Dollar Daze (The Bottom Dollar Series Book 3) by Karin Gillespie

Author:Karin Gillespie [Gillespie, Karin]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Henery Press
Published: 2015-05-12T04:00:00+00:00

Twenty-Two

Give Satan an inch and he’ll be a ruler.

~ Sign outside Rock of Ages Baptist Church

“It’s celebration time!” Rusty had said to Mrs. Tobias over the phone. “Put on your best stepping-out clothes.”

She dressed in her funky new outfit from Chico’s and gave her hair a soft curl, thinking the looser style made her look younger. If she squinted while she gazed at her reflection in her full-length bathroom mirror, she could almost imagine a forty-something woman staring back at her.

“Not too shabby for a senior citizen,” Mrs. Tobias said to herself as she heard the doorbell chime.

Rusty stood on her porch, wearing his ever-present black leather jacket. Underneath she saw a spotless white shirt and a blue silk tie.

“This is a special night,” she remarked, touching the uneven knot of his tie. Clearly he wasn’t accustomed to dressing up.

“It surely is,” he said, as the two strolled to his Honda Civic parked in the drive. He opened the passenger door of his car with the flourish of a footman helping her into an elegant carriage.

Tonight they were celebrating the return of his dog, Hap. The wayward hound had finally found his way back to his master.

“There he was, sitting in my garage, when I got home yesterday afternoon,” Rusty said. “Except for a few ticks and burrs, he’s the same old Hap. I hope the two of you can meet soon.”

“I’d be delighted,” she said, tickled at the idea of being introduced to a dog. The momentary blip of distaste she’d experienced earlier that day upon seeing Rusty in his work clothes seemed silly. She relaxed into the passenger seat, listening to The Byrds on the CD player and enjoying the pleasant weight of Rusty’s arm slung over her shoulder.

Then Rusty pulled into Savoy Center, an affluent shopping center in west Augusta, and Mrs. Tobias’s back stiffened.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

“The best restaurant in Augusta. Jacque’s. I told you we were celebrating.” Rusty reached over to squeeze her shoulder.

“Is Jacque’s even open now?” Mrs. Tobias glanced at the clock on the dash. Besides the county club, Jacque’s had been Harrison’s favorite restaurant. When he was alive, they’d dined there at least once a week.

“Yes.” Rusty went around to the passenger door to let her out of the car. “They open at five for the sunset dinner specials.”

Mrs. Tobias’s fingers fumbled with the latch of her seat belt. Most likely she wouldn’t see anyone she knew during early-bird hours. Only prom couples and little old ladies dined at such an unfashionable time of the evening.

And what if she did run into her old friends? Did she actually care what they thought? A few months after Harrison died, they’d dropped her completely. There was no place for a widow in their chummy circle of couples.

Drizzle stained the blacktop of the parking lot, so the pair sprinted from the car and ducked under the familiar black canvas awning in front of Jacque’s. Rusty held open the cumbersome oak door for Mrs. Tobias and followed her inside.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.