Dead Woman Crossing by J.R. Adler (books on motivation .txt) 📗

her mind, but she had learned that even in small-town America, the worst could happen. She gave the solid oak door one final look, bending down to check the bottom of it, but before stepping away, the door swung open, thumping her in the head. A couple of stars burst in the corner of her eyes as she backed up and grabbed the top of her head, pressing her palm against it.

“Oh my God, I’m so sorry,” a woman carrying a large diaper bag and holding her child on her hip said.

The woman’s eyes were wide and green like emeralds. Her hair was long and dark, and the baby girl had entangled one of her hands in it, wrapping it round and round. She had creamy skin, like a fresh scoop of vanilla ice cream, waiting to be dived into. In this part of the country, that told Kimberley that she spent very little time outside.

“I’m such a klutz,” the woman added.

“No, no, no, that was my fault. I shouldn’t bend down in front of a door,” Kimberley said, lowering her hand from her throbbing head.

“No, it’s my fault. I’m running so late… again. Ugh, I’m such a mess,” she said, shaking her head.

It was then that the woman realized her daughter’s hand had her hair wrapped around it like a spool of thread. “Isobel, what did you do?” she said, trying to get her hair free.

“Let me help.” Kimberley stepped forward, taking the bag from the woman and distracting the little girl long enough so the woman could free herself.

“Thanks,” she said, switching the child to her other hip. “I’m Hannah, and this little monster is Isobel.” She smiled.

Isobel looked like a mini version of her mom: the same green eyes, the same dark hair, although much shorter than the mane Hannah had.

Kimberley shook her hand. “I’m Kimberley. My little one is with my mother in the toddler room. I was just taking a look around.”

“You have one too? How old?”

“Sixteen months.”

“How is she?”

“She’s a handful,” Kimberley said with a smirk.

“So, that’s what I have to look forward to. Isobel here is fourteen months, and she’s been a handful since she learned to crawl.” Hannah let out a strained laugh.

“Wait ’til she can walk,” Kimberley added with a laugh.

“Oh God.” Hannah looked at her daughter and then back at Kimberley, slightly rolling her eyes jokingly.

Kimberley scanned the woman’s face, seeing more than what met the eye. She was naturally beautiful and young, no more than twenty-five. She was exhausted, scatterbrained, the telltale signs of a mother with a young child. But there was something else there: a tinge of frustration, perhaps? Something that said, “Can’t you see everything I’m trying to deal with here?” Kimberley recognized it, because she had it too. Single mother.

“You must be new in town. Haven’t seen you around,” Hannah said, gently bouncing her baby who had begun playing with her mother’s long, thick hair again.

“I am. Just moved here with my daughter yesterday.”

“Your husband didn’t move with you?” Hannah asked, obviously fishing to see if she could finally meet someone who shared the commonality with her.

Kimberley picked up on it right away.

“It’s just me and Jessica,” she said with a wide and inviting smile.

Hannah gave a tight smile and a nod. “It’s just me and Isobel too.”

She shuffled her feet slightly, unsure of what to say, so Kimberley broke the silence. “You said you were running late?”

Hannah put her hand over her face and shook her head. “Oh yeah, duh. I work part time over at the pharmacy. What about you? What brought you here to Dead Woman Crossing?”

“Well, my mom. Plus, I took a job as the new chief deputy,” Kimberley said with a nod.

Hannah opened her mouth and then closed it as if she didn’t know what to say. “That’s impressive. Congrats.” Her enthusiastic tone matched her lit up face.

“Thank you.”

“Well, I better get going before I get fired,” she said with a slight laugh as she stepped around Kimberley.

Kimberley backed up so she could get through to the back of the house where the childcare rooms were.

“It was really great meeting you, Chief Deputy Kimberley…”

“King,” Kimberley added.

“Kimberley King. That’s got a nice ring to it. Keep your last name if you ever decide to throw in the towel,” Hannah said with a grin.

“Noted.” Kimberley smiled back.

Hannah nodded and ducked out of the foyer with Isobel and her bag in tow. She already felt a kind of connection to Hannah, as silly as that sounded. Both of them were very different, coming from two opposite worlds, but they were one and the same. Two women raising children alone.

Hannah briskly walked back out of the childcare room, arms now free of any burden. She sidestepped Kimberley and opened the door but stopped to turn back.

“Ya know, it can be real tough moving to a new town and fitting in or finding friends. I’m sure you’re real busy what with Jessica and being a sheriff and all, but… if you ever wanna grab a coffee or, hell, a drink sometime, don’t be a stranger, okay?”

Kimberley could tell this was less of a kind and welcome invitation for the sake of being inviting and altruistic and more a woman who desperately wanted a friend of her own. Someone who had lived in this town for quite some time but still felt out of place and like she didn’t belong. But a friend wouldn’t hurt one bit. It would give her mother and David some space, and it would give more time for Nicole to spend with Jessica.

“Sure,” Kimberley said. “I’d like that.”

“Okay.” Hannah bashfully nodded as she walked away, leaving the daycare and heading to her car.

They hadn’t exchanged information, but she knew where to find Hannah—here or at the pharmacy. Plus, Kimberley got the distinct feeling that in this town, everybody knew everybody else.

Nicole and Emily walked together into the foyer where Kimberley was still standing thinking about her conversation with Hannah.

“Hey, where are the kids?”