Chapter 1

My mother-in-law, Brenda, sat on my porch swing, her pregnant belly pushing against the thin fabric of her summer dress. She looked frail, a pious widow the whole town pitied.

I walked out, holding a glass of iced tea for myself.

"Sarah, honey, could I trouble you for some water? The heat is just unbearable."

Her voice was soft, laced with a familiar manipulative sweetness.

I took a long drink from my glass.

"The spigot is on the side of the house."

Brenda' s smile tightened. "It' s just... with the baby and all, it's hard for me to get up and down."

"Then maybe you shouldn't have come over," I said, my voice flat.

Just then, a pickup truck pulled into the driveway. It was my husband, "Mike." He got out, his face a mask of concern as he saw his mother looking distressed.

"Sarah, what the hell is wrong with you?" he said, storming up the steps. "She's your mother. She's pregnant."

"She's your mother," I corrected him, not looking away from Brenda's face.

"For God's sake, just get her a glass of water," he hissed, grabbing my arm.

I didn't flinch. I just looked at his hand on my arm, then back at his face. The face that looked so much like my Mike, but wasn't.

"Don't touch me."

He ignored me, trying to pull me toward the door. "We're not doing this again. Apologize to my mother."

Something inside me snapped. It wasn't a hot rage, but a cold, clean break. I swung my free hand and slapped him hard across the face. The sound was sharp in the humid afternoon air.

He let go of me, stunned. Brenda gasped, her hand flying to her chest.

"You see?" she whispered, her voice trembling. "You see what I have to deal with? She's unhinged."

"Mike" just stared at me, a red mark blooming on his cheek. He saw the coldness in my eyes, the total absence of the gentle woman he thought he'd married.

Good. Let them see it. Let the whole town see it. This was just the beginning.