The Last Caretaker by Jessica Strawser EPUB & PDF – eBook Details Online
- Status: Available for Free Download
- Authors: Jessica Strawser
- Language: English
- Genre: Women’s Divorce Fiction
- Format: PDF / EPUB
- Size: 2 MB
- Price: Free
Bess had neglected to mention the guard shack. Imagine that.
Katie had pictured this so many times: the moment she’d drive up to her
new home, her new job, the whole new life she’d signed on for sight unseen.
She’d pored over the few photos she could find, filling in the blanks with her
best guesses. And now that she was finally here, she could see right away
how much she’d gotten right: The stamped wooden sign marking Grove Farm
Nature Reserve. The wide, shallow creek running parallel to the entrance, and
the low concrete bridge crossing it—one car width, no guardrails. The fork
on the other side, separating the parking and trail access from the turnoff that
presumably led to the caretaker’s residence.
That was her. The new caretaker. The lone resident on these 927 acres.
But somehow, she hadn’t envisioned her new driveway—this was more
or less her driveway, wasn’t it?—beginning at an actual guard shack with a
striped metal gate blocking entry, like some prison or secret government
facility. No, she corrected herself. A gated community. A resort. Where
nefarious experiments were not being done inside.
Her brain went to the heart of the problem: How will I order pizza?
Clearly Bess, unlike Katie, had known there was no separate entrance
for the caretaker. Bess was programming director at the nature center’s main
campus, and peripherally, at this less-trafficked annex. Plus, she was standing
next to the guard shack now, waving her arms as if Katie were approaching
by airplane instead of by car.
Katie rolled down her window and waved as she turned in. The car was
packed nearly to the roof without any order whatsoever, as if she’d grabbed
anything she could rescue from her burning house in a panic. Which she sort
of had. The hodgepodge came to life behind her, cords flapping and jackets
rustling in the rush of air.
Bess didn’t wave back. Instead, she tossed her phone into the grass with
a giddy whoop and began doing an elaborate touchdown dance across the
road. Not that there was anyone around to see. Katie hadn’t passed another
car for miles.
Katie was already laughing, jumping out of the car before it fully jerked
into Park.
Bess ran in for a hug. “I’m so glad you’re here!” she squealed. “It’s
really happening!”
“It’s really happening,” Katie echoed, squeezing her tight. It was so
good to see Bess. They hadn’t lived in the same town since college.
They pulled back to take a good look at each other. Twice a year they
had a standing date, every Fourth of July and New Year’s, without fail.
Except for this past New Year’s, which—for Katie—had been very much
with fail, and only with fail. Now, in the early-spring chill, Bess gushed on
about how they hadn’t seen each other for nine insanely long months. How
they could have birthed a whole baby in that time.
Instead, Katie had birthed a humiliating divorce. And Bess had birthed a
plan to save her.
“You didn’t mention the guard shack,” Katie said as soon as she could
get a word in.
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