Fakers Read Free Page B

her a deal, but it
hadn’t included home delivery. Kyra hadn’t thought it was a problem
until now. She really wasn’t looking forward to hauling it up the
stairs. She finished her plum and tossed it into the overgrown
weeds.
    “I saw that.”
    Kyra jumped and pivoted. A woman was walking
through her front gate carrying a bottle of wine and two glasses.
She was tall, even taller than Kyra, who was five foot ten. The
woman’s legs were pale and long, stretching for miles beneath her
shorts. Flaming red hair hung in frizzled waves around her freckled
face. Her green eyes glinted with mischief at Kyra.
    “Alert the litter police,” Kyra said,
laughing.
    “I would, but I think it actually helped
improve this dump. If a discarded plum can have such powers.” The
woman stopped at the base of Kyra’s steps. “My name’s Stevie
Andrews, and I hail from there.” She pointed with a wine glass to
the house next door.
    “Wow. That’s a beautiful house,” Kyra said,
admiring the bold navy color and white shutters. She pulled her
gaze away and stuck out her hand to Stevie. “I’m Kyra Aberdeen.
Nice to meet you.”
    “Yeah, yeah.” Stevie waved off the chitchat.
“I brought you wine. I figured I’d share a glass with my new
neighbor, because I’m friendly and not crazy.”
    Kyra cocked her head. “I wouldn’t think
you’re crazy.”
    Stevie rolled her eyes. “You might after all
these old, stuffy women told lies about me.” She motioned to the
other houses on the block. “When Cade told me a young woman was
moving in next door, I knew I had to snatch you up before the
neighborhood gossip tainted your opinion of me.”
    “Cade mentioned you to me as well,” Kyra
said, remembering the obvious crush he had on Stevie, and she
understood why now. Stevie was gorgeous and clearly quirky. “And,
well…I don’t drink.”
    Stevie threw up her hands in despair.
“Great! The first young, pre-Medicare-aged person to move into the
neighborhood doesn’t drink.”
    Kyra couldn’t resist laughing again. She
liked Stevie already. “Are you drunk now?”
    “I’m an artist. Being drunk inspires
me.”
    Kyra looked around on her porch for a place
to sit. “I would invite you inside, but I don’t have any chairs in
there either.”
    Stevie grimaced in sympathy. “Well, follow
me then.” She looked at her wine bottle sadly. “I guess I can swap
this out for some iced green tea.”
    Kyra followed her down the path out of her
garden and onto the sidewalk, feeling like she’d hit the jackpot
today. “On the bright side, you get to keep it for yourself,” she
said cheerily.
    Stevie paused at her garden gate. “You’re
one of those ‘well, on the bright side’ kind of people, aren’t
you?”
    “Is that bad?”
    Stevie opened her gate. “I’m more
doom-and-gloom myself. So if you catch me scowling at you a lot,
you’ll know why.”
    Grinning and shaking her head, Kyra followed
Stevie onto her porch, waiting as she opened the door. Aunt Carol
had tried so hard to keep Kyra in California by telling her it was
a bad idea to move to Canaan, but Kyra knew in her heart it was
what she needed to do. And things were turning out so well
already.
    “Oh, wow,” she marveled, breathless, when
Stevie opened the front door and motioned Kyra through. The entry
was grand with a modern chandelier hanging from the vaulted
ceilings and a bold coral paint on the walls. “Is this the original
flooring?”
    The wood floors were an amazing gray color
with a silky finish. The stairs were perfectly restored to their
former glory. Natural light spilled in from the sheer quantity of
windows throughout the house.
    “Eh, who knows,” Stevie said, dropping a
quick glance at the floors. “Here’s the kitchen. I’ll grab some
tea, and we can sit out back.”
    Kyra soaked in the modern kitchen with
glass-faced cabinets and floating shelves. The appliances looked
like they’d never been used, which didn’t surprise her. Stevie
didn’t