Music to Die For by Radine Trees Nehring

Author:Radine Trees Nehring
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction & Literature
Published: 2011-06-08T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter XIV

Carrie took a step toward Margaret Culpeper’s house, planning to follow the man who was just now reaching the front porch, but Henry’s hand closed tightly on her arm. “Let’s stay here until someone invites us to come,” he murmured.

“Ouch,” she said, then hated the comment, which had been spoken more in impatience than pain. Still, she thought his hold on her arm had been firmer than necessary.

Oh, dear, this was bizarre, like being inside an unpleasant dream. Henry was acting bossy, which meant that he was worried, and of course his worry was now worrying her.

But why was he so worried? True, the Culpepers hadn’t exactly welcomed them, but she and Henry weren’t expecting hugs and an invitation to dinner. They expected people who were reclusive and strange. She already knew Mad Margaret was strange.

And, after all, Henry had easily charmed that dog, and the man hadn’t ordered it to attack them when it ended up being friendly. They were getting along fine. They would be fine.

She looked up at Henry and said, “Sorry. It didn’t really hurt.” He nodded briefly but kept his eyes on the front door of Margaret’s house.

Now Carrie’s spine was fizzing again. Henry looked absolutely rigid, and he was being so fussy about not looking around. Was it because they were exposed and vulnerable in this open clearing? Why hadn’t she noticed that before?

Anyone could shoot...oh, stop, stop it! Her imagination was running wild, her thoughts churning back and forth in a good-bad bounce.

No! This might be an unusual family, but there was absolutely no reason she and Henry would be seen as a threat. They were just what they looked like, harmless senior citizens, come to call.

She stared at Margaret’s house and concentrated on seeing the details there; since it was in her line of sight and she couldn’t be accused of looking around. Both this house and the larger one were typical Ozarks cabins. Each had a roofed porch extending clear across the front and a central entry door opening off the porch. Margaret’s porch displayed two rockers and a small table. There was an enormous brass doorbell on the wall by the front door. Or was it a dinner bell?

Like all the buildings in the clearing, the cabin’s vertical board and batten walls had weathered to a soft grey. Carrie would have found it impossible to guess the age of the buildings or of anything else she had seen in the clearing so far, but all of it looked old—and that included Margaret’s son, who had now been out of sight in his mother’s house for a very long time.

Carrie began an attempt to see what she could of the clearing without turning her head, swiveling only her eyes back and forth. The frames of her glasses were in the way, and trying to see beyond their edge made her feel dizzy, so she stopped.

What on earth was wrong with looking around? There were such interesting things here, and much of the junk could be of real value.

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.