Close to Home by Lisa Jackson Read Free Book Online

in again.
    â€œNever say never,” she told herself now as she pulled on her jeans and sweatshirt, then made her way around boxes and old furniture and far too many memories as she headed to the kitchen.
    It was a disaster, like the rest of the house, but she was able to locate the coffeemaker she’d moved with her from the condo. She ran the water in the stained kitchen sink for several minutes while she found the bag of ground coffee and filters she’d purchased. Once they were located, she plugged in the machine. Thankfully, there was still electricity and running water in the house, though the ancient furnace had given up the ghost, so they were stuck with the fire until they moved into the guesthouse next week.
    As the coffee brewed, she ran a toothbrush over her teeth, rinsed her face in cold water, quickly snapped her hair into a ponytail and caught a glimpse of her reflection in the mirror over the cracked pedestal sink. It wasn’t pretty, she thought, noting the circles under her eyes and how pale she appeared from such a short night’s sleep. She looked a lot like her mother in the morning light, which, she supposed, wasn’t such a bad thing. Arlene Bennett had been a striking woman in her youth, and the Bennett genes were strong enough that each of her children, from both of her husbands, had taken after their mother. Sarah had been confused with her older sister, Dee Linn, and been told she was a “dead ringer” for Theresa, their half sister, the oldest. Sarah’s chin was strong, her cheekbones high, her face framed with wild brown curls that she regularly tamed into a bun. She’d overheard that she had “haunted” eyes, but she dismissed that. Yes, they were large, and gray, while most of her siblings’ were slightly bluer, but that whole haunted thing? Ridiculous.
    The smell of coffee permeated the air, and as Sarah poured herself a cup, she decided the main house was in even worse repair than she’d first thought. Sadly, Jade’s observation that Blue Peacock Manor was straight out of Hollywood’s version of a haunted house wasn’t that far off the mark.
    Though she’d managed to find the main water main and get water running, the pipes creaked and groaned, and the hot water was lukewarm at best. Yes, there was electricity running to the home, and the old pump seemed to work, but there was nothing in the way of an electronic connection, which drove both Gracie and Jade nuts. They could use their iPhones and iPad by virtue of some wonky cell phone reception that worked in certain areas of the house, but until the local cable company hooked up the Internet, a telephone landline, and the much-missed television, they were “in hell,” as Jade so eloquently referred to her life these days.
    â€œNo wireless? No cable? Are you kidding me?” Jade had said when she realized just how little service was running to the old manor. “You expect me to live in this mausoleum and go to a stupid parochial school, all without any Internet? Mom, what’s wrong with you?” She’d gazed at her mother with wide hazel eyes rife with accusations. “This is crazy. I mean like really, really crazy.”
    â€œWe’ll just have to camp out for a few days,” Sarah had said, crossing her fingers against the chance she might be lying. “And I’ll make sure all the services are hooked up. I’m pretty sure that cell phones work here,” though she teetered one hand up and down to suggest that the service wasn’t all that great. “As for the parochial school, we already discussed this.”
    â€œYou mean you handed down an edict,” Jade corrected.
    â€œWell, public school wasn’t really working for you, now, was it?”
    Jade had wanted to argue, and her mouth had opened only to snap shut. Taking a deep breath, she’d said, “Fine. Whatever. Think what you want,” before storming off