The Three Miss Margarets Read Online Free PDF

made Peggy’s heart ache. Li’l Bit reached across the bed to pull the sheet up, but she couldn’t make herself cover the face. Instead, she folded the sheet gently, as if she was tucking in a child. She bent over to kiss the cheek and Peggy thought she heard her whisper, “I’m sorry.” They turned to Peggy and it was her turn. She moved to the bed and said the only thing she could: “Good-bye.”
             
    L AUREL AWAKENED BECAUSE THE CAR had started bumping. Which had to mean they’d turned onto the dirt road that led to her place. She shook herself and looked out the window for familiar landmarks. There was an oak with a broken branch that should be coming up, and then a hole in the dirt road that could bust your shocks. But there was no oak branch. And the ground never cut out from under them.
    “Josh,” she said, “this isn’t the way to my place; you turned wrong.”
    He kept on driving.
    “Did you hear me? We’re going the wrong way. You turned next to Tara instead of across from it.” He slowed down but kept going. Ahead of them she could see the Justine Oaks clearly silhouetted against the sky. Suddenly he stopped the car, cut off the lights, and sat staring ahead.
    “What are you doing?”
    “Look there.” She followed his gaze, and there it was: the cabin. “There’s someone inside,” he said.
    “You’re crazy. That old wreck has been deserted for ye—” she started to say, then trailed off because she saw what couldn’t be, but was—a faint gleam coming from the windows. Someone had turned on the lights.
    It had to be kids who had broken in, or maybe tramps. Either way they’d have to report it. Which meant by noon the whole damn town would know she’d been wandering around the woods with the stranger from New York. Just in case there were two or three people left by that time who weren’t talking about her performance in the bar.
    The lights went out in the cabin, and a flashlight beam passed by one of the windows, moving from the back of the cabin to the front. A second beam joined it and then a third. Three people came out and stood on the porch. And even though it was too far away and too dark to see their faces, she recognized the figures that were silhouetted by the flashlights. One was tiny and ramrod straight, one was mid-sized, and one was so tall she’d had to duck her head going through the door. The three Miss Margarets were hanging out in the cabin in the middle of the night! At least she wouldn’t have to report them to the cops. The three Miss Margarets went anywhere they wanted to. And besides, Dr. Maggie took care of the cabin. But there was a car in the drive in front of it, which meant the ladies would get in it, come down the drive, and find them.
    “Josh—” she started, but before she could tell him they had to go, he had turned the SUV around much more neatly than she would have thought possible without switching on the lights, and they made their way back to the highway in darkness.
             
    F OR A MOMENT PEGGY THOUGHT she heard a car pull away, but there were no headlights so she decided her mind was playing tricks on her. Neither Maggie nor Li’l Bit seemed to hear it, but then there were many things they didn’t hear these days. She looked at their weary faces. Maggie had held up beautifully all night, but now she looked so frail a puff of wind could blow her away. Li’l Bit seemed to have gotten bigger and heavier, as if grief had swelled her like a sponge. Impulsively Peggy reached out to hug her, and Li’l Bit held on for dear life. Then they each hugged Maggie, and it was partly for comfort and partly because no one could bear to leave. Peggy wanted to say something that would help, something that would be wise and important. But when she opened her mouth, all she could get out was, “It’s late; why don’t you let me drive you home?” And she wondered when the hell she’d become the practical one.
    Li’l Bit shook