A Week at the Lake Read Online Free PDF

hard slammed into her with the force of a freight train and sent her hurtling into the air. She flipped a couple of times, bounced off what might have been the roof or trunk of a car, and slammed into the concrete. Stray thoughts filtered through her head; she empathized with Humpty Dumpty. She congratulated herself for having on clean underwear.
    There was no pain, which definitely seemed wrong. She heard feet running and voices and then a siren in the distance. It occurred to her that she could die, and regret flooded through her. She’d already cheated death once. Now she’d never get the chance to prove to her daughter how much she loved her. Never see Mackenzie or Serena again. Her last thoughts began to run together: She should have scheduled the attorney before they left for the lake. Should have confessed the secret she’d been carrying. Should have begged forgiveness. Should have . . .
    Darkness descended. Panic came with it. There was something she was supposed to take care of. Something that would alter the lives of the people who meant the most to her.
    Her world was going black. And she couldn’t for the life of her remember what it was.

Two

    M ackenzie emerged from Grand Central Terminal blinking in the sudden sunlight and staked out a spot on the sidewalk near the Forty-second Street and Park Avenue entrance where Serena was supposed to pick her up for the ride uptown to Emma. Her handbag balanced on the small suitcase beside her. Her mouth felt dry from the plane and the fear, not to mention the tranquilizer, and she reached for the bottled water she’d purchased on the way out of LaGuardia. The flight had been relatively smooth, thank you, God, and she had resisted the temptation she always felt to throw herself on her knees and kiss the solid ground when she’d entered the terminal.
    It was mid-June, the air warm, but not yet oppressive, and filled with the pungent aromas of food, gas fumes, and the undulating sea of humanity—some more washed than others—that surged and receded around her. Clothing was summer weight and in rare cases light in color. She smiled, remembering Serena’s dry observation that New Yorkers would undoubtedly keep wearing black until they came up with something darker.
    Glancing down she checked her cell phone for the time and any messages. Nothing. She wondered if Adam had managed to charm himself onto a flight yet, whether Serena had been held up in the traffic that now clogged both Park and Forty-second as far as she could see, and how when she did arrive, the cab would get anywhere near the curb. Mackenzie had beenfifteen minutes late getting to Grand Central and Serena still wasn’t here. She took another drink of water and reminded herself that she’d spent enough mental energy keeping that plane in the air; she was now officially on vacation. New York traffic was not something she needed to worry about. And neither was the potential awkwardness on the drive up to the lake. Which would take some four and a half hours, depending on traffic.
    â€œMackenzie!” She looked up and saw Serena emerge from a cab. Serena’s white halter dress hugged the luscious curves she’d bequeathed to Georgia Goodbody and played up her shapely legs. Her dainty feet were encased in high-heeled sandals that were undoubtedly designer. Her toenails were a deep red that matched her lips. Hanging with Emma and Serena had sometimes left Mackenzie feeling invisible. Which was no mean feat for someone her height.
    â€œI see you’re still working on mastering the concept of traveling light,” Mackenzie said as the driver pulled what looked like a mountain of luggage from the trunk, then began rearranging it in an attempt to make room for Mackenzie’s carry-on.
    â€œPacking light doesn’t work for me,” Serena said. “The one time I did I spilled something on the lone, yet versatile, skirt I’d brought less