The Smaller Evil

by Stephanie Kuehn

  There was a photograph, too, and you knew what you’d see even before you looked—the wise face of a fox who could always set his own snare when needed. That’s what Beau was, wasn’t he? Sly. Quick-witted.

  In ways you couldn’t help but admire.

  You were right about what you’d see, of course. The picture of Beau was a handsome one. It was recent, too, taken near Lake George in upstate New York. He’d gotten sun, more color, but still there were no lines on his smiling face.

  Not one.

  What you didn’t expect to see was the girl beside him, tucked under his arm with her cheek pressed against his chest. Your breath hitched not only because of their intimacy, but because even across newsprint and miles and countless lies, you still wanted her.

  So very badly.

  You read the photo’s caption next. Your eyes danced past Beau’s name to reach hers. Then you gasped. You couldn’t help it. Because the truth wasn’t the lie you expected; the cook you’d known with the bare legs and the yellow dress wasn’t Beau’s young lover. She never had been. She was his daughter.

  Beatrice.

  You smiled then, despite the wounding knife-twist of nostalgia, both because she was lovely and because there was still mystery in the world. You smiled, because in that moment—no matter the truth or the strength of the blade—you were something far more than nothing.

  And that, you finally knew, was everything.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  To Michael Bourret and Andrew Karre; to Phyllis Naylor, Viola Canales, Selene Castrovilla, and Elizabeth Levy; to Dana Li, Cara Petrus, Kristin Logsdon, Melissa Faulner, Natalie Vielkind, and all the wise, talented, and wonderful people at Dutton; to kind and kitty-loving Anne Heausler; to early readers and dear friends, Brandy Colbert, Deb Driza, and Sarah Enni; and to my beloved family, Will, Sid, Tessa, and Severin—thank you. You are my systems that work and so much more. This book wouldn’t exist without you.

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