Silence begged to break as Mimi shuffled her way through the Richmond farmhouse. Its floors creaked, groaning as if in celebratory greeting. The brunette had hated how quiet the farm had been. Bonnie gone, Stanley off to fight a war she wasn’t entirely sure could be won anymore. Nothing but a bitter reminder of what had remained there. What these walls had seen. The silent history the house knew better than anyone else. Most of all Mimi. The IRS consultant turned country girl. The thought would have caused Clark blood to curdle in their veins. If any Clark blood but Mimi’s still existed. Fingers splayed over her growing tummy as her thoughts churned, darkening her memory as she made her way towards the kitchen. Wind had settled swiftly along the home, causing the chairs on the porch to dip back and forth before settling again.
It was eerie how alert the woman had become to the noises around her. The unsettling differences of what she’d been used to. Back in the city, Mimi would have never noticed a disturbance. Especially not one as subtle as slight weight on a misaligned floorboard. Yet, quickly her chin tipped and those dark irides floated their way to the front door. Brushing strands of chocolate tendrils from her cheeks, Mimi made her way towards the locked doorway. A dark brow tipped in gentle curiosity as gaze swept over the porch as if searching for the source of the noise. Fingers lapsed easily around the brass doorknob as she flipped free the lock and wrenched the door from its molding. “Hello?”