Cornered at the Corral by Jamie L. Adams

Author:Jamie L. Adams
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: western, romantic mystery, mystery romance, yellowstone, modern western, western mystery
Publisher: Gemma Halliday Publishing

CHAPTER TEN

"At the drop of a hat."

Tuesday morning, I stumbled into the kitchen in search of coffee. I rubbed my eyes and yawned as I poured steaming hot liquid into my favorite mug. The sweet smell of blueberry muffins tickled my nose. Cup in hand and eyes scarcely open, I headed for the table. Ava blocked my path with fisted hands on her hips.

"Why do you look so sleepy?" she asked with suspicion in her voice.

It took a sip of coffee for me to make sense of her words. The warm liquid went down easily and brought my senses back to life. "I stayed up too late reading."

"It must have been a good book," she said with a chuckle. "Which one was it?"

We were both fans of cozy mysteries and swapped books all the time. On some weekends, we'd spend hours discussing themes and plots from our favorite authors. Those days were far and few between now, with our busy schedules and boyfriends. Melancholy squeezed gently on my heart. I blew on the steam rising from the coffee. The warm mug felt good against my stiff hands.

"It wasn't anyone you know," I said, deliberately giving her a vague answer.

"What's the name of the book?" she asked with raised brows and a look of irritation. The timer went off, and she pulled out a pan of blueberry muffins.

The sweet smell of fruit and carbs teased my stomach.

"Well?" She placed the muffin tin on the counter and turned to face me, blocking my view of breakfast. "Is it a new author?"

I held back my grin as long as I could. "You could say that."

"Come on, stop playing around," Ava huffed and then piled muffins on a platter before bringing them to the table. She pulled the plate in front of her and sat down across from me.

"I found an old box at The Park yesterday," I said, and she slid the food to the middle of the round table, her eyes wide with curiosity.

I grabbed a muffin, cut it open, and knifed a generous slab of butter, prepared to slather both halves.

"What?" Ava reached across the table and held on to my arm, forcing me to stop and look at her face filled with interest.

"Gretchen and I were looking around in the mercantile attic, and I found a box hidden in the rafters," I said as nonchalantly as I could manage, considering how eager I was to share the news with her.

"What was in…" Her eyes grew wide with interest. "No way. A book?"

"Yes." I covered a yawn and nodded at the same time. "It's a journal."

Ava pounced like a tiger when she learned what I'd found. "Where is it?"

"Upstairs in my room." I finished buttering my muffin as I explained, "Inside the box, there was a woman's journal dating back to the 1890s. You were out late last night, and I tried, but I couldn't wait."

"Just think," Ava said in that dreamy voice of hers she'd used often over the years. My sister was a true romantic.

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