Virgin River Read Free Page A

glasses in the cupboards, all too dirty to use.
    “I’m sorry, this is just unacceptable,” Mel said loudly.
    “It’s a little dirt is all.”
    “There’s a bird’s nest in the oven!” Mel exclaimed, completely beside herself.
    Mrs. McCrea clomped into the kitchen in her muddy rubber boots, reached into the open oven door andplucked out the bird’s nest. She went to the front door and pitched it out into the yard. She shoved her glasses up on her nose as she regarded Mel. “No more bird’s nest,” she said in a voice that suggested Mel was trying her patience.
    “Look, I’m not sure I’d make it. That old man in the pickup had to pull me out of the mud just down the road. I can’t stay here, Mrs. McCrea—it’s out of the question. Plus, I’m starving and I don’t have any food with me.” She laughed hollowly. “You said there would be adequate housing ready for me, and I took you to mean clean and stocked with enough food to get me through a couple of days till I could shop for myself. But this—”
    “You have a contract,” Mrs. McCrea pointed out.
    “So do you, ” Mel said. “I don’t think you could get anyone to agree this is adequate or ready.”
    Hope looked up. “It’s not leaking, that’s a good sign.”
    “Not quite good enough, I’m afraid.”
    “That damned Cheryl Creighton was supposed to be down here to give it a good cleaning, but she had excuses three days in a row. Been drinking again is my guess. I got some bedding in the truck and I’ll take you to get dinner. It’ll look better in the morning.”
    “Isn’t there some place else I can stay tonight? A bed-and-breakfast? A motel on the highway?”
    “Bed-and-breakfast?” she asked with a laugh. “This look like a tourist spot to you? The highway’s an hour off and this is no ordinary rain. I have a big house with no room in it—filled to the top with junk. They’re gonna light a match to it when I die. It would take all night to clear off the couch.”
    “There must be something…”
    “Nearest thing is Jo Ellen’s place—she’s got a nice spare room over the garage she lets out sometimes. But you wouldn’t want to stay there. That husband of hers can be a handful. He’s been slapped down by more than one woman in Virgin River—and it’d be a bad thing, you in your nightie, Jo Ellen sound asleep and him getting ideas. He’s a groper, that one.”
    Oh, God, Mel thought. Every second this place sounded worse and worse.
    “Tell you what we’ll do, girl. I’ll light the hot water heater, turn on the refrigerator and heater, then we’ll go get a hot meal.”
    “At the Pie and Coffee shop?”
    “That place closed down three years back,” she said.
    “But you sent me a picture of it—like it was where I’d be getting lunch or dinner for the next year!”
    “Details. Lord, you do get yourself worked up.”
    “Worked up!?”
    “Go jump in the truck and I’ll be right along,” she commanded. Then ignoring Mel completely, she went to the refrigerator and stooped to plug it in. The light went on immediately and Mrs. McCrea reached inside to adjust the temperature and close the door. The refrigerator’s motor made an unhealthy grinding sound as it fired up.
    Mel went to the Suburban as she’d been told, but it was so high off the ground she found herself grabbing the inside of the open door and nearly crawling inside. She felt a lot safer here than in the house where her hostess would be lighting a gas water heater. She had a passing thought that if it blew up and destroyed the cabin, they could cut their loses here and now.
    Once in the passenger seat, she looked over her shoulder to see the back of the Suburban was full of pillows, blankets and boxes. Supplies for the falling-down house, she assumed. Well, if she couldn’t get out of here tonight, she could sleep in her car if she had to. She wouldn’t freeze to death with all those blankets. But then, at first light…
    A few minutes passed and