Feeding the Fire by Laurence Andrea

Author:Laurence, Andrea [Laurence, Andrea]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Pocket Star
Published: 2015-03-15T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

“We’ve been so busy today, I haven’t gotten to ask how your week off went,” Sarah said, balancing the cash drawer and going through the day’s receipts.

Pepper looked up at her, setting her broom aside. She’d just finished cleaning up her station after her last appointment. She had been quieter than usual today. Since her discussion with her mother Sunday afternoon, she’d found herself in a whirl of activity. She’d unpacked boxes, hung pictures, and put away things she didn’t even know she owned, they’d been boxed up so long. Anything and everything she could do to keep her mind from wandering down that dark path, the better. Once she was at the salon, she stocked shelves, cleaned, and even organized the magazines between clients.

Between that and the news of Estelle Townsend’s death throwing everyone for a loop, there hadn’t been much time to chat.

Pepper shrugged. “It was fine. I got a lot done. I need to do a few more things and then I can actually have company over.”

Sarah smiled. “That’s great, Pepper. I know you were worried about all that money going to the auction. Sounds like Grant is more handy than you thought.”

Oh, he was excellent with his hands, she thought. But “Yep” was all Pepper said. “He had the guys from the firehouse come help one morning, too. That was nice.”

Sarah slammed the cash register drawer shut and put the deposit in the locked envelope she dropped at the bank each evening. “And Valentine’s Day?” she pressed.

Pepper sighed. Her instinct was to dodge the topic of Grant, but she really couldn’t do that anymore. Whether or not her family approved and whether or not Grant’s father was a son of a bitch, they were dating. He’d asked and she’d accepted, so Grant was her boyfriend. That meant their relationship was out in the open now, consequences be damned.

“We went to Whittaker’s. After a long week, just the thought of driving to Birmingham was exhausting.”

“I bet.” Sarah picked up the envelope and grabbed her coat off the hook. “Are you about ready to close up? I’ve got to drop off this deposit and get to the Piggly Wiggly to get something to take over to Robin Townsend tonight.”

The obligatory food parade had already begun. Pepper needed to take over something, she just had no clue what. “Any idea what you’re bringing?”

Sarah shrugged. “Maybe a pot of vegetable soup. The weather turned cold today and it’s supposed to stay pretty cold through the week. I thought something warm and comforting might be nice. Maybe chili since it’s chilly!” she said brightly.

“I was thinking a tray of deviled eggs. Or maybe a congealed salad that I can chill overnight and take over in the morning before the shop opens.”

“You’ve got time,” Sarah said. “The visitation is Wednesday afternoon and the service is Wednesday evening.”

“They pulled that together pretty quickly,” Pepper noted with a frown. She wasn’t expecting it to be until Thursday at the earliest.

“Well, Estelle probably had a prepaid plan put together when her husband died.

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