Page 18 of The Atonement
So, if anything, I hoped he’d just take them.
It would be the one thing in the world he could do to hurt me beyond repair.
Take away my children, Peter, hurt me that way, but please don’t hurt them.
I forced the thought away as I twisted the handle and stepped inside. I checked behind the door, then around the room before shutting it firmly and moving forward.
I inhaled deeply, trying to detect a hint of blood or his cologne, but there was nothing. No signs he’d been there at all.
Maybe the car belonged to a neighbor.
Maybe one of my mother’s friends, though I couldn’t imagine her having friends of any kind. Halfway through the living room, I heard a sound that sent a bolt of lightning through my veins.
Maisy’s laughter.
Whomwas she laughing at? I knew one person who could make her laugh above all else. I darted toward the sound, rounding the corner into the living room, and froze.
Mom’s smile disappeared when she saw me. “Oh, hello, honey. Have you met Matt?”
Matt, apparently, was the man standing in the middle of my mother’s kitchen talking to my daughter across the counter. He appeared to be several years younger than me—early twenties, I’d guess—with thick brown, wavy hair, kind eyes, and a barely there five o’clock shadow. He smiled at me, his eyes lingering on mine for longer than necessary, and an embarrassing warmth spread throughmy stomach. Then he looked back at Maisy, who was practically giddy, watching him the way I’d seen her watch the boys in her favorite bands.
“Um, no…” I moved forward, touching my daughter’s arm.What in the child bride is this?“What’s going on?” Where was Peter?
“Sorry.” Matt held out his hand, making too-intense eye contact with me again. Heat rushed to my cheeks. “I’m your new neighbor. I just moved in across the street and came by to introduce myself.”
I extended my hand stiffly. Our skin had barely touched when the flutters spread through my extremities. What the hell was happening to me? I pulled my arm back abruptly, with too much force, and tucked a piece of hair behind my ear to mask the movement. “Notmyneighbor. I don’t live here.Wedon’t live here.” I gestured toward Maisy.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I thought—”
“Well, they’re living here right now, anyway,” my mother said, batting her eyelashes at him and swatting his arm. He still hadn’t taken his eyes off of me. I looked away. “I was just telling Matt that you work at a bank downtown. He worked in banking, too. Can you believe that?”
“Small world,” I said halfheartedly, running my hands through Maisy’s hair to keep myself busy.
“He’s from California,” Maisy told me, her eyes as wide as if she’d said he was from the moon. “He used to live at the beach.”
“Nearthe beach,” he corrected, then took a step closer to me. His voice lowered, as if he were only speaking to me. “And I used to work in banking, but not anymore. It was great, though.” He paused, waiting for me to respond, but I had nothing to say. I took a step back, keeping myself between him and Maisy. Finally seeming to notice my discomfort, he backed off, turning his attention back to my daughter. “Anyway, I was just telling Maisy about the time I walked right past Tom Hanks and had no idea until I got home and realized why he looked so familiar. I just waved at him like he was some random guy.”
Maisy laughed again. “Can you imagine?” She sighed, biting into a frozen peach from the bowl in front of her. “No one famous ever comes around here.”
“We live outside of Nashville, and we’re here all the time.” I gestured around us, though it wasn’t really true. I was in Nashville daily for work, Peter too, but the kids only came if it was for something specific or if we were visiting my parents. “Plenty of famous people live near us,” I told her.
“Yeah, but we never see them. And, even if you do, Nashville has this unspoken rule that you can’t approach them. My friend saw Taylor Swift at the mall once and no one even believes her.”
“They’re just normal people, Maise.” I stepped closer, resting my hands on the counter. “Same as you and me.”
“You should listen to your mom. That’s a way coolerway of looking at it than I did,” Matt agreed, pointing at me, though I didn’t need him to back me up with my own daughter. I shot a steely glance his way, and he lowered his hand and averted his eyes, his own cheeks flushing pink. He scratched the back of his neck. “Anyway, I’m sorry to have interrupted. I just wanted to come by and introduce myself and say if you need anything, let me know.”
“Well, you weren’t interrupting at all. Are you sure you won’t have some sangria before you go? I just made a fresh pitcher.” My mom was practically unrecognizable, smiling and fawning all over this stranger.
“Oh, no, thank you though. It sounds delicious, but I’ve got to get back to unpacking. I just happened to see you outside and thought now was as good a time as any. And I wanted to warn you about Sampson, too. If he ever gets annoying, just let me know. This is the first time he’s had a yard, so I’m sure he’ll be excited for a few days, but I’ll do my best to keep him quiet.”
“Oh, he’s no bother at all. I just love dogs.”
This was the same mother who’d once told me we could never have animals because they brought “fleas, worms, and filth” wherever they went.
“Sampson’s a Great Dane.” Maisy filled me in.
I nodded, unsure of what to say and ready for this stranger to get out of this house.
