Kingdom by the Sea (Romantic Suspense) Read Free Page A

request, she had painted the interior of
the tree house powdered-blue and pink.  Looking at the trees now, Nicole couldn't
tell which tree it was or if the tree house was even still there.  The oaks had
filled out so thickly over the years that their hefty branches seemed lost in
each other, twisted and pressed by their own weight, braiding downward in reams
of color. 
    “Hey.” 
    She
turned and saw Alyssa descending the porch steps.  “So one thing I will say,
this place seems safer than your apartment.”
    “Seems,”
Nicole echoed.  “The security code was a paragraph.” 
    “Just
make sure you actually use it.  I'm serious.  Don't be all trusting and
gullible, okay?”
    “I'm
not!  Why do you guys always think that?”
    “Um,
can anyone say ‘Roger’?”
    “Don't
start with Roger.  That could have happened to anyone.  He had a drug problem,”
Nicole said, referring to the break-in to her apartment two months ago.  Roger,
her troubled neighbor, had been the agreed-upon culprit.  “Anyway, there are
dead bolts on the front and back doors, in addition to the alarm.  I'll be
fine.”
    The
truth was, she was touched by how protective Alyssa was of her, especially
after the robbery.  But she was really paranoid if he thought she was in danger here .  There was something reassuring about this place.  It was so
peaceful, like stepping into a postcard or a painting.  It would almost be
impossible to envision any danger, to suspect that trouble could be lurking
beneath the sheer blue sky—or amid the turquoise ocean.
    When
she and Alyssa went back inside, they seemed to be alone.  “Where's Linda?”
Nicole asked, walking from room to room. 
    “I
don't know, she was in the living room when I left...” Alyssa began.  “Linda?”
she called out when she got to foyer.  “Linda?”  Nicole trailed behind her,
then put her hand on the banister, poised to go upstairs.
    Abruptly
Linda appeared at the top of the stairs.  “What's up?” she said casually. 
    “Nothing...we
just didn't know where you went,” Nicole said. 
    Linda
shrugged.  Her tone was vague.  “Nowhere, really.  Just exploring.”

Chapter Three
    That
night Nicole lay awake listening to wind tousle the trees and rattle the glass
door that led to the balcony. 
    In
the dark, she could almost make out the frilly comforts of the room.  The
floral duvet, the lace-trimmed pillows, the oak blanket chest at the end of the
bed.  She had picked this guest room because it reminded her of Aunt Nina.  It
was cozy and feminine, and brought back that intrinsically safe feeling she'd
had as a child.  Her sisters were in guest rooms down the hall. 
    Now
Nicole peeled back the covers and sat up in bed.  She let her legs dangle off
the edge for a few meaningful moments before she hopped onto the floor.
    She
had not been inside the library yet.  As a child, Nicole had often played in
her aunt’s library, pretending to be a tour guide at a “book museum.”  She supposed
she had avoided the room because a part of her was afraid of what she might
find.  Like the silk flowers, Nicole dreaded finding some change, something
different—another one of time's little betrayals.
    Quietly,
she crept down the stairs, feeling the stillness of the house. 
    When
she reached the doors, she pushed them open and flipped the switch.  The bronze
sconces on the walls lit up, setting a cavernous glow on the room.  Emotion
flooded her chest. 
    The
library still held its coppery spell.  The bookshelves that lined the entire
left-hand wall shone like lacquered caramel.  In the center of the room stood
an elegant sofa and two silk-covered chairs.  Along the right-hand wall, a
brick fireplace with a heavy mirror above the mantle.
    Quite
naturally, she walked closer to the bookshelves.  Nicole had always felt akin
to books, feeling that her life was similarly contained, in the way a spine
bound a book.  Her eyes scanned the rows, one by one, when