Inevitable Sentences Read Free

Adrian’s ability to trust in and deal with the world. She still jumped at every unexpected sound, as though her husband might crash through the door. Celeste knew he would be quite capable of doing it.
    Fortunately, Adrian had met a woman now making it on her own who had once lived at Big Bay. The woman had encouraged Adrian to go to the lighthouse, and Adrian had gained the courage to leave her husband in southeast Michigan to start over in the Upper Peninsula. But Celeste was sure her husband would use every police resource at his disposal to locate his family. How long would Adrian’s luck hold out? How long would any of their luck hold out?
    Lorraine, the third woman living in the lighthouse, entertained the children who, except for the two on the rug creating a monster building, appeared too frightened by the storm to speak or move. Lorraine was almost as timid as the children. She rarely uttered a word. Her parents had sold her to her husband when she was sixteen for money to buy cocaine. Only twenty-two, Lorraine had two children, a three-year-old boy and a five-year-old girl. Celeste could only imagine how useful Lorraine’s timidity was for her dominating and aggressive husband. Celeste also saw something else in her—a distrust so overwhelming it often turned her against the very people trying to help her. Celeste couldn’t really blame her for being suspicious of others’ intentions. However, sometimes Lorraine also seemed selfish, which had no apparent explanation.
    Celeste had to fight her doubts that Lorraine would make it. The young woman’s attitude and extreme lack of self-confidence could be her downfall. Celeste had seen it before. Women like Lorraine returned to their abusers because they lacked the stamina to live on their own and because they believed the abuse was what they deserved.
    Q UIET CHATTER AND GENTLE teasing filled the warm house as each woman pursued her evening task. Let the storm rage outside; they all seemed to have decided that inside they were safe.
    “Make sure those lumps are whipped out of those potatoes,” Adrian said when she peered into the kitchen.
    “You know lumps are the sign of real mashed spuds,” Marcy shot back and the two women laughed.
    While Adrian tended to the lanterns and flashlights, she sang a Thanksgiving hymn in her rich mezzo-soprano voice: “Come, ye thankful people, come, raise the song of harvest home; all is safely gathered in, ere the winter storm begin …”
    Celeste paused from mixing the meat loaf ingredients. Perhaps Adrian should have been a singer. Would that have made a difference in the partner she chose? She doubted it. At the moment Adrian still believed what her husband had told her: she was useless and could never make it on her own without him. She didn’t see herself as a talented or worthwhile person. Celeste intended to help Adrian change the image she had of herself.
    Celeste spooned the meat mixture into two large loaf pans and placed them in the oven. She turned the timer to one hour. “That’s done.”
    Lorraine left the children and began setting the table. She hummed along with the hymn. Adrian finished her task and carried Matt while the other children queued up. She led the line of children like a mother duck and her ducklings to the bathroom to wash up. For the moment, their world was filled with peace and love. The only flaw in the scene for Celeste was the storm. When the weather raged like this, she could almost touch the darkness beyond the sturdy walls.

Chapter Two
ANOTHER BLOW
    S ILHOUETTES OF THE BARREN tree limbs flashed across the kitchen wall as a vehicle pulled into the drive. Celeste and Marcy stopped their dinner preparations and peered out the window.
    “Who can that be?” Marcy asked.
    “I’m not sure. I wasn’t expecting anyone.” Although concerned about the sudden intrusion, Celeste didn’t let it show. She wiped her hands on her apron and went to the door. She hesitated before she cracked