Dusted to Death Read Free

errands she needed to get done. Of course there had been times that Louis had seen her in just her housecoat. He’d even bought her a housecoat as a gift once. Even so, for some strange reason, being properly dressed made her feel more comfortable around him.
    Charlotte opened the door and smiled. “Good morning.”
    Louis was a stocky man with a receding hairline of steel-gray hair. He kept himself fit, and from the first time she’d met him several years earlier, she had thought that he was an attractive man for his age. Too bad he could be such a pain in the butt at times, especially when he was in one of his male chauvinistic moods.
    “Good morning to you too,” he said with a curt nod of his head.
    Charlotte’s smile faded when she noticed the small suitcase sitting on the porch beside him. “You going somewhere?” She motioned toward the suitcase.
    Louis nodded. “Yeah, some unexpected business. Just an overnighter in Houston,” he hastened to add. “I’ll be back in plenty of time to fire up the grill on the Fourth. One of the guys got sick, and they needed someone to fill in for tonight and tomorrow morning.”
    Charlotte pulled the door open wider. “Want to come inside? I think I still have some coffee in the pot.”
    Louis shook his head. “Wish I could, but I can’t. I’m running late as it is.” He reached inside his pants pocket. “I just wanted to give you this before I leave.” He pulled out a money clip and removed four twenty-dollar bills. “My share of the groceries for the Fourth shindig.”
    Charlotte shook her head and held up a hand in protest. “Uh-uh, that’s way too much. All we’re having is hot dogs and hamburgers. Besides, most of the folks coming are my relatives.”
    “It’s not too much,” he insisted, “so take it.” He reached out, and with a firm grip, grabbed hold of her wrist.
    Charlotte automatically closed her hand into a fist.
    “Don’t be stubborn.” He gently pried her fingers open, placed the money in her palm, and then closed her fingers around the money. Still holding her hand with both of his, he said, “Counting my bunch and yours, we’re going to be feeding fifteen people. We will need soft drinks, paper goods, charcoal, and I’m sure there’s some other stuff I haven’t even thought of. Besides, this whole thing was my idea to begin with.” He gently squeezed her hand. “Okay?”
    After a moment, Charlotte nodded. “Okay.”
    “Good.” He released her hand. Then from his shirt pocket he pulled out a piece of paper. “I made out a list of stuff. If you don’t mind, could you pick these things up when you go grocery shopping? I’d planned to do it myself, but then Joe called.”
    Though Charlotte had never met Joe Sharp, she knew who he was. Joe owned Lagniappe Security, the company that employed Louis.
    Curious, Charlotte glanced down at the list. A slow grin twitched at her lips.
    “What?” Louis demanded.
    Charlotte laughed. “Except for the badminton set, I made a list that includes most of what your list includes.”
    Louis shrugged. “Great minds think alike. As for the badminton set, I figured Amy and Davy would have fun with that. And if I get back in time, I’m going to pick up one of those small kiddy pools for the little ones to splash in.”
    Charlotte didn’t want to burst his bubble of enthusiasm, but she knew for a fact that his granddaughter, Amy, who was twelve, and her nephew’s stepson, Davy, who was eight, would much rather play one of their many video games. Still, miracles happened, and who knows, maybe the two kids would enjoy the badminton set. It would certainly be different from what they were used to doing. “That’s really thoughtful of you, Louis.”
    Louis suddenly shifted his eyes downwards and a tinge of red stained his cheeks. Charlotte’s mouth curved into an unconscious smile. Would wonders ever cease? Usually gruff and serious, Louis was actually embarrassed by her compliment. Go figure.
    A