Clementine had tried to reach out in kindness to Davis, even though she hadn’t known the full extent of what he had been through. She had seen that he was hurting and had tried to offer him some kind of support.
“You missed your dad too, didn’t you, Davis?” Erin murmured.
Orange Blossom raised his head to look at Erin, then decided she wasn’t talking to him and put it back down to nap. Erin read on, trying not to get mired down in her own history. Yes, she missed her dad, and her mom too. But it had been twenty years and she wasn’t a kid anymore. Sure, her childhood had sucked, passed from one foster home to another, yet life went on. She had worked hard and made something of herself.
The inheritance of Clementine’s house and shop had made it possible for her to become her own boss, something she hadn’t ever known if she would be able to do. So far, she was doing well, making a living at Auntie Clem’s Bakery. Without the bakery, Erin would still have been trapped in dead-end jobs and Vic might have been out on the street.
But Clementine had more to report on than just her absent brother and the troubles of the Plaint boys. Erin’s brow furrowed as she read on.
Strange happenings over at the Prost farm. I know that Ezekiel and Martha have always been strange ducks, but this is stranger than usual. Rumor has it that Martha has passed away, but Ezekiel will not let anyone into the house to see. He insists that she’s just fine and will call them back later. But no one has gotten a call back from her and people are quite sure she’s dead. The sheriff is seeing what he can do about getting in there, but apparently there is not much he can do if he doesn’t have any evidence there has been a crime committed or that anyone is in immediate danger. Martha isn’t in danger if she is dead, and Ezekiel wouldn’t be guilty of anything other than misleading people and maybe improper disposal of a body if he’s done something with her.
That was certainly an eye-opener. Another mysterious death or disappearance in Bald Eagle Falls? Even stranger, Erin had read through all of the newspapers around the time of her parents’ deaths, and there had been nothing in the local weekly about a Martha Prost dying or disappearing under mysterious circumstances. That would certainly have caught Erin’s attention.
But maybe it had just been a rumor. Probably, Martha had shown up again, perfectly healthy and happy, just like her husband said she would, and the rumor of her death was just that, a rumor, with nothing to back it.
Erin looked out the window toward Vic’s loft again. She should have noticed if the light had been turned on, but she had been deeply interested in what she was reading. But the apartment was still dark.
“I don’t think she’s going to make it back tonight,” Erin told Orange Blossom. “They must be having too good a time.”
Blossom sat up and yowled at her, a long, mournful sound that he made when she left him alone or took him in the car to the vet. Erin laughed and scratched his ears.
“We’ll be fine if she stays away overnight. She doesn’t sleep in the house anymore anyway.”
Erin yawned, scrubbed at her eyes again, and decided it must be more than the dust from the journal that was making her eyes feel gritty. She needed to be up early in the morning for the bakery. Not as early as usual, because it would be Sunday, which was just the ladies’ tea, and she didn’t have to have everything baked that she would on a regular day. Just a few cookies and treats and an assortment of teas at the ready for when the women got out of their church services.
“It’s my one night to sleep in,” she told the cat, “I’d better take advantage of it.”
~ ~ ~
Coup de Glace, Book #6 in the Auntie Clem’s Bakery series by P.D. Workman is coming soon!
About the Author
For as long as P.D. Workman can remember, the blank page has held an incredible allure. After a number of false starts, she finally wrote her first complete novel at the age of twelve. It was full of fantastic ideas. It was the spring board for many stories over the next few years. Then, forty-some novels later, P.D. Workman finally decided to start publishing. Lots more are on the way!
P.D. Workman is a devout wife and a mother of one, born and raised in Alberta, Canada. She is a homeschooler and an Executive Assistant. She has a passion for art and nature, creative cooking for special diets, and running. She loves to read, to listen to audio books, and to share books out loud with her family. She is a technology geek with a love for all kinds of gadgets and tools to make her writing and work easier and more fun. In person, she is far less well-spoken than on the written page and tends to be shy and reserved with all but those closest to her.
~ ~ ~
Please visit P.D. Workman at pdworkman.com to see what else she is working on, to join her mailing list, and to link to her social networks.
~ ~ ~
If you enjoyed this book, please take the time to recommend it to other purchasers with a review or star rating and share it with your friends!
Table of Contents
Title Page
Mailing List
Copyright
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Epilogue
Bonus Material
Mailing List
Also by this Author
Free Preview of Coup de Glace
About the Author
Brewing Death Page 21