Any Thursday (Donovans of the Delta) Read Free Page A

wedding.”
    “Mary Louise told me he works for a John Searles, who is head of what’s called a publishing empire. Isn’t that a silly name for a few newspapers and magazines? An empire. Makes me think of the Queen of England.”
    “Mom . . .”
    “I know.” Anna held up her hand. “You want me to get to the point. I declare, Hannah. You were always the impatient one. I remember that time Reverend Clemstattler dragged his sermon out so long. You stood up on the back pew and yelled, ‘Amen, now let’s go home.’”
    They laughed together. Then, Hannah, as impatient as ever, gently urged her mother back on the subject.
    “Well, you see, Jim Roman is going to write about your sister’s wedding for one of those magazines, America’s Elite . Isn’t that nice? I think Tanner’s wedding was written about in there, too. My, my. Two of my children making big news. And both of them happy as pigs in the sunshine. Did you know Amanda’s pregnant again? She and Tanner are not letting any grass grow under their feet. Making up for lost time, they say.”
    “I didn’t know. That’s wonderful, Mom. They both want a big family.”
    “Somebody shot at Jim Roman.”
    “What?” Hannah was accustomed to her mother’s way of dropping one subject and plunging into another. She thought of the rifle she’d hung on the rack on the back porch and wondered what Jim Roman had told her mother about their encounter.
    “In San Francisco. That’s why Mr. Searles sent him to Greenville. Mary Louise called last night and told me the whole story. I don’t think Jim Roman ordinarily writes about weddings, does he?”
    “No, Mom. He covers the crime scene.”
    “Some name that sounds like an Italian cake. That’s who’s after him. Poor man. I told him he could stay here.”
    “Here? In this house?” Hannah jumped up and went to the kitchen window. Sure enough, Jim’s dusty rented car was parked in their front yard.
    “Of course. Would I turn away the son of my best friend, especially after she called and asked me to watch after him? She’s had a hard life, and Jim is all she has.”
    “What about the wedding, Mom? You’re swamped as it is. I don’t see how we can have another guest in this house. Especially an outsider.” Even as she reasoned, Hannah knew it was useless. Her mother had a heart big enough to take in everybody who knocked on the front door, and she also had a stubborn streak. Hannah could see her mind already was made up.
    “The son of a friend is never an outsider, and we have plenty of room. Tanner and Amanda and their two girls will be staying in her house in Greenville. Paul and Mattie and their children will be here, but your brother Jacob will be the Lord only knows where. I’ve put Jim in Jacob’s room. Right next door to yours.”
    Hannah sat back down with a plop. She’d known she’d have to deal with her bossy Aunt Agnes; she hadn’t counted on having to deal with the West Coast Warrior.

 
     
    CHAPTER TWO
    When Hannah left the kitchen, she went straight to the library to deal with Aunt Agnes.
    As she pushed open the door, she saw Agnes, her back ramrod straight, her lips pursed, running her finger over a Victorian table.
    “Checking for dust, Aunt Agnes?”
    Agnes jerked her head around at the sound of Hannah’s voice. Hannah always was taken aback that Agnes was so like her brother Matthew in looks and so unlike him in personality. Both were tall and slim with an elegant bearing that spoke of royalty in their lineage. And both had the bright blue eyes of the Black Irish. While Matthew was good-natured and easygoing, Agnes had the disposition of a prickly pear.
    “Hannah, you always did have the habit of sneaking up on people. I guess you learned it up there in the frozen wilderness, having to sneak around so polar bears won’t eat you up.”
    “Don’t change the subject, Aunt Agnes. The library’s clean. I dusted it myself.”
    “Then you missed a spot.” She took a big swipe at