Why she was being viewed as a pariah before even stepping foot on this little slice of David’s paradise?

“Not headed into the house?” Kimberley cocked her head even though David wasn’t looking at her.

“Nope.”

“So, Jessica and I are being kept in timeout?” A tinge of sarcasm and venom dripped from the words. She couldn’t help herself. Her New York directness was coming out in full force.

David stopped in his tracks and turned to face Kimberley. “I think you have the wrong idea here, Kimberley. Your mother and I live in the cottage as well. So, if you wanna call it a timeout, be my guest, but it suits us just fine.”

Fuck, Kimberley thought to herself. She looked ungrateful, rude, and like an idiot. She bit at the corner of her lower lip, like she usually did when she had said something uncouth. In New York, that type of directness was the norm, but here she feared she’d end up biting a hole through her lip. She’d have to learn to be like them. Time to one-eighty the tone, Kimberley thought, and maybe ask before assuming, without all the New York attitude and directness.

“I was just joking. I think it looks lovely, and the property back here is beautiful,” she said, forcing the corners of her lips to move upward and outward. The muscles in her face were already tiring as she wasn’t used to masquerading this many pleasantries.

“Good, glad to hear it,” David turned back round and called over his shoulder. The whole misunderstanding smoothed over quicker than it occurred.

Kimberley hesitated but followed behind and tried to keep some sort of conversation going, so her stepfather would forget she had offended him and his generosity.

“So, uh… who’s in the big house then if you and Mom are out here?” Kimberley asked.

“Emily, Wyatt and the boys.”

“Makes sense.”

“That’s right. They needed the space, especially them boys.” David chuckled. “They’d run up the walls if they could.”

“I can’t wait to meet them.”

“They don’t sit still long enough to meet them.” David chuckled again. “Heck, I’ve got three hundred acres of farmland, and I don’t think that’s enough space for them.”

“Well, I really appreciate you opening up some space for Jessica and me,” Kimberley said, remembering to thank him.

“Not a problem. You’re family, and your mom said it was just until you got on your feet. A couple of paychecks and you’ll be standing upright.” David looked back and gave a quick nod.

She gave a small smile and swallowed hard, caught off guard by David’s comment. She hadn’t realized she was already on the clock to find a new place. Before even stepping into the cottage, Kimberley already felt like she had overstayed her welcome… but those feelings quickly subsided when the front door of the cottage swung open.

There stood her mother, Nicole. She was thin and tall with a bob of gray hair. Dressed in a clean cream-white nightgown and a pair of slippers, she ran to Kimberley and wrapped her arms around her and her granddaughter.

“I missed you so much,” Nicole whispered into Kimberley’s ear. She sniffled.

“Missed you too, Mom.”

The fact that Kimberley could wrap her arms around her mother while holding her daughter made her realize how thin Nicole had gotten. She rubbed her mother’s back, feeling each vertebra, like small rocks placed evenly down her spine. She wondered if she was sick. Her mother would have told her, right? As she pulled away, Kimberley took a closer look at her mom. The only solid source of light coming