Beside the Brook by Paulette Rae Page A

the bay, Tyler had taken the boat out to the salmon farm and Jamie had whisked Sarah away to visit friends nearby. Beth had donned a sun hat and disappeared in the back garden to help Craig plant tomatoes in the greenhouse.
    Sitting in the heat of the day soon got to be too much, and Kirsten decided to take a break. She rode the lift to the third floor and changed into her bathing suit. The cool clear water of the pool was so refreshing on her skin, the blue painted concrete bottom a reflection of the azure sky. She lay on her back and floated, watching the occasional slow moving cloud cross from one side of the bay to the other. When she had cooled off she took her paperwork and headed to the pool house. It was cooler than the patio; the canvas sun shades across the full length windows blocked the afternoon heat. She stretched on a bench seat in the corner of the room, which was decorated with large calico pillows. The wooden crafted sofa creaked under her weight as she made herself comfortable. Standing up again she lifted the cushion and discovered there were nails missing from one of the wide boards. It looked as though they had been pulled out intentionally. Prying the corner of the plank loose with her fingernail, Kirsty lifted it from its groove. Beneath the boards Kirsten could just make out a rectangle of bulk, set against the dark floorboards a few feet below. She reached in, her arm disappearing all the way until her arm pit and shoulder prohibited her from going further. She felt a flap of soft leather against her fingers and she grasped it tightly, pulling it up through the gap she had made. It was a book, the cover dusty with age and neglect. As she opened the cover the spine creaked in protest, stiff from sitting unopened for so long.
    Brook’s Diary.
    Kirsten ran her fingers across the words, musing over the handwriting of a woman who had long ago deserted the living.
    She wondered why Brook had hidden her diary here, rather than in the confines of her own room. Were there thoughts so secret within that she couldn’t bare the thought of anyone reading them?
    Kirsten slipped the diary back into its hiding place, feeling guilty that she had even contemplated reading Brook’s personal thoughts.
    If it was Kirsten’s diary she would be mortified to think someone was reading her innermost private thoughts. A diary was a sacred thing, meant for one person only; the author. But now that Brook was dead, didn’t this rightfully belong to Jamie? Wouldn’t her family want to know about it?

    Kirsten wondered how it would be received if she were to take this to Jamie now. She didn’t know him well enough yet to gauge what his reaction would be. Maybe when the time was right she could tell him about it. But right now, based on what she knew of Jamie, she didn’t feel right about doing that either. So for now, until she decided what to do about the diary, it would remain her secret. Hers and Brook’s.

Chapter 5

    “Pack up your things, Sarah. We’re going on a field trip.”
    The girl’s face lit up, even though she didn’t know what a field trip was. But it sounded like it would get her out of lessons in the hot classroom, therefore she was as keen as mustard.
    Kirsten watched Sarah as she jumped up from the desk, nearly spilling her chair onto the floor behind her. Her hair had been French braided and thin wisps that had escaped floated around her angelic face.
    “Where are we going?” Her brown eyes were wide with curiosity. Oh to be seven again, Kirsten thought as she helped Sarah put a sweatshirt into her pink Barbie backpack.
    “For a drive. It’s Friday and you’ve been good all week, so I think it’s time for some outdoor activity.”
    “Yay.” Sarah skipped merrily to the door. “A field trip, a field trip,” she chanted in time to her own steps.
    Beth had told Kirsten she could make use of the four wheel drive whenever it was free, and she had yet to take advantage of the offer. She was keen