Page 94

anxiety growing as she drove through the darkened streets. She passed

through neighborhoods she’d never been in— not surprising since she’d

just moved to Austin. They slowly changed, growing more affluent. The

houses weren’t crazy or anything, but they were new. Every other hous

e had

one or two new cars in the driveway.

Taylor’s heart started hammering strangely, the closer she got. Her GPS

informed her that she was just a few streets away. Her hands grew damp

against the wheel. When she pulled up, she shut off her car and quickly

glanced in the rear-view mirror. She hadn’t cleaned up after a long day of

work on the fencing. Her face was smudged with dirt. Her hair was frizzy at

the roots. She wanted to check her shirt for stale sweat smell, but she

thought that actually sniffing it would be going too far. She was just there to

pick up Chloe. What did it matter what she looked or smelled like?

Christina answered the door before Taylor knocked. She looked great;

casual and beautiful. Her hair was loose and still held some of the curl from

the day. Beachy. That’s what it looked like. Christina’s mustard yellow

cardigan matched her skin tone, and her rolled up skinny jeans ended in

bare feet. She was undoubtedly the most beautiful being that Taylor had

ever seen.

“Chloe’s asleep,” Christina whispered. “Come in. You must be starving.

I have some leftovers from dinner. I can heat them up.”

“Actually, I treated Joseph to a hamburger. Adriana said it was fine to

take him for something to eat while we waited for her.”

“Do you want a drink then? You’ve had a long day. It’s late. At least

stay for a couple minutes. Chloe is dead asleep. She conked out a few hour

ago. Man, she sleeps like a stone. I had to move her from the couch into my

bed and she didn’t even stir.”

That was Chloe alright. The girl could literally sleep through just about

anything. Taylor had been so careful about finding a decent apartment in a