Lauri Robinson Read Free Page A

me.”
    “What can I do for you? You look befuddled.” Evan folded both arms across his chest.
    “Befuddled?” He took a seat.
    “Yes, you know confused, dazed, baffled?”
    “I know what befuddled means. I just thought Aunt Birdie was the only one who used that word.”
    His cousin laughed. “Like mother, like son.” He leaned forward. “So, what’s up?”
    Evan was several years younger than Adam and his brothers. Luckily, he’d grown into a good man, and didn’t carry a grudge for all the nasty pranks he, Cal, and Jake had played on Evan during their school days. The McBride boys, when younger, had not been known for their kindness, and he was sure the whole town of Blue Spring had let out a sigh of relief when the school year ended and they returned home to the ranch. Living so far from town, traveling everyday to school was out of the question, for most of the school year they’d lived in town with Aunt Birdie and Evan.
    “Yoo-hoo, Sheriff McBride,” Evan screeched, in a voice remarkably close to Abigail Christenson.
    It pulled Adam’s mind back to the present. He tugged his face into a nasty scowl, glared across the desk.
    Evan laughed good-heartedly. When Adam cracked a smile, he said, “So, is this business or just a friendly visit?”
    Adam leaned back in his chair. “You know Hannah Stewart?”
    “Mother’s new cook? Of course. Why?”
    “She do much banking with you?”
    “No, none? Why?”
    “Oh, no reason really, just a gut feeling I got.”
    Evan rested his elbows on his desk. The frown on his face showed concern. “Gut feeling? Tell me more, Adam. The woman is living with my mother.”
    Adam held up a hand. “No, no, Birdie isn’t in any danger. I just have a feeling Hannah Stewart is hiding something. I thought maybe it was money.”
    “Well, she hasn’t set foot in the bank. Hasn’t opened an account or anything. I know mother is paying her a wage besides room and board, but I’m sure it isn’t enough to worry about keeping in the bank.”
    Adam nodded, scratched at an itch near his ear.
    “You want me to do some checking?”
    “Checking?”
    Evan reached for his pencil and a clean piece of paper. “Yeah, some checking. I can wire some other banks, see if she has accounts elsewhere.”
    “That’s a good idea. Can you check with banks in Ohio?”
    Evan wrote on the paper. “Sure, anywhere else?”
    “Not right now, but I’ll let you know.”
    “It may take a few days.” Evan laid the pencil on the paper, leaned back again. “So, how is Abigail?”
    Adam’s body quivered.

Chapter Three
    Preparing the evening meal, Hannah bustled about the kitchen. She checked the biscuits turning golden-brown in the oven one more time before carrying place settings into the dining room. It would just be the two regular boarders besides her and Birdie tonight. The boys, Tom and Joe, had only been able to spend one night. Her cousins were the only family she had. The thought of them made a smile pull at her lips as she set the plates and silverware around the long table. It had been so kind of the boys to ride over to make sure she’d arrived in Blue Spring without any problems.
    Her stomach flipped. She’d arrived okay—it was staying here where the problems lie. This morning’s encounter with Sheriff McBride, and her visit with Abigail Christenson in the park, had left her nerves raw. She paused in the arched doorway between the dining room and kitchen to take a deep breath. After exhaling, she attempted to shake off an eerie feeling and proceeded to the stove.
    “Dear all that’s holy!” Birdie’s voice bounced off the walls.
    Hannah juggled the hot pan of biscuits, quickly setting them on top of the stove before the pan fell from her startled fingers. “What? What’s wrong?”
    “Nothing, child. Other than you’re gonna spoil these boarders to the point they’ll move out after you leave. Whatever you’re cooking has my mouth watering so much my tongue’s getting scared