by M A Comley
“That doesn’t answer my question, Lorne.”
She sighed. “I want to do something special tomorrow. Don’t ask. All will be revealed then. Fancy giving me a hand preparing dinner? You can sit at the table chopping the veg while I stuff the ginormous turkey I just bought.”
“Oh no,” he groaned. “Does that mean we’ll be eating turkey for the next two weeks?”
“In all its guises. I’m afraid so.” Lorne laughed and returned to the kitchen.
~ ~ ~
Within hours, the six of them were sitting around the table, devouring the luscious meal. Lorne had made up the bed in the spare room for Carol and Ted to stay over. Everyone had a wonderful evening, and it was great to see them all enjoying themselves. At the end of the evening, Lorne fell into bed, exhausted but in a happy way.
Tony cuddled her. “Hey, now that Christmas dinner is out of the way, which was delicious by the way, are you going to tell me what you’ve got planned for tomorrow?”
“If I must. I thought we’d take Sheba to the beach for a run.”
He lifted her head off his chest and narrowed his eyes. “All day? You’re up to something. I can tell.”
Lorne winked at him. “I am? I guess you’ll have to wait until tomorrow to find out what that something is.”
“Don’t tell me… we get to have turkey sandwiches down at the beach, as well?”
Lorne laughed and kissed him. “Funny. I hadn’t thought about lunch, so that’s not such a bad idea.”
They drifted off to sleep not long after and woke at eight the next morning. After having a family breakfast, which consisted of a huge fry-up, everyone chipped in to do their share at the kennel before Lorne announced it was time they were going.
The six of them, plus Sheba, piled into two cars. Charlie and Brandon followed Lorne in his car. They headed into London. The roads were surprisingly quiet, and Lorne drove down the alley and parked the car.
Tony eyed the building in front of them then swivelled in his seat to look at her. “This is the surprise?”
Carol laughed in the back seat. “The spirits told me what you were up to, Lorne Warner.”
“Well, I wish someone would tell me,” Tony complained.
Lorne smiled at her husband. “We’re going to do our bit and give a little back to society. I’ve arranged for all of us to help out at the homeless centre for the day. Well, not the whole day. They were desperate for volunteers, according to Emma, so I volunteered that we’d all give them a hand.”
Tony shrugged. “But I thought we were going to take Sheba to the beach.”
“We’ll do that later. You’re not angry with me, are you?”
He leaned over and kissed her. “How could I be angry about you putting others first? Let’s get this show on the road.”
Lorne expected Charlie and Brandon to kick up a fuss when they heard what was going on, but they welcomed the news and threw themselves into the task without any complaints.
It turned out to be a magical day and one of the best Christmases Lorne had ever had. Her heart glowed when she worked alongside Emma and her family, who were able to put the past few stressful days behind them.
Tony flung his arm around her at the end of the lunchtime rush. “I wish more people put themselves out to do this. I’m glad you bullied us into doing it.”
Lorne laughed. “Thank you all for accepting the challenge. I’m glad we decided to put others first for a change on this special day.
THE END
NOTE TO THE READER
Dear Reader,
Wow! What a heart-wrenching thriller that was, I hope you agree?
Lorne and the team are going from strength to strength and the cases are proving to be more challenging as the years go by…
The next case is no exception. In IMMORAL JUSTICE Lorne and the team find themselves challenged by a killer intent on making things personal for Lorne, in more ways than one.
Grab your copy of this fast-paced thriller today:
IMMORAL JUSTICE
Thank you for your continued support, if you wouldn’t mind leaving a review, I’d be eternally grateful.
Happy reading,
M A Comley