“Jeff, this has been very helpful. Thank you for coming over. More soup?” Suzie grabbed the ladle in the tureen of chowder. Grateful to her lawyer for making house calls, she wanted to show her appreciation however she could. “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. As long as you feed me this well, I’m glad to give what advice I can, but for a professional opinion, you’ll have to come in to the office.” He held his […]
“Huh. Well, look at that. It’s my suitcase.” Drew stared at the black bag sitting in the middle of the floor. Sitting in the middle of the first floor of what had once been a grand department store with sunlight streaming through the broken out front doors as if to spotlight it, his FBI-suitable case had a sadly forlorn look to it. “Was it there before?”
Ben sat in front of his laptop and stared at a blank screen. A few month ago this would have freaked him out, but now he was used to it. Mrs. Audrey said that staring into space is part of writing too. So it was ok if the screen stayed blank for a while. Knowing that made it easier to write.
“Who does she think she is, a rock star?” The bubble headed bleach blonde’s voice whined in a most excrete-iating manner. Tracy fought down the urge to step on the fake-bonde’s heels, maybe wreck those Converse high-tops. Just because Stephanie kept getting in the way, always lumbering down the hall between Tracy and Gene when Mr. Gordon held her back, that was no reason to wish the girl would fall into a bottomless pit.
“’What kind of a man will kill himself rather than risk a dirty look by the woman he loves?’ That’s what he said. More or less.” Drew looked out the windshield of the eighteen wheeler at the sagebrush, prickly pear, and dusty ground rushing past. “So I decided I better get back to her.” “Really?” The burly trucker kept his eyes on the interstate with occasional glances at the rear views mirrors. He had black dreadlocks with grey streaks that […]
“Is this Vin Southerland?” “Yes?” Vin juggled his cell phone and a bag of chips in the front seat of his car. He was on surveillance, but the job was almost done anyway; another cheating spouse case. He’d put it off to go collect Drew from New Mexico, and needed to wrap it up before he went back to make another attempt. “This is Maria. Is Drew there?”
Vin wasn’t entirely sure how Suzie would react. Sure, she was the nicest lady he’d ever met, kind, forgiving, and generous. But if she didn’t know it was Drew, how would she react? With two kids in the house? Both boys had been stalked, and lately Suzie had been a bit protective. If she didn’t know….
“Drew, how fast can you get packed?” Vin didn’t even bother to sit down before he said it. Drew wasn’t surprised. He’d been expecting something like this ever since Vin said he was coming. Why else would he come if not to take Drew back. That didn’t mean Drew had to go.
Maria couldn’t wait to get Vin alone. Not that Toby mattered, but she really didn’t want Drew to hear what she had to say. The problem was that once the four of them sat down in the living room, both Drew and Vin became immobile.
When Drew said, “Maria’s waiting. You’ll be staying with us,” Vin’s heart sank. It sounded like Drew had done the very thing Suzie had feared – found a new love. Vin didn’t want that. Suzie and Drew were too good a match. In Vin’s mind, the future was about himself and Miranda hanging out with Drew and Suzie. How could there be any other way? He stepped out of the airport in Drew’s wake and found at least part of […]
Drew wasn’t quite sure how he was supposed to behave. It shouldn’t be like this. He’d picked Vin up from the airport many times in their long history together. It should be routine. If it weren’t for the odd way the crowd seemed to mob him when he knew in reality they were merely walking past, then it probably would be routine.
“Whacha doing?” Vin set the remote down and turned his head to watch Ben more closely. The boy scribbled something in one of those miniature spiral notebooks that Vin himself used while on the job. For a boy with no interest in private investigation, it looked awfully suspicious. “Oh. Um…. nothing.” Ben tucked the notebook behind his back, looking guilty as all heck.
Ben couldn’t stand it any longer. He had to write this all down. This, this drama stuff that always seemed to be a part of Gene was better than fiction! Mrs. Audrey would love it. Ben could write it up so she wouldn’t know and….
Tentative, Suzie wasn’t sure if she should run outside to find out what the loud scrape and boom was or upstairs to see why Tracy had raced past. Gene took off after Tracy, so Suzie opted for the back yard. When she stepped out, she found Miranda standing over the old painting ladder. From the way the held her hands out while turning away from it, Suzie guessed that Miranda had just dropped it. “What are you doing? I thought […]
Gene and Tracy sat at the kitchen table while Mrs. H. watched Miranda cook, which was kind of weird since Miranda was just as old as Mrs. H. and knew how to cook, sort of. Last time it was her turn to cook she left out the salt. Mrs. H. called it a sin of omission. “Aren’t you going to say anything?” He asked it like it was no big deal, didn’t even look up from his homework all that […]