She’d just take a quick look—just open the door a smidge and poke her head in, then close it before anyone was the wiser. The door slid easily, and as she looked into what must be a living room, her breath caught in her throat. Sunlight slanted through a bank of windows to her right, sending warm beams onto a buttery wood floor and soft yellow walls with wide white trim. She stepped into the room and closed the door softly behind her, despite her quick-peek-only stance. Two couches with big cushions angled toward a warm brick fireplace, and soft folk-art rugs decorated the floor. In one corner, two floor-to-ceiling bookcases snugged against each other, barely holding games and puzzles and what had to be three hundred or more books. Josie spun in a slow circle. No television, no radio, no computer. Just a bright, cozy space to pluck a book off the shelf and curl up on a gooshy couch for hours. Or play a game at the low, square table in the corner that had huge cushions on four sides instead of chairs.
