Read Online Blood and Bone: A Smattering of Unease by Shannon Rae Noble - Free Book Online

accomplish the move. During the next few days, she and Becky busied themselves with unpacking boxes, arranging furniture, and decorating their new home.
    Darce enjoyed being with them. They uplifted her spirit with a bittersweet hope. Their compact family of two was so like Darce’s own . . . filled with the same daily activities. They watched kids’ shows, danced to silly kids’ songs or pop tunes on the radio, ate meals of grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup and hot dogs and macaroni and cheese, played board games, and had a nightly bedtime routine.
    Darce learned that Becky’s father had passed away during a tour of duty in Afghanistan. She watched Mrs. Murphy place his photo beside the urn on the fireplace mantel. He had been handsome in his uniform, with dark eyes and a bright white smile.
    Carol had finally gotten most of the household belongings put away; now it was time to take care of the items that weren’t currently in use: winter coats and boots, Becky’s sled, Christmas and other holiday decorations, and the like. This meant a trip to the attic.
    Carol had been to the attic once, when she had viewed the house as a possibility. It had been full of someone else’s belongings. From what Carol understood, this clutter had belonged to the previous owner and her daughter, both of whom had disappeared nearly two years before. Most of these items, other than the furniture, had been moved into the attic for storage in the event of the O’Neils’ return.
    Carol had had qualms about buying a house with that kind of history, not the least of which were caused by the similarity between the O’Neil’s single-mom-mother-daughter family dynamic and her own. The story gave her chills. It was because of the disturbing recent history, however, coupled with the fact that she got the house at a tax sale for the low price of two years’ worth of back taxes owed, that made it possible for her to afford the house, in the first place. The mortgage on the house had been settled prior to the O’Neils’ disappearance.
    Every time Carol felt misgivings about her choice in housing, she pushed them away by reassuring herself that she had gotten a steal. It was a lovely house, perfect for her and Becky. It came with all the modern conveniences: a washer and dryer, a dishwasher, central air, nice big back yard, working fireplace. Carol loved her new home.
    Still, she couldn’t help feeling just a little creeped out as she headed up to the attic. She tried to keep her balance on the narrow wooden steps as she carried the large, awkward box. She was glad that the attic door handle was just a lever instead of a knob; at least she could just push the lever down with her elbow and shoulder the door open without having to put the box down and pick it back up again.
    She made it inside the door and, arms trembling with strain, she practically dropped the box to the wooden floorboards, where its impact sent up a small dust cloud. Carol sneezed and waved her arms around to try to dispel the dust. The back of her hand struck something solid that shifted from its resting place and fell to the floor with a thump.
    She bent to see what object she had displaced, and saw that it was a photo album, a little dusty, but not very old. She squatted to pick it up and rested it on her knees. Curious, she opened it and leafed through the pages.
    There were a lot of pictures of a little blonde girl who looked just a little younger than Becky. Christmases, birthday parties . . . first days of school, judging by the neat little dresses she wore as she stood in front of the open door of a school bus in several different photos.
    But then her forehead wrinkled when she reached a photo of the little girl with a dark haired woman. Two matching sets of light brown eyes and similar facial features told Carol that this must be the little girl’s mother. Her breath caught in her throat.
    This must be the missing mother and daughter.
    Yes, they were, she