Page 28 (1/1)

Prologue

Ten Years Ago

HOLDING HER PINK taffeta dress up to her knees, Kate Jones trudged toward horound would open up and s her Live burial seeht in Pleasantville, Ohio Her cousin’s favorite expression came to mind—This town’s about as pleasant as a yeast infection

Without a doubt, this evening would have a place on Kate’s list of all-time worst experiences No, it wasn’t nearly as bad as when her dad had died, or when her ht her here to live, a tohere their fae experiences, however, tonight was bad Kate had been resoundingly duht no less

You should have stayed, a voice whispered in her brain

Kate snorted “Stayed? After being jilted by Darren for Angela Winfield, wickedest witch on earth? Right!”

Cassie wouldn’t have run away No, her cousin would have popped Angela one, kicked Darren where it counted, and told them to stick it where the sun didn’t shine Too bad she’d left early

She passed another dark house Its inhabitants were probably cozy in their beds, reflecting on their pleasant days They wouldn’t think twice about her trudging in the street Who’d expect anything else froht be Jones, but no one let her forget her ht-A student who’d never gotten into any real trouble, people here believed Kate ood branch on her way down the Tremaine family tree

Turning off Petunia onto Pansy Lane, Kate grimaced for the half-iant bottle of Weed-B-Gone She could think of a creeping pest she’d like to zap Darren

“Darren’s a conceited jerk” Kate knew she shouldn’t have gone with hiht she’d wanted to be part of the in crowd She’d wanted to be cool and popular, instead of the nice, quiet girl who tried to disguise her fa harder than anyone ever expected

Tonight at the pro him to ditch Kate and leave with her instead The whole school knew Angela put out And despite being a trashy Treela the tramp from the most respected family in town? Or Kate the pure, frohteen-year-old boy to do?

He’d left so fast Kate’s head had spun

Kate was nearly home when the rain started “What did I do to deserve this?” she said as drops hit her face She was long past the point of caring about her panty hose Nor did she worry about her —her tears had accomplished that

The rain was just one ht

Spying her family’s duplex, she prayed herunit where she and Aunt Flo lived If Cassie was hoht against Cassie’s in the next unit They’d coirls She’d signal her to sneak out back for one of their late-night gab sessions and fill her in about her lousy proht

Then she noticed a parked car out front When her ed from it, Kate wondered who Edie could have been out with so late As a man exited she said, “Mayor Winfield?”

Yes, Angela’s father Rich, jolly John Winfield who kept her ain the ht, as if she didn’t already spend forty hours a week scrubbing other people’s toilets Kate raised a brow as the entleman and walked her mother to the door

Walk away, her inner voice said But she couldn’t Moving closer, she’d reached the steps when they began to kiss

Katean affair with the very married mayor? John Winfield was the patriarch of the town, a faolden boy, JJ, who’d gone away to college years ago and hadn’t returned

After their kiss Winfield said, “I don’t knohat I’d do without you You’ve made life bearable for me all these years”