An unexpected journey of personal reinvention...When Meredith slips into a new identity and a new life in a small town in Alaska, she discovers that it's not that easy to leave behind the baggage from her past.
While running away from a disastrous failed marriage, Meredith barely escapes a freak accident and is presumed dead. She stumbles into a new identity and a new life in a quirky small town. Suffering from emotional wounds inflicted by her estranged husband, she has to learn to trust in herself again. But someone is looking for her, someone who will threaten her new life.
EXCERPT:
"That's upstairs." Rita jabbed her cane toward a set of narrow stairs near the back of the room. "There's a bed up there--well, a cot--and some blankets and pillows too. There's an extra towel in the bathroom, I'm pretty sure." She barely glanced at Meredith. "I get up real early." Rita gave her a curt nod. "Switch the light off when you go up." She turned away and hobbled into her bedroom, pushing the door closed without a backward glance.
Meredith clicked off the overhead light and felt her way across the room and up the narrow stairs, trying not to think of the spider or what else might be ahead. She slid her hand up the wall to find the attic light switch, and pressed the door shut behind her. The room reeked of wet wood and old paper. The sharp pitch of the roof made standing in the tiny attic impossible, except in the very middle. She dropped her bag to the floor and collapsed onto the attic's one dusty chair, causing it to creak and shift under her weight. She heard Rita below, moving around, probably getting ready for bed. One triangular window looked out over the meadow behind the cabin, but she saw only blackness outside. Sharp splats of rain knocked against the windowpane. She looked at the pillow and blankets on the cot, waiting to be made up for the night. She was tired, so very tired, but she couldn't move. Not yet.
"What on earth am I doing?" she whispered. She wrapped her arms around her chest and bent forward, staring at the floorboards.
Her thoughts tumbled and tossed. Okay, okay, tomorrow I'll go back. I was in shock. I'm still in shock. Anyone would have been out of their mind seeing what I saw. I'll go back tomorrow and I'll explain.
But even as she rubbed her face, trying to think clearly, trying to make some decisions about how to make her way back, Meredith knew, just knew, she really didn't mean it. Yes, she was going to sleep in this dingy attic in the home of a grouchy old lady who didn't want her here. Rita would surely want her to leave first thing in the morning. And Meredith had no plan, no path to follow. But somehow, being here was better than going back. She had no idea what tomorrow would bring, but when she thought about going back, she could only see an abyss, a place so dark and painful anything, anyplace was better than going home.
FIND COMPASS NORTH ON AMAZON: https://a.co/d/d6ooM2Q
While running away from a disastrous failed marriage, Meredith barely escapes a freak accident and is presumed dead. She stumbles into a new identity and a new life in a quirky small town. Suffering from emotional wounds inflicted by her estranged husband, she has to learn to trust in herself again. But someone is looking for her, someone who will threaten her new life.
EXCERPT:
"That's upstairs." Rita jabbed her cane toward a set of narrow stairs near the back of the room. "There's a bed up there--well, a cot--and some blankets and pillows too. There's an extra towel in the bathroom, I'm pretty sure." She barely glanced at Meredith. "I get up real early." Rita gave her a curt nod. "Switch the light off when you go up." She turned away and hobbled into her bedroom, pushing the door closed without a backward glance.
Meredith clicked off the overhead light and felt her way across the room and up the narrow stairs, trying not to think of the spider or what else might be ahead. She slid her hand up the wall to find the attic light switch, and pressed the door shut behind her. The room reeked of wet wood and old paper. The sharp pitch of the roof made standing in the tiny attic impossible, except in the very middle. She dropped her bag to the floor and collapsed onto the attic's one dusty chair, causing it to creak and shift under her weight. She heard Rita below, moving around, probably getting ready for bed. One triangular window looked out over the meadow behind the cabin, but she saw only blackness outside. Sharp splats of rain knocked against the windowpane. She looked at the pillow and blankets on the cot, waiting to be made up for the night. She was tired, so very tired, but she couldn't move. Not yet.
"What on earth am I doing?" she whispered. She wrapped her arms around her chest and bent forward, staring at the floorboards.
Her thoughts tumbled and tossed. Okay, okay, tomorrow I'll go back. I was in shock. I'm still in shock. Anyone would have been out of their mind seeing what I saw. I'll go back tomorrow and I'll explain.
But even as she rubbed her face, trying to think clearly, trying to make some decisions about how to make her way back, Meredith knew, just knew, she really didn't mean it. Yes, she was going to sleep in this dingy attic in the home of a grouchy old lady who didn't want her here. Rita would surely want her to leave first thing in the morning. And Meredith had no plan, no path to follow. But somehow, being here was better than going back. She had no idea what tomorrow would bring, but when she thought about going back, she could only see an abyss, a place so dark and painful anything, anyplace was better than going home.
FIND COMPASS NORTH ON AMAZON: https://a.co/d/d6ooM2Q
