by Issy Brooke
“Fine.” He spoke hastily and she knew from his expression that she had to leave it alone. With a supreme effort of will, she managed it.
“So, I’m glad that the rain has stopped,” she said.
With relief, he nodded. “Yeah, aye, it’s better now. Uh. So if you want to do some more urbexing, I wanted to say, you know, you’re always welcome to come back. Have you got a tripod?”
“Yes, I have.”
“Great. Because you need to start using it.”
“I have been.”
“Oh? Right. So you need to start using it properly, then. Your depth of field isn’t always the best for the type of picture you’re trying to do. I’m sorry … I don’t want to sound like Eric.”
“You are in no danger of sounding like Eric,” she assured him. “Thanks for the invite back. I’d love to come. And I welcome any advice you can give me.”
He grinned broadly. She knew, then, that Drew had been right; Lee would never discuss the events of the past with her, but he would treat her with perfect friendliness if they just moved forward as if nothing had ever happened. “Great. Keep an eye out on the Facebook page. I’ll make sure to let you know about our next raid. Sorry, expedition. We could do with a female influence. There are more of us to meet, but it can get a bit macho and blokey.”
“I’m not coming as some token woman just to help calm them all down,” she protested.
He was unrepentant. “It will help. Anyway you need help with your photos, so it’s reciprocal.”
He was about to move away but he stopped, and added, “And another thing. Your, er, friend Drew.”
“Yes?”
“Why don’t you bring him along, too? We’re not all like Blue. Drew’s good with fields and signs and stuff. I reckon he has knowledge we could use, you know?”
She laughed out loud. “I reckon he has,” she said. “Okay. I’ll talk to him.”
Lee raised a hand and walked away.
Penny continued home, deep in thought. It would be nice, she reflected, to have something in common with Drew on a more equal footing. She loved going out with him and learning about the countryside, but it was sometimes more like a teacher and student relationship.
She was finally admitting to herself that she wanted more than that.
And he was always so busy that he constantly forgot to get in touch. She hated to be the pest, the one that had to run around after him. The urbex invitation was a good excuse to call him without seeming creepy or clingy.
* * * *
Penny went outside with Kali to make the most of the pleasant evening air. She pegged out a batch of stencilled fabric pieces to dry. She was determined to continue at the local craft fairs, and there was one coming up in a few weeks’ time. She had also resumed her visits to the craft group in Upper Glenfield, and heard more about the proposed Sculpture Trail, which was exciting even if sculpture wasn’t really her medium.
Kali sat by her leg and leaned on her, wanting some fuss. “Shall we do some training?” Penny asked her.
Kali grumbled but wagged her tail. Penny had been surprised to discover that Kali’s repertoire of tricks didn’t seem to work as well once they were in the garden. It was almost as if she had to learn everything all over again. So, with the aid of treats and encouragement, they began to work through some of her more basic commands. Penny was so engrossed in shaking a paw and rolling over that she didn’t hear her mobile phone ringing.
When she went back inside, she saw she’d missed a call from Francine, and she felt guilty. She never had called her.
She listened to Francine’s message with a growing alarm.
“You’ve been such an inspiration to me!” the distant voice warbled to the voicemail service. “The way you are doing your art and your craft! So I’ve changed my life! I’m manifesting my true destiny!”
And most ominously of all:
“I’m coming up to see you!”
The End…
…for now.
Coming soon: Small Town Suspicions! Sign up to my mailing list for news of each release here: http://issybrooke.com/newsletter/
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Author’s Afterword
This is the bit you don’t need to read, but if you enjoyed the book you might want to find out more.
I’ve got a website at http://www.issybrooke.com where I have more information about the characters, about Lincolnshire, and the fictional town of Glenfield - including a map. It’s a work in progress.
The dog in this story, Kali, is based on our own rescue dog, a Rottie cross called Stella. That’s her on the cover of this book. She’s a stressed out and reactive thing, and we’re still working through her issues. I wish it was as easy as Penny found it … you can read more about dogs on my website, too. And look at photos. Everyone loves photos of dogs, right?
There are more books coming in this series (I wrote a heap all at once). So you can check out what Penny gets up to next in Small Town Suspicions. What troubles will Francine bring with her? How will the Sculpture Trail evolve? And who would kill a reclusive artist?
Oh, I’m on Facebook here – https://www.facebook.com/issy.brooke – and Twitter here – @IssyBrooke – but as for the million other social media sites, nope. I’d rather be writing…
Thank you for reading.
Issy.
Table Of Contents
Author’s Hello
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Author’s Goodbye
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty