Not Guilty Read Online Free PDF

been that way ever since they got married, it seemed. One huge change after another. There didn’t seem to be any time for the details of life. But things were bound to settle down soon. In the meantime, she still had to find Mark a present.
    Keely finally went into the mall bookshop, where a huge cardboard display of the latest John Grisham legal thriller was set up beside the cash register. It seemed like kind of a predictable gift for a lawyer, but it wasn’t as if Mark had some hobby she could find a book about. The truth was that Mark didn’t read very much, but she had heard him mention the Grisham book one morning while he was reading the paper. His exact remark had been that John Grisham made a better living as an author than he ever could as an attorney. But when she questioned him further, he had said that the book sounded interesting. Keely frowned at the cover, read the dust jacket again, and then handed the book across the counter to the clerk.
    “Will that be it?” the bearded young man asked, noting her hesitation.
    Keely felt a little guilty because giving a best-seller like this to her husband seemed sort of . . . lazy. Now, stop it, she thought. There were plenty of best sellers she’d enjoy receiving as a gift. Keely nodded. “Yes. I’m sure he’ll like that.”
    While the clerk rang it up, Keely continued trying to reason away her feelings of guilt. At least this proved she was paying attention to their breakfast conversation. Sometimes, she felt as if she shortchanged him, between the new house and the children. Not that he complained. He seemed content to be near her, no matter how preoccupied she might be.
    The clerk, noting the expression on Keely’s face said, “He can always bring it back.”
    “No, I’m sure it will be fine,” said Keely. She couldn’t imagine Mark bringing anything back. He had no patience at all for shopping. He had given her carte blanche when she decorated the house, although he dutifully admired her every purchase, constantly reassuring her that he liked her taste and that none of her choices were too expensive.
    “Do you want it wrapped?”
    “Could you?” Keely asked.
    “Sure,” said the clerk, disappearing into the office behind the counter.
    Keely gazed at the selection of bookmarks and calendars at the counter, then flipped through a literary magazine on display there while she waited. It troubled her a little that she had found it so difficult to buy Mark a present. Of course, his gifts to her were never especially imaginative. He always went the jewelry-and-flowers route, but his extravagance made her gasp and his choices were elegant. It was so much more difficult to buy something for a man, especially a man like Mark who insisted that he had everything he wanted. He always said that she had given him the most precious gift—a home and a family. Considering his lonesome childhood, Keely had found that both understandable and endearing.
    But they’d never really had that honeymoon time, a chance to be together—just the two of them. No wonder she had trouble choosing a tie for him. They’d hardly had time to breathe in the last two years. In a way, she thought, they’d done the hard part first. The fun part, the “getting to know you” part, unfurled before them like a leafy lane in summer.

    A S K EELY RETRACED her route toward home, she considered having a little party for their anniversary. Immediately she began to formulate a menu. But the guest list was more problematical. Although she’d met a lot of people in St. Vincent’s Harbor, she didn’t really know many of them all that well. She’d need Mark to tell her who to invite. But he would probably like the idea of a party—a chance to show off the new house and his baby girl.
    They hadn’t entertained here yet—except for Lucas and Betsy, of course, and Richard’s mother, Ingrid. But that was family. A party called for people their own age, music, and wine. It had been simpler