Do Not Disturb Read Free Page B

with the well-appointed luxury the Crosscreek Hotel promised. Even now she could almost taste steaming breakfast muffins, thick grilled steaks, luscious pillow chocolates.
    She’d reward herself each day with a bit of pampering, she decided, because surely Cara had selected an inn that would offer the most up-to-date spa services. Floating off on daydreams of herbal wraps and aromatherapy sessions, it took her a moment to register that the man in the robe had half-turned and was beckoning someone closer.
    â€œBrother Charles, what are you doing?” her voice croaked out.
    The man glanced over. “I want to say hello to Cooper. Cooper Jones,” he explained. “Stephen’s brother-in-law.”
    She was already shuffling backward, trying to lookcasual as the soles of her black pumps slid along the gritty sandstone.
    â€œDon’t run away.” Brother Charles reached out, looping his elbow through hers to lasso her back. “I’ll introduce you.”
    â€œWe’ve already met,” she demurred. “And perhaps this isn’t the best time to further our acquaintance.” Not to mention that she was planning on avoiding Mr. Cooper Jones and his patent mistrust for the rest of her life.
    â€œWell…” Brother Charles looked back toward the other man, then dropped her arm. “Never mind. Lainey, the widow, is coming down the stairs. She’ll need Cooper now. You can see that they’re a very close-knit family.”
    Angel squinted to study the small group descending the final flight of steps from the hotel. There was the girl—Katie—close beside a dark-haired woman in her thirties.
    Angel frowned. “Wait. There are two women. Twins.”
    â€œMmm-hmm.” Brother Charles nodded. “Elaine and Elizabeth. Lainey was Stephen’s wife and Beth was Stephen’s business manager.”
    That’s what you get, Angel thought, annoyed with herself again. If she’d prepared like she would have for any other story, she would have known about the twins. About the daughter. But no, for all those years she’d resisted even submitting her father’s name to an internet search engine, which forced her to play catch-up now.
    As a matter of fact, Angel had never walked into oneof the Whitney Galleries—as common in American malls as Starbucks and multiplex theaters. The only thing about Stephen Whitney she hadn’t been able to evade was the knowledge of his mass popularity and his goody-goody reputation.
    But all that was going to change.
    Studying the women walking toward the crowd, Angel noted their similar-but-not-matching knee-length suits, one in a soft yellow, the other in green. Their hair was styled differently as well, a layered style for the twin in yellow, a sleek bob for her sister.
    â€œThe widow, Lainey, is the one in the green, I assume,” Angel said. Even from this distance, she could tell the woman had been crying.
    â€œNo, that’s Beth.” Brother Charles’s voice filled with concern. “I hope Judd is keeping a close eye on her.”
    Angel didn’t look away from the small group. “Is Judd another brother?”
    â€œA family friend. Judd Sterling is the gray-haired man just now putting his arm around Beth’s waist.”
    The family friend was forty-something and prematurely gray, with handsome, chiseled features. He continued to support the widow’s sister, while the worrisome Cooper character wrapped one arm around Katie and the other around Lainey Whitney.
    So that’s what it looks like when a man comes through for a woman in a time of need .
    Startled by the stabbing thought, Angel took a hasty step back. There was no call for bitterness, she reminded herself. She only desired the truth.
    â€œIt looks as if the service is ready to begin,” her companion said. “We’re being signaled forward.”
    â€œI think I’ll stay right where I am.” As she