The Wicked Sister
Page 26
“Would you? That’d be great.”
Trevor lifts our daughter onto his shoulders and gallops up the stairs. Lynette follows more slowly with Scotty. “Mrs. Eklund,” Scotty calls her. Though it comes out sounding like mi-eck-lun, even Raven understands.
I rinse our dinner dishes and stack them in the sink, then sit down in my mother’s chair in front of the fire. Never could I have imagined that one day I would be living at the lodge with my growing family, that I would marry the aspiring journalism student whose hunger for a story would ultimately set me free, that we would make a home for his brother and my best friend, that I would get my biology degree from Northern Michigan University as my mother had always wanted, and that my husband would be offered a teaching position at the same university thanks to the Pulitzer-nominated article he wrote about my family for The New York Times.
Sometimes it bothers me that Diana’s second-degree murder charge in Charlotte’s death was reduced to manslaughter. But the prosecutor explained that letting a case go to trial was always a risk because of the possibility that the jury will return an acquittal, whereas accepting a plea bargain guaranteed that my sister would spend the next fifteen years in prison.
I also worry about what she’ll do when she gets out. She lost the use of her right arm when I shot her in the shoulder and can no longer paint. I can’t help thinking that because I took something that she loved away from her, she’s going to come back and take something I love from me. Our lawyer says Diana could possibly be charged in the deaths of the girl who died at the roadside park or the boy who drowned in my family’s swimming pool, and that if she’s convicted for one or both, this could extend her jail time, though he admits these are long shots. There’s also Trevor’s tape recording in which she admits to killing our parents, which you’d think would be a slam dunk, but for some reason it is not. It’s a good thing we have ten years to figure something out.
Meanwhile, I am content to sit in this chair enjoying the fire while White Bear stands behind me with his restored paws extended as in a blessing. Happiness settles over me like a cloak. Sometimes I think it’s all too much; that here in this beautiful hunting lodge, doing meaningful work that I love with the support of a husband I never dreamed I would have while raising my growing family, I’ve been given far more than I deserve. Then I think about everything that I went through to get to this point and decide that if the Universe is trying to make up for all that I lost, it has a long way to go.
But most of the time, I don’t dwell on the past. I don’t even think about the future. Instead, I choose to live in the present and focus on all the good things I have.
Because why shouldn’t my fairy tale have a happy ending?
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I owe a huge debt of gratitude to the many passionate and talented people who made this book possible:
Ivan Held and Sally Kim, my publisher and editorial director at Putnam. Your unfailing belief in me and in this novel means more than I can say.
Mark Tavani, whose keen editorial insight and deep understanding of the complexities of human nature elevated this novel above what I could have imagined.
The Putnam team: Alexis Welby, Ashley McClay, Katie Grinch, the production staff, the art department, sales, and promotion, along with a special shout-out to Danielle Dieterich, who came up with the title—thank you for making such a beautiful book!
Huge thanks also to my agent, Jeff Kleinman, without whom I wouldn’t be the author I am today. Every author should be blessed with an agent as dedicated and passionate as he is. I’m honored to call you my friend.
Thanks also to Melissa White, my foreign rights agent at Folio Literary Management, for putting my novels into the hands of readers all over the world, and to my first readers, Kelly Mustian and Sandra Kring, without whose insight and encouragement, I’d be lost, as well as to my writer friend Steve Lehto, who generously shares his knowledge of both the Upper Peninsula and Michigan law.
Most of all, I want to thank my husband, Roger, and my mother, Marian Walker, as well as my children and the rest of my family and friends for their unflagging encouragement and support. Writing is such a solitary endeavor, it’s easy to get caught up in the worlds that we’re creating in our heads and forget the things that matter most. You all keep me grounded, and for that, I am truly grateful.
And finally, a quick shout-out to all the real-world and online friends who entered my contest for a chance to be a character in my novel, but who didn’t win: Adele Woskobojnik, Amber Martensen, Amber McLean, Amy Klco, Amy Moss, Ana Gaby Anaya, Angelika Wojciak, Ann Elder, Ann Holt, Anne L. St Onge, April Arotin, Arlene Brown Stein, Barb Woods, Bernadette Bender Buszek, Beth Ann Hiatt McFalls, Beth Vollbach, Beverly Purdy, Brian Wilson, Bruce Wallis, Carmen Murphy, Caroline De Ruyck, Charlene Temple, Chris Williams, Christopher Aumick, Cortney Casey, Dan McDougall, Danis Houser, Danny Bartolotta, Darcy Giovannetti, Dawn Nacker, Dayna Edwards, Dean Lever, Debi Krogstad, Deborah Wall McGraw, Doreen Fresco-Sparkes, Elaine Breault, Erica Trowbridge, Esther Mudge, Gail Tobias Smith, Geneva Robertson, Gigi Harris, Gloria Caswell, Hailey Fish, Haley Georgi, Heather Dobberstein, Heather Hope-Thomas, Helen Lindstrom, Iris Gernhuber, Jackie Wilson Fredenburg, James Agnew, Janet DeCastro, Janet Rudolph, Janice Rydzon, Jeanine McIntyre Dunaj, Jennifer Knapp, Jennifer Lasslett, Jerrle Gericke, Jessica Drayton Frost, Jessica Sampson, JH Bográn, JM Barton, Jo Hansen, John Thomas Bychowski, Joni Cross Massad, Julie K. Koleszar, Justine Janora, Karen Dybis, Karen Ford, Karen Schwartz, Karynn Ellis Anderson, Kate Courtney Scollin, Kathie Antrim, Kathleen Fannon, Kathryn Dalheim, Katie Mignogna, Kay Kendall, Kelly Martin, Kelly Mustian, Kristopher Zgorski, Laura Barens, Leslie Carlson Davis, Lilian Brugel, Linda Ciochetto, Lisa Brendemuehl, Lisa Romeo, Lisa Roy White, Lissy Pritchard, Lori Hunt, Lori Twining, Lorraine Fallis Bergevin, Luzmarie Alvarez Allen, Lynn Parker, Lynn Sinclair, Magdalana Basel, Maly Kue, Marge Sawyer Crawford, Margo Parmenter Zieske, Mariah Lalonde, Marlys Pearson, Martha Dalrymple, Mary Carol Webber O’Malley, Mary Jane Snider, Maureen Tuohy, Melanie Hoo Swiftney, Melissa Maxey, Michael Hackett, Michael Knapp, Michele Kinney, Michelle Murphy, Mike Walker, Millie Naylor Hast, Missy Jenner, Myla Bilello, Nancy Nowak Messina, Nick Garlinghouse, Nita Joy Haddad, Norman Garver, Pam Killebrew Alessandro, Patty Patano, Patty Renfro Wonderly, Patty Sundberg, Paul Lahti, Penny Nantell, Pia Nielsen, Rebecca Burnton, Robin Agnew, Rosanna Lanza, Sandy Fields, Sarah White, Shana Silver, Shasta Burzynski, Shawn Reilly Simmons, Sherri Trbovich, Sherry Neuder Bradow, Shirley Barrett, Steven Bartley, Susie Barajas, Tara Humphrey, Terry Beedom, Tina Pelrin, Tracey S. Phillips, Trina Hayes, Trisha David, Wendy Harrison, and Yolanda M. Elkins.
I’m sorry you won’t see your name in my book! Oh, wait . . .
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Karen Dionne is the USA Today and #1 internationally bestselling author of the award-winning psychological suspense novel The Marsh King's Daughter, published by G.P. Putnam's Sons in the U.S. and in 25 other countries. She enjoys nature photography and lives with her husband in Detroit's northern suburbs.
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