Dusted to Death Read Free Page A

moment later he cleared his throat and said, “Got to run, but I should be back tomorrow afternoon.”
    Charlotte was about to tell him bye when he suddenly bent down and kissed her. The kiss was just a quick peck on the lips, but it caught her completely off-guard. Stunned and tongue-tied, she could only stand there and watch him as he turned and hurried down the steps. By the time she found her voice, he was halfway to his car. “What in the world was that all about?” she murmured as he backed his car out of the driveway.
    As if Louis had heard her, he glanced her way, winked, and with a two-fingered wave, he drove off.
     
    The Fourth of July lived up to the weather forecaster’s predictions: sunny and hot. Charlotte stepped over to the stove to check on the chili for the hot dogs. “I can’t believe it’s just noon, and the temperature gauge has already climbed to ninety-eight degrees.”
    Charlotte’s daughter-in-law, Carol, nodded. “At least Louis had the good sense to put up that canopy for shade. And those fans he set up help. By the way, I love your new haircut.”
    “Thanks.” Charlotte smiled, pleased that Carol had noticed. Thankfully, Valerie had been able to work her into the schedule late on Friday afternoon. “I thought I was due for a change—too much gray.” She laughed. Up until she’d hit sixty, the gray had blended in with her honey-blond hair, but after sixty, it seemed like almost overnight there was more gray than blond.
    “The shorter style really flatters you—makes you look ten years younger.”
    Charlotte laughed again. “Younger is good, and it’s certainly easier to fix.”
    Suddenly, a high-pitched shriek exploded from the backyard, and Charlotte froze.
    “That’s just Samantha,” Carol quickly reassured her. “That’s her ‘I didn’t get what I wanted’ scream. Either Hank or Judith will take care of her.”
    With a sigh of relief, Charlotte resumed stirring the chili for the hot dogs. It never ceased to amaze her how early kids learned how to get what they want. The twins, Samantha and Samuel, weren’t even a year old yet and already they could wrap the adults around their little fingers like pretzels.
    “So, when do you start the movie job?” Carol asked.
    “Day after tomorrow.”
    “Aren’t you nervous? I know I would be.”
    “No, not so much nervous.” Charlotte rapped the spoon on the side of the boiler and placed it in the sink. After turning off the burner beneath the pot of chili, she put a lid on it. “I guess, more than anything, I’m a bit anxious. To tell the truth, though, I haven’t had a lot of time to think about it.” She walked over to the table to prepare a tray of buns and condiments for the hamburgers and hot dogs.
    Carol grinned. “Unlike your son, I think it’s sooo exciting. Sure you don’t need someone to fill in for you on one of those days?”
    “Then Hank would really throw a fit.”
    Carol giggled. “Well, we just wouldn’t tell him.” When Charlotte jerked her head around to stare at her daughter-in-law, Carol giggled again. “Just kidding, Charlotte. Just kidding.”
    Charlotte grinned, and then turned her attention back to the task at hand. She was almost finished when the sound of children’s laughter reached her ears. Smiling, she glanced out of the back window, and a warm feeling of love and contentment spread to the center of her being. All of her family and Louis’s son and his family had been able to come. She’d also invited Dale and a former employee and friend, Cherè Warner, who was in town. Except for Carol, who had offered to help her bring some food outside, they were all right there in her own backyard.
    Family and good friends. Her family and her good friends. Life couldn’t get much better. She was truly blessed.
    And what about Louis? Which category does he fit?
    Charlotte closed her eyes for a moment. Where on earth did that come from? What about him? she answered the silent voice in her head.