Like Arrows (Cedar Tree #6) Read Free

door, and insisted on taking me out for a celebratory drink for my birthday, I totally forgot about the envelope in my purse. Until now.
    "Uh, yes." Dammit, I hate lying but I really don't want to piss him off any more than he's been these last two months. He's been irritable and I’ve had to walk on eggshells when approaching him.  It started with the 'big deal' he mentioned to me before Christmas. One that would put his name on the map, in his words. That's when he started aggressively pursuing these properties down past Kelly's Place -  Bed & Breakfast out on County Road G. He had me do title searches on all three farms, but other than that has kept me out of the loop. A couple of 'new clients' have come through the door in the past two months, none of whom he wanted me to have anything to do with. Other than bringing them coffee. But I've picked up words and snippets of conversation here and there and it's had my hair on end. Enough so that I don't really want to make a wrong move and piss him off. So I lie and he buys it.
    "Excellent. I'll be back after the weekend. Probably Monday if I can get things rounded up here." By the time he hangs up after I reassured him, he sounds to be in a much better mood. I spend the next hour replying to phone messages and emails. By the time I'm done, it's almost noon. I grab my keys, my poncho and my purse and lock up. I'll use my lunch hour to quickly grab something on the way to the Walker farm.
    Kerry has mentioned the diner in Cedar Tree before. Her husband Greg has taken her there a few times. He works for a contractor out of Cedar Tree, Mason Brothers. Said the food there was exceptional compared to what you'd expect from regular diner grub. So when I drive past the sign that says 'Arlene's Diner,' I make the split second decision to have a quick lunch first.
    The place is pretty quiet, but it's still early on a Friday. Only a few occupied booths and a single man with long black hair tied back in a ponytail sitting at the counter with his back to me. A nice back from what I can see; wide shoulders tapering down to a narrow waist, all barely contained in the long-sleeved shirt he's wearing. A thick parka is draped over the stool beside his. The moment his head turns toward the door, I avert my eyes and duck down in the shawl of my poncho. I pick a booth by the window so that I have my back to the door and can observe the man at the counter. For some reason he makes me feel uncomfortable. Shaking off the feeling, I grab the menu which is tucked between the bottles of condiments on the table and start leafing through. Everything looks really good, but when the waitress walks up to my table I order a plain chicken salad and water, by rote. Dammit. I can't seem to get the sound of disparaging voices out of my head when I even think to order something off the menu. I've heard them my whole life and even yesterday, on my birthday, when Kerry brought over the pretty cupcake along with the 'Life starts at 40' birthday card, I had a hard time eating it. The encouraging and almost hopeful smile on Kerry's face made it impossible to refuse, so I took a bite. It tasted like sawdust and I had to battle my gag reflex. When she dragged me out to the Lounging Lizard afterwards, I managed to sneak away to the bathroom, to purge the contents of my stomach and immediately felt ten times better. Good enough to order a small chicken salad and a glass of wine. The first didn't make Kerry happy but the second did and we ended up having a good time, mostly filled with Kerry's excited chatter about a shipment of new books which had arrived earlier in the week. That's how we met, Kerry and I. My Kindle is attached to me. In fact I have a spare one at home, in case this one craps out. Occasionally though, I love the feel of a real book in my hands and the first time I ventured into Kerry's Korner, the smell of printed paper in the bookstore made me feel right at home. As did Kerry herself. And even though