The Fall Line by Kelly Wacker

Author:Kelly Wacker [Wacker, Kelly]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
Published: 2023-03-02T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

On her way back to Palmer House from the river, Jordan stopped by the college library to use a computer. With her laptop useless because of the cracked and bleeding screen, she needed one to find detailed instructions regarding her water-soaked phone. She discovered only that she should wipe it down with a soft cloth, tap out any water accumulated in the charging port, speakers, and microphones, and wait before turning it on again. Some sources said six hours, though others recommended forty-eight. Hopeful it would be fine, she decided to split the difference and try powering it up in the morning.

However, she couldn’t text Maddie as promised. Jordan checked their email exchanges. The phone number included with Maddie’s signature was for her office. The best Jordan could do was email her, explaining that she had returned from the river safe and sound, but her phone hadn’t, and hope Maddie was checking messages.

After that, she looked at online maps as she considered how to reach the lilies at night. By canoe seemed the most direct way. She canoed every summer with her family on camping trips, but most of her experience was on flat water. She could rent one, put in above the preserve, and float down to the stand. With a full moon and clear weather, visibility would be good, but that plan presented problems. She’d have to paddle back up to her car, and going solo wasn’t the safest thing to do, especially on a river she wasn’t familiar with. Since the only people she really knew here were out of town, no one would realize if she went missing. It was an adventurous fantasy for a few minutes until reality caught up with her.

While staring at the undulating lines of a topographic map on the screen, she thought about Tammi Palmer-Maxwell’s offer. She’d mentioned an old cabin near a good view of the river, and she owned that big landscape painting that included a few lilies. From what Maddie had said, her family owned a lot of timber and gas property, as well as local riverfront property. Was some of it near Hargrove Shoals? After searching through more road, trail, and topographic maps, she couldn’t ascertain who owned the land around the refuge near the river, so she’d have to ask Tammi directly. Fortunately, Jordan had her number on a cocktail napkin, and Palmer House had a landline. She printed a few maps to take with her before leaving the library to make the call.

“Hello?” Tammi’s voice was like golden syrup.

“Hello, Tammi?” Jordan prompted her. “This is Jordan Burroughs. We met at the gala last night.”

“Why, Jordan. How nice to hear from you. How are you?”

“I’m good, thanks. I hope I’m not interrupting. Do you have a few minutes?”

“As a matter of fact, I do. To what do I owe the pleasure of your call?”

“I hope it’s not too soon, but I was wondering about that offer to paint on your property.”

“Oh, good,” Tammi said breathily. “Yes.

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.