Read Online A Crossworder's Holiday by Nero Blanc - Free Book Online

Translation: ‘Oh, noble heart, consider your end.’ It was Meg’s favorite sampler. It used to hang in her bedroom, but she had me move it into the parlor near the end when she couldn’t negotiate the stairs very well. Said she wanted to be reminded of its message every minute of the day.”
    Both men remained silent for a moment, then Rosco attempted an upbeat, “Belle would be in seventh heaven surrounded by all these letters and words.” He looked at a dower chest boldly painted: BARBARA ANNO 1782, and an 1833 sampler in which the alphabet had been painstakingly stitched among birds and woodland animals. “She’d start seeing hidden messages …”
    â€œI’m sorry she and Meg never met. They would have hit it off like house-afires …” Steve’s words trailed off.
    â€œWhy don’t you bring me up to speed on the latest developments,” was Rosco’s attempt at an unobtrusive response.
    Steve took a long and troubled breath. “Nothing new to report … Just what I told you over the phone. But I still want to contest Meg’s will …” He raised his hands, anticipating Rosco’s objections. “You know how much she loved this house, and how much she loved sharing its history. Before she took ill, she’d sit on the front porch, talking by the hour … Any passerby was her friend … Heck, she’d even flag down tourist busses and invite them to stop on over … Then she’d give each and every visitor the entire history of the community and of this house … She could tell you where each of these pieces originated. The OEHBDDE, for instance, was made by a great-great-great-aunt way back in 1832. Meg wanted this place to stay in the family—”
    â€œLook, Steve …” Rosco interrupted, scratching at his chin as he spoke. “Don’t you think a probate lawyer would be a better person for this job than a PI?”
    But he remained firm. “You’re an old buddy, and Meg liked you. The Pennsylvania Dutch put a good deal of trust in community. I don’t want to deal with someone I’ve never seen.”
    â€œContesting a will ain’t easy, my friend.”
    â€œYou told me that. And I appreciate your honesty … But I feel it’s my duty as the last remaining Sutter living in Bird-in-Hand to keep the house and collection together … I feel it’s my duty to Meg . It was the one thing she wanted. She said so over and over—and over again.”
    â€œBut she—”
    â€œLet me back up for a minute … I told you my aunt’s will originally named her brother Amos as beneficiary?”
    â€œRight … But that he predeceased her.”
    â€œBy only four months, in fact. His passing was totally unexpected. A real shock for the entire community, not just family.”
    â€œI remember you telling me that when it happened,” Rosco interjected, then waited for Steve to continue his tale.
    â€œWell, a few days after Uncle Amos’s death, Meg said she was creating a new will … She was going to leave the property and its contents to me—knowing full well it would remain intact.” Steve paused. “But you know how it is when old people start talking about their own deaths … It’s uncomfortable, and it’s sad.”
    Rosco only nodded.
    â€œAnyway, my response, whenever she brought up the issue of revising her will, was to tell her I didn’t want her having gloomy ideas like that. I said Amos’s death was just a terrible accident, and she was going to live to be one hundred or even more—which everyone in the town believed … But she always found a way to sneak her worries into our daily chats … She said she needed to ‘safeguard the future’ and make sure the place didn’t ‘fall into the wrong hands’…” Again, he paused. When he resumed speaking, his tone had