The Mill River Redemption by Darcie Chan Read Free Book Online Page B

so much as touched a hammer. As much as he’d enjoyed her unclothed appearance, he’d frowned every time she donned her work overalls and tool belt.
    In San Francisco, she’d dated casually, but nothing serious had materialized. Maybe she was too afraid to get deeply involved again. Maybe she was tired of trying to remedy the faults of the men she dated, to tweak and mold them into her perfect match.
    That perfect match didn’t exist anymore.
    She had been lonely a long time. Through the years, her mother had always been there, encouraging her, listening, loving. Her mother was the one person who truly understood the kind of loss the accident had caused her and how difficult it was to try to reassemble the fragments of a shattered life. A few tears escaped from her closed eyes and meandered slowly down her face. The clicking of the knitting needles beside her stopped. She opened her eyes to find the woman with the braid watching her with a concerned expression.
    “I know it’s none of my business,” the woman said, “but, are you all right?”
    Emily wiped the tears from her cheeks and nodded. “My mother died a week ago, and I’m on my way home from her wake.” She was surprised that her words spilled out so quickly.
    “I’m so sorry,” the woman said, her expression turning from concern to pity. “It looks like you loved her very much. I have three girls myself, so I know how there’s something special between a mother and a daughter. Of course, my kids are close as sisters, too. I’m glad they’ll have each other when I’m gone. Do you have any siblings?”
    “I have one sister,” Emily said. She began to wonder if her mother had somehow managed to plant this woman in the seat next to her.
    “Well, at least you have each other, then. That, and time, will make things better,” the woman said. Emily managed a half-smile and was thankful when the woman resumed her knitting.
    Maybe time will help
, Emily thought. Summer would be the beginning of a new stage in her life. She would honor her mother by trying to do as she had asked. It would be wonderful to spend some more time with dear Aunt Ivy. And, if Rose showed up, well, she wasn’t sure what would happen—although it would certainly be something to see her Park Avenue–apartment sister living in the old Johnson house.

CHAPTER 6
    1983
    F OR J OSIE, HER FIRST WEEK AT T HE B OOKSTOP PASSED slowly. Each day was a blur of looking after the girls and trying to follow Ivy’s advice to not suppress her feelings. Josie realized that she felt a little better if she stayed with her aunt in the front room, helping with customers and listening to Rose and Emily entertaining themselves in the Kids’ Corner. It was a taste of normal life, and it provided just enough of a distraction to keep her grief at bay.
    She clung to that small bit of normalcy two evenings before Christmas as she stood in the upstairs bathroom getting ready to go out. She’d curled her hair and even put on a little makeup. Lipstick added a touch of color to her pale face, and a bit of concealer under her eyes did wonders to hide the dark circles and puffiness from fitful sleep and frequent crying. It seemed like a long time since she’d taken any special care with her appearance. Tonight, though, Ivy was dead set on taking her and the girls to Mill River’s annual holiday pitch-in. Looking at herself, she was surprised to realize that getting fixed up actually made her feel a little better.
    Rose and Emily were already decked out for the occasion in new, matching red and green velvet dresses. She had splurged and purchased them during a shopping trip to Rutland the day before. They had new black patent-leather Mary Janes, too, which theydiscovered made a distinct tap on the hardwood floor of the attic bedroom. Before long, the girls were stomping, giggling, and chasing each other from one end of the room to the other.
    “What’s all that ruckus?” Ivy called from the kitchen. “You