Page 30 of The Followers

Meow17 replied:

OOOOHHH we need details @ColoradoGrrl What is she like IRL and have you met the Mister?

ColoradoGrrl replied:

His name is Scott Wander, and yeah, I’ve met him. He owns a river-rafting company in town and he’s kind of an asshole. Hardly talks to anyone. Molly, on the other hand, talks way too much. Big surprise, right?

user95798 replied to ColoradoGrrl:

Can u tell me which house they live in @ColoradoGrrl

ColoradoGrrl replied to user95798:

Um, no way am I telling you that. That’s creepy. Who the F are you, anyway?

fourteen

I’m getting antsy. The weeks are ticking by—six weeks, to be exact, until the bank opens Kristina’s safe deposit box and turns its contents over to the state.

I can’t let that happen.

I should’ve figured out a way to access the box years ago. That was a mistake on my part. I got lazy. Figured it wouldn’t be too difficult, but time has caught up with me. Last night I woke up in a sweat, because what if you don’t have that key anymore? What if you got rid of it?

That’s why I called the bank this morning. And guess what I found out? Someone else has access to that safe deposit box.

Kristina’s sister.

Since I don’t have the key, I’ll need a notarized letter from her giving me permission to open the box. It’ll be simple to forge the letter and bribe a notary, but I need a copy of her driver’s license. That has to be authentic, because the bank will verify it with the state. And that’s the tricky part, because I don’t know where she lives now.

But I’ll find her.

I’m good at that.

fifteen

Connection is Magical

—Molly Sullivan (available from her Etsy shop on a mug, a mousepad, and a vintage metal sign)

Scott was home! Hallelujah! Molly had made it through her first of many weekends without him. They were all together now, her own family in her own backyard, roasting marshmallows in the fire pit as the sun went down.

“How was the party?” Scott asked, as he helped Chloe spear a marshmallow on her roasting stick. Ella sat across from them, focused on toasting her marshmallow the perfect golden-brown.

Molly shrugged. “It was okay.”

His forehead wrinkled in concern. “What happened?”

Molly had tried to tell herself it wasn’t a big deal, that she was imagining things. But... “I don’t know.” She lowered her voice so the girls wouldn’t hear. “It just didn’t seem comfortable. Like somehow I did everything all wrong.”

“How is that possible? You kick ass at parties.”

She did! Well, usually. She was delightful and fun, or she had been, back in her old life. For this party, Molly had avoided talking about anything related to social media, not wanting to make anyone uncomfortable, hoping for some genuine connections. But these Durango moms had grown up together, friends since elementary school, a tight-knit web. And it seemed like they’d shown up ready to make their debut, rather than get to know Molly and her family.

“I’m not sure I fit in with the moms here,” Molly said finally.

“But Sarah was there, wasn’t she?”

Molly nodded. Sarah was enough of a Durango institution that she could get away with not quite fitting in. Sarah sort of intimidated Molly, though; she had that tough-as-nails attitude that seemed necessary for military wives.