Page 69 (1/1)

Chapter 1

Augie

There was someone in the house, and this tireat-aunt Melody’s ghost This was coroans of the ancient raut it was an intruder

I rolled out of bed as quietly as I could before squat-walking to the master closet

Please don’t let the hinges screech

After opening it as slowly as I dared, Ithroughsuits and button-downs to find the built-in ladder on the back wall of the tiny space

I remembered a visit to Melody’s old house the surade She’d shown e to the tiny attic space as if it was my very own Harry Potter understairs hideaway I’d fallen so in love with the nook, I’d secreted blankets, pillows, and picture books there as often as I could And each summer after that, when my parents sent me “to the country for some fresh air,” I’d spend hours curled up inme there was an excuse to have my beloved sister to themselves for a little while without her aard brother trailing behind

Only this ti with fear and terrified Was this what it was like living all by oneself in the reat-aunt ever had to fend off intruders? Was I going to have to actually consider purchasing a firearm to defend myself?

I shuddered at the thought Due to a debilitating fear of firearms, I was the kind of person who’done’s oeapon turned against him

Bang

The sharp crack of the front door slanizable only because I’d accidentally done the sa the day I’dslope display case, and I was so nervous about dae to the ancient beauty that I accidentally threw the door open to make sure they had plenty of room

Oh, why hadn’t I thought to grabup here?

The hatch toplace was closed, and I sat as heavily on top of it as I could just in case soh to find it As ifopen the old wooden door and tossing me to the side

I broughtnot to hyperventilate More thuds and crashes sounded from far below me on the main level of the house What could they possibly want? Surely rural Texan burglars had no idea the worth of my antiques collection Maybe they hoped to find the three sets of vintage sterling I owned? If so, they’d be disappointed to learn the sets were stored in a giant floor safe in the barn

Melody hadn’t trusted banks She’d kept half her fortune under the darateful there wasn’t horse shit in the barn any longer, I thought for a brief et some horses after all, if only to add another layer of protection over my most valuable antiques in the vault

There were plenty of other fence-able valuables in the house My writing slope collection, for one If those assholes took my favorite sixteenth-century Elizabethan slope from the center slot of the display case, I’d lose it I could only thank ht to keep my most treasured one with me instead of in the case

I feltthe ancient love letters with Melody

Crying is for babies and woust

My mother’s words were as clear in my head today as they’d been in my ears when I elve and had lost my father in a sudden, unexpected hile on vacation in Manhattan He,back to our hotel after seeing a show on Broade’d ducked into a convenience store to grab some drinks It had all happened so fast One s fro what color sports drink to pick out of the cooler, and the nextfor everyone to get down

My dad shoved Rory andthe three of us into a far corner of the store and as far away from the violence as possible It wasn’t until all the noise was over and the cops ca anymore