Read Online Fudge Brownies & Murder by Janel Gradowski - Free Book Online
Authors: Janel Gradowski
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committing to memory the image of a half-naked man who was old enough to be her father, not to mention far less appealing than her husband, instead of answering his question? Oh…maybe because she was too scared to formulate an answer. Then again, why was Buck asking who she was? He knew her. In fact, he called her by name whenever she stopped by his booth. "It's me…Amy. I work at Riverbend Bake Shop at the market. I bought a paddle spoon from you earlier this week. I talked to you again yesterday."
He narrowed his bloodshot eyes at her. The gun barrel wavered as if he was aiming for a hyper fly. "Aaaa…meeee…"
The prolonged word carried the scent of liquor across the room with it. Poor man. Falling down drunk on a Sunday afternoon. He was obviously in pain from losing his beloved wife. Amy nodded. "Yes. Amy. You said you haven't been eating well, so I brought out some casseroles for your freezer." She pointed at the cooler on the counter in the kitchen. "I'm not trying to rob you or anything. I didn't want to leave the food outside in case any animals got into it, and your door was unlocked. So I just came in to put the meals in the freezer. I was going to leave a note, but then I freaked out when I saw the coyote in your living room." She sucked in a massive breath. "And here we are now."
A flicker of recognition finally crossed his face. He leaned the gun against the wall beside him. "I'm sorry. I thought you were another of Esther Mae's relatives nosing around for money or flat out trying to steal my stuff. They're crawling out of every hole from here to Louisiana, thinking she was some kind of millionaire, and they're entitled to a chunk of her fortune."
"I'm sorry. That has to be very difficult to deal with."
He dropped onto the couch next to the coyote and absent mindedly petted its head. "I moved her up here to get away from the pond scum she calls family. Never could get her completely out of their grasp. They're all a bunch of low-life schemers who wouldn't know real work if it bit them in the ass. That's why they're all scrapping for money that Esther Mae didn't leave to them."
"Oh, dear. If they're showing up here to harass you, have you contacted the police? Maybe filing trespassing charges or a restraining order would help."
Buck ran his finger through his oily, long hair then pointed at the gun. "That's the only kind of law her family respects."
Amy glanced over her shoulder. Would one of the greedy in-laws barge through the unlocked door just like she did? The only one of Esther Mae's relatives whom she knew was Rayshelle, whose personality was composed of various shades of unpleasantness. What were her cousins, aunts, and uncles like? The thought made her shiver, even though she was still wearing her wool Red Riding Hood coat inside the warm house.
Buck yawned. It was time for her to make an exit. He needed to sleep off his cocktail binge, and she wanted to leave before she got stuck in the middle of a Hatfield and McCoy-style battle. "I'm going to put the meals in your freezer and then let you go take a nap or get back to whatever you were doing. The directions for heating the meals are taped on top of the pans."
He nodded once. "Thank you, young lady. That was a very kind thing for you to do. I'm sorry I scared you." His gaze drifted to the pink and tree limb-patterned recliner positioned on the other side of the wild dog then bounced back to her. "Don't worry about bringing out any more food. LeighAnne is taking good care of me, just like Esther Mae took care of her."
That evening, Amy sipped minty chamomile tea while she adjusted the color on the photographs she took of the freezer meals before she had delivered them to Buck. The blog was far more interesting, and time consuming, than she had anticipated. Random strangers from around the world were commenting on posts about the recipes she invented, but almost every evening was spent tinkering in photo editing programs, writing recipes,
He narrowed his bloodshot eyes at her. The gun barrel wavered as if he was aiming for a hyper fly. "Aaaa…meeee…"
The prolonged word carried the scent of liquor across the room with it. Poor man. Falling down drunk on a Sunday afternoon. He was obviously in pain from losing his beloved wife. Amy nodded. "Yes. Amy. You said you haven't been eating well, so I brought out some casseroles for your freezer." She pointed at the cooler on the counter in the kitchen. "I'm not trying to rob you or anything. I didn't want to leave the food outside in case any animals got into it, and your door was unlocked. So I just came in to put the meals in the freezer. I was going to leave a note, but then I freaked out when I saw the coyote in your living room." She sucked in a massive breath. "And here we are now."
A flicker of recognition finally crossed his face. He leaned the gun against the wall beside him. "I'm sorry. I thought you were another of Esther Mae's relatives nosing around for money or flat out trying to steal my stuff. They're crawling out of every hole from here to Louisiana, thinking she was some kind of millionaire, and they're entitled to a chunk of her fortune."
"I'm sorry. That has to be very difficult to deal with."
He dropped onto the couch next to the coyote and absent mindedly petted its head. "I moved her up here to get away from the pond scum she calls family. Never could get her completely out of their grasp. They're all a bunch of low-life schemers who wouldn't know real work if it bit them in the ass. That's why they're all scrapping for money that Esther Mae didn't leave to them."
"Oh, dear. If they're showing up here to harass you, have you contacted the police? Maybe filing trespassing charges or a restraining order would help."
Buck ran his finger through his oily, long hair then pointed at the gun. "That's the only kind of law her family respects."
Amy glanced over her shoulder. Would one of the greedy in-laws barge through the unlocked door just like she did? The only one of Esther Mae's relatives whom she knew was Rayshelle, whose personality was composed of various shades of unpleasantness. What were her cousins, aunts, and uncles like? The thought made her shiver, even though she was still wearing her wool Red Riding Hood coat inside the warm house.
Buck yawned. It was time for her to make an exit. He needed to sleep off his cocktail binge, and she wanted to leave before she got stuck in the middle of a Hatfield and McCoy-style battle. "I'm going to put the meals in your freezer and then let you go take a nap or get back to whatever you were doing. The directions for heating the meals are taped on top of the pans."
He nodded once. "Thank you, young lady. That was a very kind thing for you to do. I'm sorry I scared you." His gaze drifted to the pink and tree limb-patterned recliner positioned on the other side of the wild dog then bounced back to her. "Don't worry about bringing out any more food. LeighAnne is taking good care of me, just like Esther Mae took care of her."
That evening, Amy sipped minty chamomile tea while she adjusted the color on the photographs she took of the freezer meals before she had delivered them to Buck. The blog was far more interesting, and time consuming, than she had anticipated. Random strangers from around the world were commenting on posts about the recipes she invented, but almost every evening was spent tinkering in photo editing programs, writing recipes,
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