Read Online Blue Moon Bay by Lisa Wingate - Free Book Online Page A

geriatric pastor of Lakeshore Community Church, telling me how much God still loved me. Ruth just baked cookies, washed laundry, and occasionally laid a comforting hand on my shoulder as she passed by in her old-fashioned-looking dresses and sweaters, and a hair covering, as was typical of many of the Mennonite residents upriver in Gnadenfeld.
    Uncle Herb rubbed the back of his neck, glancing toward the backyard and then toward my mother, his brows lifting in a way that seemed to say, Uh-oh . . . Now what do we do?
    â€œWell . . . but . . . Blaine Underhill has things stored out there,” Mother shrugged, dismissing my suggestion. “Signs and whatnot. He’s running for county commissioner.”
    There was that name again. Blaine Underhill . Why was my family suddenly so tight with the Underhills? I’d never before in my life seen my mother speak the Underhill name without sneering.
    â€œI don’t mind,” I pressed, calling their bluff, but there was also a painful little pinprick inside me. Nobody was happy to have me here. “All I need is a bed and enough space to put my suitcase, and maybe a plate of casserole. Why is the benevolence committee bringing food by here, anyway?”
    Mom shrugged, her lip curling slightly, flashing an eyetooth. “Oh, you know those women. They’re always looking for an excuse to take a casserole somewhere and stick their noses in.”
    â€œStick their nose into what?” The attention of the church ladies was never completely for naught. They believed in Christian charity, with a purpose.
    Mom flipped a hand through the air. “Who knows? Heather, don’t you think you’d be more comfortable at the Catfish Cabins? The gardener’s cottage is a mess.”
    The sting of rejection put me back in my high-school shoes, when no one other than Ruth seemed to want me around. I will not let them get to me . I will not. “No. I’ll be fine here. I don’t plan to stay long. As soon as we get the hitch in this real estate deal taken care of, I’m gone.” And never coming back. Ever. You won’t see me darkening your doorstep anymore. “In fact, since we’re all here, why don’t we go on inside and hash it out? What’s this malarkey about a competing offer on the properties? When did this come up and who made the offer?” As if there really is one.
    Mother rolled her eyes. “Really, Heather. You’ve barely arrived, and all you can talk about is business? Let’s have something to eat on the sun porch. The man who found your purse said he’d try to get it to FedEx today. You’re stuck here until it arrives, anyway. You can’t fly without identification. I think you’re safe taking a little time for family niceties.”
    Irritation crawled over me on sharp little legs, digging in claws. A snappy retort was on the tip of my tongue, Who are you to lecture me about family anything? Squeezing my lips tightly over my teeth, I fought to keep the venom at bay.
    Uncle Charley, looking embarrassed, nudged Uncle Herbert and started toward the front walk. “Well, I’m starved. Let’s head around the back way. No sense traipsing through the house.”
    I was conscious of more covert glances and a collective holding of breath, but I’d also caught the scent of casserole, and I was hungry, weary, and lost. Every muscle in my body seemed to be liquefying. The afternoon had started to cool, and I just wanted to sit down someplace warm, so I followed the uncs and the casseroles off the porch. Clay grabbed my suitcase and walked along behind me as Uncle Charley talked over his shoulder, pointing out the growth in various trees, a new rose bush on the corner, an old lamppost that had been removed after it became too unstable, and other things he thought might have changed since I’d last seen the place.
    By the time we reached the sun porch, it was