Hearse and Buggy by Laura Bradford

Author:Laura Bradford [Bradford, Laura]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi, pdf
Tags: cozy
ISBN: 9781101580868
Publisher: Penguin Group US
Published: 2012-06-05T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 17

She knew she should be pleased at the sales for the past week, but it was hard to focus on anything besides the image of Jakob Fisher’s face the moment Arnie opened his mouth and ruined a long-overdue moment. The detective’s hurt had been so raw and so fresh that it had been agonizing to witness.

In fact, if he hadn’t shaken her anger off, she’d have thrown Arnie out on his ear. Since he had, though, Arnie and Esther had resumed their private conversation, and Jakob had made some lame excuse that allowed him to retreat back to the police station.

By the time Arnie had finished with his elongated interview, she opted to cut Esther loose for the day, citing the quiet foot traffic along Lighted Way as a reason for the decision. But it hadn’t been the truth. Not really, anyway.

She just wanted to be alone—to go through the books, wander the store, and maybe even plan a way to reclaim the tiny inroad Jakob had almost made with his estranged niece before her aunt’s boarder had stepped in and ruined everything.

Sure, she knew her aunt wouldn’t approve. The rift between Jakob and his family was a lost cause in Diane’s eyes, a casualty of a culture that was unbendable. And maybe it was.

She just wasn’t ready to write it off yet.

“Miss Weatherly?”

She looked up from the old-fashioned rolltop desk to find Benjamin Miller standing in the doorway of her makeshift office. “Oh, Benjamin. I didn’t hear you.”

“I knocked. You did not come.” He gestured toward the hallway from which he’d come. “Should I go?”

“No.” Pushing her paperwork and calculator toward the side of her desk, she gave the man her full attention. “I guess I didn’t realize I left the back door unlocked.”

She followed Benjamin’s gaze as he took in the envelope of money with Martha’s name sprawled across the front, the expression he wore difficult to decipher.

“Benjamin? Is something wrong?”

“I have something for you.”

Her focus dropped to Ben’s empty hands. “Oh?”

“Come.”

She rose from her rickety chair and followed the man down the hallway and out the back door. “What’s wrong? Did you find something?”

“I did not find it. I made it.” He sidestepped a team of matching horses and made his way to the back of an open wagon carrying a few small pieces of furniture. “Esther tells Eli of your honesty.”

Leaning forward, he reached across the wagon bed and wrapped his hands around the base of an unfinished rocking chair, depositing it on the cobblestoned ground at her feet. Next to it, he placed a small side table and a child-sized footstool.

She ran her hand across the back of the rocker. “Is this for the store?”

He nodded.

An unexpected burning pricked at the corner of her eyes, and she blinked it away. The last thing she wanted to do was cry in front of this stoic man. Especially when she knew she’d sound foolish trying to explain the reason behind the tears. Instead, she swallowed—once, twice. “Benjamin, I’d be honored to display these in the store.

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