Free The Magnolia Affair by T. A. Foster

morning.”
    “Don’t you have a luncheon with the Daughters of the Revolution?” I asked.
    “I do, but it’s not until one. That gives us plenty of time to finish our conversation.”
    “Oh.” I hesitated.
    “I meant it, Audrey. We’re going to be together. We just have to figure it out. I want a life with you.”
    “Pax—” The things I said in the dark weren’t the real me, or were they more me than I knew? Was he the one showing me what I really wanted in my life? I knew I couldn’t make a decision like this so quickly. It wasn’t just my life. It was Spencer’s too.
    Last night, I was a different woman and he and I both knew it. I told him I loved him.
    “Ok. I’ll be right back.” I left him sorting his emails. I snatched the key from the hook and pulled mine from my bag. It hadn’t made it out of the kitchen. There would be another occasion I could parade around in that vixen number.
    I crossed through the bushes in the spot where our backyards connected. On the other side, I saw the blue lights and the police car parked in my driveway.
    My first instinct was that something had happened to Mrs. Ellerby, but there was no ambulance and the car was here instead of across the street. It didn’t make sense.
    It was as if a virus had taken hold of my body. My legs trembled; my mouth went dry. I felt sudden fever on my cheeks.
    I stumbled through my backyard, the entire time hearing Pepper’s bark from inside the house. He was jumping to get out. I walked toward the flashing lights, but there was no one there. I stood next to the car.
    “Mrs. Kingston?” An officer walked around from the front of the house. He was holding his hat in his hand.
    “Y-yes?” My knees were quaking so badly I had to steady myself on the hood of the car.
    “Can we go inside for a minute?” He raked his hair at the top where it was receding.
    “S-sure. What’s going on?” I tried to think which route to take. The garage was closed. The front door was locked, and Pepper was howling at the backdoor for freedom.
    “Let’s go inside for a minute.” He waited for me to show him the way. “I’ve been knocking on the door awhile. Were you out?”
    I nodded. “Yes. I went for a walk.” I punched in the garage code. My nerves couldn’t handle it. I looked down at my flip-flops and flimsy boxer shorts. He wouldn’t believe I walked in this for one second.
    I noticed he ran his hand along the hood of my car, and then gave me half a smile.
    I opened the door and Pepper pounced on us. He wagged his tail and licked my leg. “Calm down, Pepper. Calm down.”
    “He looks like he hasn’t seen you in a while,” the officer commented.
    “He’s always like that.” I shooed the dog into the backyard. “Can I get you something to drink, officer?”
    “No. I think we should sit.”
    The shaking resumed, this time rattling my shoulders. “What is it? What’s happened?” I wished he would spit it out.
    “This is always the hardest part of my job, ma’am.” He paused and I thought I would crawl out of my skin. “There is no easy way to deliver this kind of news.” He coughed into his fist. “There was an accident this morning.”
    “Oh, God. What kind of accident? Who? Who?”
    “It was your husband.” His lips drew together in a thin line.
    “Spencer? Where he is? Is he ok?” I frantically searched for my phone, realizing it was charging in Paxton’s kitchen.
    The officer shook his head. “I’m sorry. He was killed.”
    “Killed?” The word sounded vile.
    “I realize this is shocking, but your husband’s car was found on the side of the road, near Tranter’s Creek.”
    “Car accident? Spence was in a car accident?” I kept repeating words, trying to string comprehension into something that was unfathomable. The room felt fuzzy. I wrapped a blanket from the back of the couch around me, but the shaking wouldn’t stop.
    “It wasn’t just a car accident. He was shot. We believe he died instantly, and the