That Summer by Joan Wolf Read Free Book Online

Jacko and two other exercise riders to work with, and while Jacko and I worked with half of the youngsters with long reins, the exercise riders ponied the other half. Then we switched groups and did the same thing again.
    By the time we finished, it was three o'clock. I went back to the house, showered and was sitting on the porch with a cup of tea when Mom drove up. She had a strange look on her face as she came up the stairs.
    “What's wrong?” I asked. “Didn't you like the house?“
    “Oh, the house is fine. I told the agent I'd rent it.”
    “Then why are you looking so anxious?”
    She put her books on the table and sat down. “There's a rumor going around town that a body was found in the Stanley woods.”
    My heart jumped. “What?”
    “John Kelleher was at the police station when Frank Stanley came in to say his dog had found a body. It had been buried but evidently the heavy rain we've been having washed away a lot of the dirt.”
    My hand went to my mouth. “Oh my God. Do you think it could be Leslie?”
    Mom sat down and stared at me somberly. “I think it probably is. Who else has disappeared around here?”
    “Jesus, Mary and Joseph,” I said.
    “Amen.”
    “Has Liam heard this news?”
    She shook her head. “I don't know.”
    “It was found on the Stanley property? I thought the police searched there!”
    “They did, but she'd been buried. She was only found now because the grave became uncovered with the rain.”
    “Oh my God,” I said. “This is going to open up the whole thing all over again.”
    “If it's Leslie, it will.”
    “It has to be Leslie. Who else can it be?”
    “I hope it is her,” my mother said. “Perhaps the Bartholomews will have some kind of closure now. It must be dreadful, the not knowing for sure what happened.”
    “I suppose that's true,” I said. Selfishly, I had been thinking about what it would mean for Liam. But for Leslie's parents .. . and for Leslie herself…
    I remembered the way she had looked the night of the Hunt Ball, the night she disappeared. She had been wearing a gold dress that matched her gold hair. Kevin had called her the Golden Girl.
    Now she was just something a dog had found.
    I shivered. It was terrible. Poor Leslie.
    My mother went into the house and I remained on the porch, staring at a pot of flowers standing on the stairs and thinking back to that night she had disappeared.
    There had been a party at Wellington for the members of the Wellington Hunt that night and I had gone with my mother and father.
    The house had looked beautiful. All of the furniture had been pushed back in the salon and a three-piece orchestra played music for dancing. The dining-room table was spread with a sumptuous array of food. All of the guests were in formal evening attire and even I wore a long dress and high-heeled sandals, my hair done in a French twist instead of my usual ponytail.
    Senator and Mrs. Wellington were standing in the front hall to greet their guests. Liam's mother looked lovely and her eyes clear as she spoke to me. “How grown up you look, Anne. That's a very pretty dress.”
    “Thank you, Mrs. Wellington.”
    My parents and I moved first into the library, where a number of people were gathered. I looked around for Liam.
    Leslie was in the corner standing in front of the Federal breakfront that held a writing desk and a collection of rare books. Kevin was with her. She saw me and signaled for me to join them.
    “I'm going to talk to Leslie and Kevin,” I told my parents and they nodded and let me move away.
    Leslie and Kevin were drinking champagne and as a waiter went by with a tray full of glasses, Kevin snagged a glass for me. I took a sip and said, “Where's Liam?”
    Leslie gave me an amused look. “He's around here somewhere.”
    Kevin grinned at me. “You look great, Anne.”
    “Thank you. So do you.”
    And it was true. Kevin in a tuxedo was something to behold. My eyes went to Leslie. She was wearing a gold dress and