J.A. Jance - Tombstone Courage Joanna Brady 02 by Unknown

Author:Unknown
Language: eng
Format: epub

Two massive wisteria vines, thick-trunked with age, stood guard on either side of the front entrance, sending out a tangle of naked gray branches that clung tenaciously along the front lip and gutters of the overhang. In the spring, the porch would be all but obscured by a curtain of lush greenery and cascading lavender flowers.

Joanna was quick to note that the grounds of the Rocking P were surprisingly clear of junk. The outbuildings were all fully upright and freshly painted. No hulks of dead cars or rusting farm equipment had been left to crumble within sight of the house. Joanna's High Lonesome suffered terribly in comparison.

The wheels on the Eagle had not yet come to a complete stop before Yuri Malakov had the door open. He would have leaped out and been long gone if Joanna hadn't stopped him. "Let me tell her," she said. "It'll be better if I do it."

Yuri glowered at her, but he subsided in the seat. "You do it then," he said.

As if on cue, the front door of the house opened.

Ivy Patterson and Marianne Macula appeared on the porch together. Not surprisingly, Ivy's usually cheerful face was shrouded in grief, but even Marianne's features were frozen in an atypically grim mask.

Joanna opened the gate and started up the walk way. To her surprise, Ivy left Marianne on the porch and came running forward. Instead of stopping when she reached Joanna, Ivy darted past and threw herself sobbing against Yuri Malakov's massive chest. He reached down, folded her in his arms, and touched his chin to her hair.

Yuri clicked his tongue soothingly. "is okay. Yuri is here."

That small series of loving gestures turned all of Joanna's previous conjecture on its ear. Yuri and Ivy might have known each other for only a matter of weeks, but clearly they meant far more to one another than simple teacher and pupil. They were in love. Even the desolation of her grief didn't entirely obscure the glow on Ivy's face as she abandoned herself to the comfort of Yuri's encircling arms.

Joanna cleared her throat. "Excuse me, Ivy, but I need to talk to you. There's something you need to know."

Instead of looking at Joanna, Ivy stared up at Yuri's stolid face, as if whatever she needed to know would be clearly written on his broad facial features. He shook his head. "She tells," he said, nodding in Joanna's direction.

"Tell me what?" Ivy asked. "What's wrong now?"

This was Joanna's first experience at delivering bad news in some kind of official capacity. Like a child thrust suddenly into the spotlight of a Sun day-school Christmas pageant, she was instantly out of her depth, stymied about what to say or where to begin.

"Maybe we should go inside and sit down," she suggested lamely.

Glaring at her but holding tightly to Ivy's hand, Yuri strode up onto the porch and inside the house. "What about me?" Marianne asked, as Joanna started by.

"Come ahead if you want to," Joanna said.

By the time Joanna

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