Dead Silence by Brenda Novak Page A

in her door and couldn’t resist a smile. Do you have my cookies? Teddy.
    â€œI’d like to do some baking.”
    â€œSeriously?”
    Her smile widened. “Seriously.”
    â€œSounds like fun to me. Could you use some help?”
    Grace’s heart beat heavily for a moment before she managed an answer. “Sure.”
    â€œI was planning to watch a video with Kirk, but I see him all the time. I’d rather be with you.”
    â€œAre you two getting serious?”
    â€œNot at all.”
    â€œYou’re as bad as I am. You’ve been seeing him for three years, Maddy.”
    This observation met with an audible sigh. “I know. The relationship never progresses. The friendship’s too good to go our separate ways. But we’re not in love enough to marry.”
    â€œWell, Molly and Clay are doing no better,” Grace said.
    â€œClay could get married. Lord knows, plenty of women want him. He just doesn’t seem interested in anything that lasts more than a single night. He was actually voted ‘Most Eligible Bachelor’ and ‘Least Likely to Marry’ in the poll I did for Singles a few months ago.”
    Grace could understand why Clay might hesitate to make a commitment. How could he move someone into that house and still hide the secret? What if his wife wanted to relocate at some point? Half the town would tear the farm apart searching for Lee Barker.
    â€œAnd Molly’s only twenty-nine,” Madeline was saying. “That’s not too unusual.”
    â€œTwenty-nine is definitely old enough to be married,” Grace said.
    â€œTrue.”
    Grace didn’t want to examine her own situation, which was probably coming next, so she changed the subject. “What about bringing Kirk with you tonight?”
    â€œThat’s a thought,” Madeline replied, not questioning the shift in topics. “He just called to say something happened at the tavern last night that he wants to tell me about.” She lowered her voice, infusing it with meaning. “I think it concerns Dad.”
    Grace had been pushing off on the ground with one foot. Now she stilled the hammock. “In what way?”
    â€œI don’t know. He was at work and didn’t get to explain before he had to go. But it sounds promising.”
    Not this again. Poor Madeline. “Maddy, you have to let it go, okay? It’s not good for you to obsess over…” She’d been about to say “the reverend” but forced herself to say “Daddy.”
    The reverend himself had told his stepchildren to call him Dad, and had gotten very angry when they didn’t, especially if other people were around when they slipped up. Once he was no longer part of their lives, their mother had insisted they continue the practice for the same reason they couldn’t pack up the office in the barn.
    â€œUntil my dad met your mother, it was just me and him,” Madeline said. “He was all I had.”
    Her mother had committed suicide three years before the reverend married Irene. Grace had always wondered exactly what had caused her severe unhappiness and guessed she’d come to know the real man behind her husband’s pious mask. But no one ever talked about her. Even Madeline pretended Eliza Barker had never existed. Grace assumed Madeline hadn’t forgiven her yet.
    â€œI know how much he meant to you, but—”
    â€œI need some closure, Grace. If he’s dead I’ll have to accept that, right? Then I’ll know he’s not coming back. Like my birth mother. That’s something, isn’t it?”
    â€œDoes Kirk believe he’s dead?” Grace asked.
    â€œOf course. But unlike most other people around here, he’s not blaming Irene.”
    â€œThat’s good,” Grace said with a fake laugh. “I’d hate to have anyone like that influencing you.”
    â€œShe’s part of the reason I can’t