A Killing Cold

Angry people do unpredictable things.

We all have violence inside of us. It needs only the right fuel.

But a confession doesn’t mean much when you’ve already been caught.

Money isn’t just money. It’s power, freedom, and protection.

We are what our parents make us, after all.

Had Rose filed for divorce? Or intended to, perhaps, but never got the chance? Connor has never hinted at problems between his parents, but he was only a child, after all. He might not have known.

She must be in her eighties, but she doesn't look it. Maybe that's what a lifetime of money will buy you - not happiness, but smoother skin, fewer aches and pains along the way.

He has no idea how to cook for only two people; the leftovers from our date nights feed me for a week.

It was a tiny ceremony—Harper and Rose as our witnesses at the courthouse, and dinner afterward at our apartment.

It was a tiny ceremony—Harper and Rose as our witnesses at the courthouse, and dinner afterward at our apartment. It’s a nice apartment, not far from the bookstore. Smaller than Connor

I almost prefer the dark now. The light only blinds you to what might lie beyond it.

There’s nothing natural about strapping sticks to your feet and hurtling through the snow,

The pond—labeled here Idlewood Lake, with more optimism than accuracy—is dead center, with the grand lodge above it and five cabins scattered here and there, each far enough away from the others for privacy. The corner of the map is scorched. I think of what Mrs. Dalton said—about the old lodge being damaged in a fire. Damaged, not destroyed. This isn’t a family that sees something flawed and fixes it up. No. When something breaks, it needs to be gotten rid of, in order for something better to take its place.

Don’t,” she says. I look up at her in surprise. “I mean, you’ll want to have a lawyer look over everything and negotiate for you. We’ll pay for it, of course, but it’ll be their job to protect your interests. That’s what it should do—protect both of you. It’s what I should have done, but I was too head over heels and worried I’d lose it all if I pushed back even a little, and I ended up with a prenup that would have left me with next to nothing when…” She stops herself. Speaks carefully. “It would have been better to have some kind of protection.” When, she said, not if. “That’s … very practical,” I say.

It was Alexis who broke ranks. It had to be. Rose and Paloma wouldn’t do it, not when doing so would condemn Alexis even as it exonerated me.