Advance Notice Read Free Page A

They made something up. Why couldn’t the vultures
leave folks alone and go straight to the police department for their
information?
    Ooops . I spoke too soon. The
local channel news van sped up the road. I cut the ignition, grabbed my purse,
and sprinted like an Olympic Champion for Mom’s back door. Not only did I not
like talking to the press, but I’d heard one of my high school non-buddies was
now the main reporter. Stacy Tate was definitely not on the list of people I
wanted to talk to. Especially after trying to steal Duane away during our Junior year of high school. Nope. I burst into the house.
Not in the mood for her.
    Dropping my purse on the counter, I
opened the cabinet above the refrigerator, climbed on the counter, and grabbed
my candy. Obviously, putting it out of easy arm’s reach didn’t work at keeping
me from them, but it made me work a little harder when stress called, and I
didn’t feel quite so bad at ruining my diet.
    “Marsha.”
    I whirled and screamed, almost falling
from my perch. “Duane! You scared ten years off me.”
    “Sorry.” He scooped me in his arms and
marched to the living room, where he plopped both of us on the sofa, me on his
lap. I clutched my purple bag and burrowed my face in his neck.
    His arms tightened around me. “You’re going
to be the death of me, Marsha Calloway Steele.”
    “You’ve said that a hundred times, yet
you still live.”
Thank you, God
. I couldn’t do without my bear of a
man.
    “Ready to talk about it?”
    “No. Mom’s on her way, too, then Bruce.
I’d rather not go over it too many times. It was awful.” I sniffed and tossed
in a handful of therapeutic chocolate. “All I did was drive poor Nina home. I’m
thinking she was right about the obit being a warning.”
    “Stop the wheels in your head right now.”
Duane tilted my face toward his. “You could’ve been killed today.”
    “Not really. I was in my car.” The paint
job was ruined. Maybe I wasn’t meant to drive new vehicles. Something always
happened to them. “Nina unlocked her door, and whoosh, fireball Worth flew
across the yard.”
    “Marsha!” Mom fumbled getting her key in
the front door. “Marsha! Why’s the door locked? That evil Stacy is heading this
way. Let me in.”
    “Should I?”
    Duane shook his head. “No, this gives us
a couple more seconds of privacy.” He grinned. “Not enough of that with you
living so close to Nosey Gertie .”
    I giggled and kept my head where it lay,
watching the door bang open and Mom charge in. She rushed across the room and
plopped next to us, taking my hands in hers. “First of all, you two should not
be alone in the house without supervision, and—”
    “Mother, I’m thirty-four years old.”
    “All the more reason. Secondly, tell me
all about it. Oh, wait.” She jumped to her feet. “Let me fix us some tea and
grab some cookies.” She flew to the kitchen.
    “Let’s make out before she returns,”
Duane suggested. “Get you all flustered and her imagination running wild.”
    “You’re incorrigible.” I lifted my face
for his kiss and closed my eyes.
    “But girls always fall for the bad boys.”
His lips covered mine, sending my heart into a race that even a thoroughbred
couldn’t win.
    I slid my arms around his neck and pulled
him closer, deepening my response. He smelled of a musky cologne and tasted of coffee. I wanted my fill before our chaperone returned.
    The sound of footsteps alerted us to Mom’s
return, and I slid from Duane’s lap, sitting as close to him as humanly
possible without being on top of him. I rubbed my lips and blinked at my …
daughter.
    “Seriously? You have a fit if you see me
kissing a boy, but it’s okay for you to be all over Uncle Duane?” She took a
deep breath. “Double standards. Oh, sometimes you make me so mad!”
    “Is school out already?” I glanced at the
clock.
    “Don’t change the subject.” Lindsey
tossed her backpack on the floor. “Did you know that