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Shifting Ari, Jace tried again, and again the key would not line up with the inside tumblers and release the lock “Well, it’s been five years,” he said aloud He supposed Sheldon had changed the locks in that ti the doorbell Inside he heard the soft sound of it chi cut the sky in quick succession

Peering through the side s, he noted that other things had changed, too The runner that led froone A new floor of polished oak gleamed in the semidarkness

Jace waited several seconds before ringing the bell again Ari weighed about forty pounds, but he was getting heavy It ell after ht and maybe Sheldon and Laura were asleep If his brother was following their father’s , any help they had would have left hours ago

Suddenly, a light went on inside the foyer Jace squinted as the one above his head illu his face toward Jace’s neck Resettling hi his eyes

“May I help you?” a voice said through the heavy door

“You could open the door” Jace peered through the beveled glass trying to see whether it was Laura or someone else

“Who are you?” she asked “And what do you want?”

“I’m Jason Kendall and I live here”

There was a long pause before Jace heard the door locks clicking and finally the oval-glass door was pulled open The light fro before hiasped

“Laura,” he whispered, taking a step backward He thought he was prepared to see her again, but he wasn’t

“I’m not Laura”

Jace stared at her face He frowned She wasn’t Laura He blinked several tihtly like her Her hair was red with unkempt tendrils that had come loose from the braid that disappeared down her back Laura, on the other hand, never had a lock of hair out of place

The young wo exercise pants and a sweatshirt that came to her knees “I’m Kelly Ashton You’d better come out of the rain”

Stepping inside the door was like going back in tih much of what he saas different, the faint aro dead

Jace brushed passed her and walked several feet into the foyer The only sounds he heard were his own footsteps as he crossed the floor The place could have been e roo in the decor of the rooed Laura had probably redecorated Jace could srate Even though it was May, the nights in Maryland at this elevation could be nippy Pulling an afghan that was lying on the back of the sofa over the boy, he turned to exa in the doorway

“Well?” he asked

“Well what? I told you my name is Kelly Ashton and I live here now”

“You what? Where is Sheldon? Has Laura divorced hiet?” Jace could hear the cynicisht, he couldn’t remove it when it came to the topic of Laura