Read Online An Accidental Woman by Barbara Delinsky - Free Book Online

friends who trusted and loved her.
    But Poppy stayed in Lake Henry. For one thing, with Micah and Heather in West Eames, she needed to be close by for the girls. For another, though the courthouse was handicapped-accessible, she had no idea what the parking situation was with snow and ice thrown into the mix. For a third, a contingent of others from town were going there.
    In addition to all that, she had work to do herself. By late morning, nearly all her phone lines had lit up. Some of the calls were from townsfolk wanting to confirm what had happened; these involved a simple repetition of facts on Poppy’s part. Others were from the media, and Poppy knew all the right words to say. The challenge with those calls came in remaining patient and polite. With each additional call—each additional media outlet trying to sniff out dirt at Heather’s expense—her civility was further tried.
    Hardest of all, though, were calls like the one from Poppy’s sister Rose, because they involved speculation, and speculation raised issues for which there weren’t any answers.
    â€œWhat if they keep her in jail?” Rose asked. “What will Micah do then?”
    â€œThey won’t keep her in jail,” Poppy replied. “She hasn’t done anything.”
    â€œThey can do it, Poppy. So what’ll Micah do?”
    â€œShe’ll be home.”
    â€œWhat if she isn’t?”
    â€œShe’ll be home.”
    â€œWhat if they keep her for a while?”
    â€œPlease, Rose.”
    But Rose persisted. “Do you think Micah’s worried?”
    â€œOf course he’s worried. He loves Heather.”
    â€œForget love. Think about the girls. Who’ll take care of them if Heather’s in jail? Who’ll help with sugaring?”
    Poppy’s stomach began to knot. It often did that when she talked with Rose, who was an alarmist of the first order. Rose was the youngest of the three sisters—the “Blake blooms,” as they were known in town. Lily was the firstborn, typically introspective, sensitive, and focused. Poppy was the rebel, far more easygoing than the other two. And Rose? Rose was a clone of their mother, which meant that she saw the dark side of every issue.
    Unfortunately, it was easier for Poppy to accept the fear of calamity in Maida, their mother, than it was to put up with it coming from Rose.
    â€œWhy are you fixated on this?” she asked now. “Heather will be out. ”
    â€œI’m fixated on it,” Rose returned, “because I know things you don’t. Heather got all sorts of business ideas from Art”—Rose’s husband, Art Winslow, whose family owned the local textile mill—“and she’s put them to good use. New evaporator, new logo, new accounts. So here’s Micah, who’s just grown the business, thinking Heather would help, and suddenly she isn’t there. The weatherman’s forecasting sun. If the days start to warm, the sap could be flowing in two weeks. The timing of this is terrible.”
    â€œRose.”
    â€œHow did it happen?”
    â€œI don’t know,” Poppy ground out and, ending the call, proceeded to worry about all of the points Rose had raised.

    * * *
Griffin’s mistake was in not packing up and hitting the road the instant his brother had hung up on him, because that led to an even greater mistake—he turned on the television again. Two seconds into channel surfing, he caught a news flash about the case. Two seconds after that, the anchor introduced a reporter who was on the scene, and Griffin was hard-pressed to look away.
    â€œLake Henry is refreshing,” the reporter was saying. “In a day and age of complex lives often ruled by machines, the town is a throwback. With a population just over seventeen hundred, it is an old-fashioned kind of place where everyone knows everyone else and people protect their own. The town is situated on a