Hard Hat Man Read Free Page B

Bob’s fault that she didn’t love him. “ What ’ s wrong with him? ”
    “ Nothing, if you like the quiet, studious type. ”
    “ I do . He has a good job and he ’ s very nice. ”
    “ And safe? ” her mother asked sweetly.
    Jan cringed at the slur to her former fiance. “ Yes. ”
    “ Nice and safe can be boring. ”
    “ It also doesn ’ t breed ulcers. ”
    The phone rang and Laura picked it up.
    “ Yes, Kyle, ” she said sweetly. “ Tomorrow afternoon at one will be fine. See you then. ”
    Jan frowned as her mother hung up the phone. “ The closing ’ s not until afternoon? ”
    “ His lawyer can ’ t make it earlier. Which is fine. We ’ ll have time to get a look at the old place in the morning. ”
    “ Sure, ” Jan said. “ We can start sorting stuff out. ” She pushed away the premonition of disaster that clutched at her chest. What could go wrong?
     
     

 
     
     
     
     
    Chapter 2
     
    The next morning Jan and Laura dressed in jeans and tee shirts and ate a quick continental breakfast in their motel ’s dining room. Then they drove out to Horace ’ s farm, which was on the edge of town.
    “ I thought Uncle Horace lived out in the country. Or has this area changed? ” Jan asked, looking at all the new houses along the blacktopped road.
    “ Yes, it ’ s changed. Mr. Andrews said much of the land around here is being split up into five acre plots for new homes . ”
    “ What do they want five acres for? ”
    “ I don ’ t think it ’ s because they want that much land, but it ’ s the smallest division the county zoning regulations allow. ”
    “ Really? It seems a waste of good farmland to me. I thought I read somewhere that we were running out of farmland. What do the people do with their five acres? ”
    Laura shrugged. “ Have hobby farms, I guess. ” She turned into a narrow, dirt drive and headed for a large shabby Victorian style house surrounded by tall grass and spreading pine trees. A shed, a dilapidated, faded red barn and a gray silo showed it had once been a working farm.
    “ It looks like Horace didn ’ t spend much on upkeep, doesn ’ t it? ” Jan commented, looking around skeptically. “ Are you sure this is it? ”
    Nodding, Laura consulted her notebook. “ I followed the directions exactly. Besides, I remember the house, don ’ t you? ”
    “ Vaguely. But I thought it was grand-looking, not run-down. ”
    Her mother smiled. “ It was grander back then. And being a young child probably made it seem different, as well. ”
    “ No doubt. ”
    They got out and walked up the steps, across the porch to the front door. “ Did you bring the key? ”
    “ Of course. ” Laura pulled open the screen door, unlocked the inner door and pushed it open. It creaked noisily, but swung inward. Sliding her hand along the wall, she reached to turn on a light. “ I can ’ t find the switch. ”
    “ Will the power still be on? ”
    “ No, probably not, ” Laura said , stepping gingerly inside . “ But if we open the drapes we can see well enough. ”
    “ Oh, it ’ s stuffy in here. Leave the door open to let in some fresh air. ”
    Stepping carefully into the gloomy, stale-smelling room, Jan pulled back the draperies and unlocked and slid the window open. A brisk breeze swept through the room and out the open door. Sunlight streamed in , reflecting on a lovely glass chandelier hanging over the wide stairway stretching above them.
    “ Why, it ’ s gorgeous, ” Jan exclaimed, staring at the pebbled, leaded glass fixture above her head.
    “ Yes, isn ’ t it ? I always liked that one, ” Laura said . She stepp ed past Jan into the room off to their right. “ M ost of the parlor furniture looks the same as it did twenty-five years ago , a nd it must have been antique, then. ”
    “ Do you suppose any of it is valuable? ” Jan asked, peering over her shoulder. O ld-fashioned , floral pattern ed wallpaper covered t he walls and the wide pine board floors