RIPE FOR VENGEANCE by Wendy Tyson

Author:Wendy Tyson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Henery Press;culinary cozy;mystery series
Publisher: Henery Press
Published: 2019-04-23T19:08:26+00:00

Seventeen

“I don’t know what King was talking about.” Denver placed a cloth bag of groceries on his counter. One by one, he pulled out bags of rice and beans and cans of soup, his back to Megan. “Chase and I never had an argument. I hadn’t seen the guy in years.”

“Since your divorce.”

Denver took the last can out of the bag and pushed it along the concrete countertop. Megan watched the slight hunch of his broad shoulders, the clench of his jaw, the impatient way he pushed his unruly hair away from his face.

“Denver?”

Denver crammed the dog food cans into his pantry cabinet. “No. I’ve seen him since then.”

Megan tensed. “When?”

Denver worked for a minute without speaking. Finally, he said, “About a year ago. He, Martine, and Xavier came up for a weekend. I couldn’t join them because I was working, but we met one night for drinks.”

Megan heard the hitch in his voice. A year ago, Megan and Denver were already dating. Megan braced herself for more…the more being a night spent with the elegant Martine. She thought of the way Martine had stared at Denver during dinner, at his obvious reluctance to meet Martine’s gaze. Megan’s breath caught in her chest. She couldn’t bring herself to speak.

Denver’s kitchen, like the house itself, was a study in clean lines. Megan slid a stool out from beneath a Craftsmen-style island and sat down heavily. Denver continued to put away groceries, his body language under his t-shirt and jeans matching the rigidity of her own.

Denver’s five dogs broke the silence. The doorbell rang and all five started to bark and howl. Denver glanced at Megan apologetically, and she saw tears in his eyes.

“Denver—”

“Megs, I need to get the door.”

“Wait.”

“It’s King, I’m sure. He’ll be wanting to ask his own set of questions.”

He disappeared into the hallway. It wasn’t Bobby King he returned with; it was Martine. Martine looked ashen and afraid. Her slim frame was draped in a black silk wrap dress. She wore red wedge heels and a cream scarf was knotted around her stalk-like neck. Wide eyes fell on Denver.

“I didn’t mean to interrupt.” Her voice was barely a whisper.

“It’s okay. I was just leaving.” Megan stood and grabbed her purse, hating the waves of jealousy washing over her. Denver could talk to whomever he wanted. It didn’t mean anything.

“Megs, don’t leave.” Denver’s voice was a command.

“I—”

“Stay. Please.”

Megan nodded. She sat back down on the stool. She felt frustrated and confused by Denver’s behavior, but curiosity won out. She wanted to know why Martine was here.

Denver fixed Martine a glass of Sauvignon Blanc. He poured one for Megan as well and grabbed a beer for himself. “Let’s go into the living room.”

The women followed Denver into a cozy living space. Sparsely decorated, but warm and inviting, it smelled faintly of wood smoke and citrus cleaner. Megan sat on the couch across from the fireplace. All five dogs crowded around her, on the seats beside her, and by her feet. Megan felt a wall of canine protectiveness.

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.