Free The Other Side of Anne by Kelly Stuart

shut. “Like I said , we’re about to go on a walk.”
    “ That’s perfect. I’ll go with you.”
    Great. Not.
     
    **
     
    “This land truly is beautiful,” Anne murmured. Cold stung her cheeks in the best way, and gray-green mountains loomed in the distance. No imposing walls hemmed Anne in. If she were alone, she would run across the land and revel in her freedom.
    “Does it remind you of Europe?” Cindy asked.
    “In some ways, yes.” Anne liked Avery’s cousin. The woman was friendly and warm without being intrusive. She obviously cared a good deal about Avery.
    “How did you and Anne meet?”
    “Ah, well.” Avery cleared his throat. “I met her in England a few years ago. I said she was welcome to stay with me if she ever visited this side of the pond.”
    “What do you do, Anne?” Cindy asked.
    “She’s a painter .”
    “Why don’t let you let her answer?”
    Avery held his hands up. “Fine. Fine.”
    “I am a painter,” Anne echoed timidly.
    “That’s your job?”
    Anne nodded. “I have not sold much yet, but maybe one day I can.”
    “I hope you do. Good luck.”
    About an hour after they left on the walk, the threesome headed back to the house. “I passed a blue car on my way in,” Cindy said. “It was parked right across the road. Weird. Know anything about that? It seemed like the driver was watching your house.”
    Anne slowed her steps, her chest constricting.
    “I don’t know. Something to do with a neighbor?” Avery s uggested, but the guilty shift of his eyes gave the lie away. As did the fact it made no sense—because his house was the only one that could be seen from where the car parked.
    In the house, Avery fixed hot chocolate and s’mores, and Cindy left just before one o’clock.
    “Well,” Avery said, exchanging a smile with Anne. “ Stuck with me again. Sorry about her.”
    “You have nothing to apologize for. Your cousin is wonderful. I enjoyed seeing you with her.”
    Avery raised a skeptical eyebrow. “Okay.”
    “You are a very nice person, Sir Franklin.”
    Avery laughed. “You might change your mind after our first driving lesson. You up for that? Then we can head to Pegasus.”
     
    **
     
    Benjamin had the paintings wrapped and lined in the hallway outside his office, formerly Charles’s office. While Anne checked to make sure each painting was accounted for, Benjamin and Avery talked about preparing a fake license and fake papers for Anne.
    “ The surveillance outside my house has to stop,” Avery said.
    Benjamin offered a smile. “Not possible. An emergency may arise.”
    “The car is freaking Anne out. She is jittery. Call it off. This is not negotiable.”
    Benjamin crossed his arms. “You fail to appreciate the gravity of the situation. We are dealing with many, many unknowns. You are correct the car issue is not negotiable. The car stays. You have my word, however, that the car is only there to help if an emergency arises.”
    “Give an example of an emergency.”
    “Anne fades and comes back bleeding or hurt in some way. Or she fades and does not return.”
    Avery sighed. He hated to admit it, but Benjamin’s argument, which amounted to better safe than sorry, was more persuasive than his.
    “Has Anne faded since she left Pegasu s?” Benjamin asked.
    “ Uh…that is not for me to answer.”
    Benjamin picked up on the delay in Avery’s response. “She did fade.” His voice was angry. “We need to know this. We have to document everything. Where, when and for how long?”
    “Not my place to say.”
    “Did something aberrant happen?”
    Aberrant? Gee, I think so.
    “It is not my place to tell you,” Avery repeated.
    Benjamin scribbled digits on a business card. “This is my phone number. If there is a problem, we need to know. We absolutely need to know. Okay? Understand? If I am not here—if I have faded—Anne should talk to whomever is doing the surveillance.”
    Avery wanted to ask why Benjamin was not like history