A Sticky Situation Read Free

the right thing and head on home. Even if it takes a police escort to get you to do it.”
    Lowell was just about the easiest-going guy I had ever met but he took all his duties seriously. That included policing the community as well as serving as a surrogate son to my grandparents ever since my father died several years ago. There was no way we could put off our responsibilities with him around to remind us of them.

Two

    We bumped on down the driveway. Celadon had come back to her senses enough to want to be the one behind the wheel. She didn’t slow a bit as she wheeled into the dirt track leading up to Greener Pastures. The time of year was perfect to begin sugaring. The fluctuating day and nighttime temperatures made the sap in the maple trees begin to flow and harvesting it became possible. It had a less useful effect on the driveway. Every day a crop of fresh ruts appeared on the driveway where thawing made mud appear. Tires moving up and down throughout the day made gouges which froze in solid and inconvenient lumps by late afternoon.
    As soon as the sun began to dip below the rise, blobs of mud churned up through the course of the day froze into jagged peaks like a miniature mountain range in the driveway making it treacherous to navigate allevening and into the early morning hours. Celadon didn’t even appear to notice as she dove up and down their peaks and valleys and even skimmed across the tops of several.
    Celadon bolted from the van and headed for a little-used side door in an effort to avoid Hazel for as long as possible. I would have followed her example except for the fact I spotted Graham’s state-issued truck in the yard. I had met the good-looking conservation officer back in November when he had been in Sugar Grove on business for the Fish and Game Department. Over the last few months we had gone on a number of dates and were starting to feel like a couple. My heart gave a little thump and a squishy lurch and the urge to see him outweighed the desire to avoid Hazel.
    I stepped into the hall and listened for voices. Not surprisingly the sounds of chatting drifted toward me from the kitchen. Bracing myself for possible Hazel impact I followed the sounds. I paused out of sight just beyond the door to listen for Graham’s voice. There was no way I was going in there with Hazel if he was not there, too.
    â€œSo, big feller, you look like quite the strapping young buck. Too bad it’s not rutting season. I could teach you a thing or two, I expect.” Hazel had a penchant for men, mostly the younger variety. If I didn’t interfere she would drag him to her room and truss him to a bedpost before he knew what had happened to him. There was no time to waste lurking about in the hall. I gathered up my courage and stepped into the kitchen.
    â€œAunt Hazel, what a surprise,” I said, crossing the room to give her an expected peck on the cheek. She wore her usual getup of a menswear-inspired pantsuit and a fedora. She looked like something out of a hard-boiled detective novel, right down to the tumbler of whiskey clutched in her hand. Graham looked more like a bug caught in a jar. If a bug could have a pleading look in its eyes.
    â€œWell, it shouldn’t be. I always arrive in time for maple festival. Not the brightest star in the night sky, is she, Graham?” That was Hazel, in a nutshell. She made it impossible to like her. Responding only makes things worse. It was always best to just move on and pretend you didn’t hear. I turned my attention to Graham, willing him to understand just by the way I wiggled my eyebrows that he didn’t need to answer. Apparently he doesn’t speak eyebrow.
    â€œI can’t agree with you there, ma’am. Dani’s got enough sparkle in her to light up my life.” I couldn’t believe it. That guy was just adorable. And about to be eaten alive by a rabid octogenarian.
    â€œIs that right? And you looked like someone