Bird on Wire by Tagan Shepard

Author:Tagan Shepard [Shepard, Tagan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781594935954
Publisher: Bella Books
Published: 2018-04-26T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

“A movin’ target’s harder to hit.”

When Larry leaned over and whispered the words in Robin’s ear, she realized her disquiet must be showing. He followed them up with a pat on the back that was also a gentle shove out of the room. She walked as calmly as she could toward the kitchen. It would have been rude to run, even though that’s what her body screamed to do. She thought she would be alone in there, but she should have known better.

Every woman in town over the age of fifty was huddled around one appliance or another in her mother’s airy kitchen. They stirred pots, pulled casseroles out of the oven, prepared trays of sandwiches. One group stirred mounds of sugar into pitchers of iced tea. They formed an assembly line by the sink, washing, drying, and reusing every plate, mug, and utensil in the house. They chatted among themselves. They laughed and visited. One woman, a tiny firecracker with a helmet of silver curls, kept shooing Della away from every task she tried to perform.

“Don’t you worry about a thing, dear. We can’t have you muss up that beautiful dress.”

“Oh, no. You’re our guests. I wouldn’t dream of…”

“Don’t be silly. We take care of each other here in Sperryville.”

The way Della pursed her lips at the words made Robin turn on her heel, but she wasn’t quick enough.

“Birdie, dear, what a lovely eulogy.” A woman Robin thought may have been one of her elementary school teachers grabbed her hand before she could escape. “Your mother would have been so proud.”

“Thank you.”

She squeezed Robin’s hand between hers. They were pink and still a little damp from washing dishes. “How are you doing?”

Everyone asked, but no answer seemed to satisfy. “Oh, you know, I’m getting by.”

The woman, who Robin now remembered had taught her fourth grade, moved a step closer. “So what’s Los Angeles like?”

“Umm…Sunny.”

She giggled. “You’re just the cutest thing, aren’t you? Have you met Garth Brooks?”

Robin held in her sigh. “No, ma’am. I expect he lives in Nashville.”

“What about Vince Gill?”

“Birdie?” Sara appeared at her shoulder, wrapping a warm hand around her upper arm. “There you are. Mr. Peters needs to speak with you about something.”

The plump hands released her and Sara pulled her out of the room. She held tight to Robin’s arm. The back hallway was narrow, and Sara’s soft curves pressed against her bicep. Robin forced herself not to look down. Not to feel the tingle in her skin where Sara’s body touched her and made her feel like a confused sixteen-year-old again.

The hall dead-ended at the door to the backyard. A steep staircase led down to the basement on the right. The mudroom, little more than another narrow hallway with a washer and dryer wedged in, opened to the left.

Sara dragged her into the mudroom and dropped her arm. She pulled herself up on top of the washing machine with difficulty considering the height of her heels and the tightness of her dress and wedged her black heel against the windowsill.

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