First Frost Read Online Free PDF

How did you know?”
    â€œI had an older brother, too.” He didn’t, of course.
    â€œWas he a prick, too?” the woman asked. Her use of the familiar, the colloquial, let him know he was already in.
    He shook his head in solidarity. “The stories I could tell.”
    â€œI do love a good story. What the hell,” she said, turning back to the computer. “It’s your lucky day. My brother doesn’t usually let me man the front desk. He says I don’t have front-desk qualities. I can cancel a reservation.” She typed something into the computer. “Credit card and ID?” she said, looking up at him.
    â€œIn my suitcase,” he said, gesturing to the banged-up leather case he’d set by the door. “If you don’t mind, could I be shown to my room first? I’ll rustle through my things and find them for you. Perhaps after a nap.”
    If that tripped her up, she didn’t show it. He was fairly certain that she was past the point of caring if her brother got paid or not. “Room six, then. Breakfast starts at eight and there’s tea at four.” She handed him a key. “Don’t mention this conversation to my brother.”
    â€œMy lips are sealed,” he assured her. “Thank you, Mrs…?”
    â€œAinsley. Anne Ainsley. Miz .,” she said pointedly. “And you are?”
    The Great Banditi smiled and gave her a half-bow. “Russell Zahler, at your service.”
    *   *   *
    The next morning, Sydney Waverley-Hopkins sat at the kitchen table while Bay ate Cocoa Puffs and reread her worn copy of Romeo and Juliet . She was already dressed for school, wearing a T-shirt that said, COME TO THE DARK SIDE. WE HAVE COOKIES.
    Sydney looked at Bay pointedly, but Bay didn’t look back.
    â€œAhem.” Sydney cleared her throat and lowered her head, trying to meet Bay’s eyes over the book.
    Nope.
    Sydney sighed and got up to refill her coffee cup. She didn’t have to be at work until ten, but she didn’t want to miss this opportunity to be with Bay. She was determined to be around when her daughter finally decided to confide in her about what was bothering her, about what was making her so distant and miserable lately.
    Whatever it was, it was making Bay want to spend more and more time with her aunt Claire. But Sydney wasn’t going to give up these mornings. She would just sit and wait. One day, Bay was going to need her advice. Sydney could remember her teenage years here in Bascom with a clarity she wished she didn’t have. Sometimes it made her lose her breath, remembering how those years had felt like drowning. She knew what her daughter was going through, even if Bay didn’t believe it.
    It was just before daybreak and the window over the kitchen sink was dark. Sydney could see Bay’s reflection behind her in it. She tied her red kimono robe tightly around her, feeling a hollow in her stomach every time she realized that her only child would be an adult in just a few short years. She had an unnerving suspicion that there was a void Bay was standing in front of, and as soon as Bay moved, Sydney would get sucked into the blackness. Sydney had always assumed she would have more children by now. She tried not to think of it every month. She thought if she acted like she wasn’t watching the calendar, that maybe fate would laugh and surprise her. But it didn’t. Sydney had been almost frantic about it these past few weeks, taking her lunch hour and surprising her husband, Henry, in his office, and jumping on him the minute she got in bed at night.
    She’d had no experience in mothering before she had Bay, and she’d not always made the right decisions. She wanted another chance. She’d stayed with Bay’s father, David, far longer than she should have. It was one of those things women simply assume about themselves—that they weren’t the kind to stay