Read Online Out in the Country by Kate Hewitt - Free Book Online Page A

settled in the new bungalow.
    Lynne heard the front door open and close, and then Jessica came in the kitchen, her cheeks reddened by the wind, and her hair a soft, dark cloud around her face. She looked younger than her forty-six years, and yet more fragile too; there was a deeper sorrow still lurking in her eyes, a wariness caused by her recent heartbreak.
    “I’ve been all around this town,” Jessica said a little breathlessly. “Every street--it’s darling!”
    “It is, isn’t it?” Lynne replied, smiling at her friend’s enthusiasm.
    “And,” Jessica continued, sitting at the table with Lynne, “I’ve decided. That is... if the offer is still open...”
    Lynne’s heart lurched as she thought of the zoning commissioner’s recent news. She couldn’t bear to burden Jess with it now. “Of course it is.”
    “Then I’m honoured and delighted to go in with you,” Jess said. Her tentative smile became a full-fledged grin as she stuck out one hand for Lynne to shake. “Partners?”
    Lynne smiled back, even though her heart was heavy with fresh worry. “Partners,” she agreed, taking Jess’s hand.
     
    Molly took a sip of her drink and glanced warily around the crowded living room of the Greenwich Village apartment. The room was dim and smoky, and the mournful notes of a jazz saxophone came from a stereo system in the corner. Everyone in the room was at least five years older than her, and impossibly glamorous and sophisticated. After four years in New Hampshire, Molly realised, she’d lost that hard, glittering edge that urban living created. She felt the loss acutely now.
    Luke had picked her up at home, and then shared a taxi downtown. He’d been light, insouciant, joking, putting Molly at ease even though she felt in a welter of disappointed confusion after her unsatisfactory conversation with Jason the day before.
    Yet Luke had disappeared now to chat with some friends, and Molly felt like the proverbial wallflower. She took another sip of her drink and looked around for someone to talk to.
    Everyone was engrossed in what looked like a stimulating, intellectual conversation. A peal of laughter rang out nearby, and Molly debated slipping out of the room, or even leaving the party altogether.
    “What’s with the long face, newbie?” Luke reappeared at her side, smiling in that gently mocking way of his that Molly was strangely starting to like. “I’m sorry I left you--I had to catch up with a few people. Let me introduce you.”
    “You don’t--” Molly began, feebly, but Luke just shook his head.
    “I invited you to this party. I can hardly let you languish in the corner all evening.” With one hand firm on her elbow, he guided her to the nearest group of guests. “Elise, Sasha? Let me introduce you to Molly. She’s taking Cooper High School by storm, and already starting to transform the English department.”
    “Hardly,” Molly protested, feeling like an impostor, especially considering all she’d confessed to Luke. She didn’t want his pity.
    “No?” Luke raised his brows. “I overheard several students in the hallway, talking about ‘a dream deferred’--I wonder where they heard of Langston Hughes?”
    “Were they?” Molly murmured, blushing. His words caused a warm glow to spread through her.
    The conversation moved on, but next to her, Luke murmured in her ear. “They were, Molly. Just because it’s hard doesn’t mean it isn’t working.”
    The rest of the party was a happy blur of conversation and chatter; Molly didn’t say much, but with Luke at her side she felt relaxed and a part of things, and she was sorry when it ended.
    She lay her head back against the seat of the taxi as they sped up Broadway. “Thanks for inviting me,” she said. “I really appreciate it.”
    “No problem.” He paused, and when he spoke again, his voice was deliberately light. “No boyfriend visiting this weekend?”
    Molly glanced at him, but even in the pale yellow wash of the