Read Online Books Can Be Deceiving by Jenn McKinlay - Free Book Online Page A

humming like a swarm. In fact, she was so mad, everything was going fuzzy and she was beginning to see spots.
    “Here,” she said. She couldn’t trust herself to say anything more. She handed Beth the glossy page from the Caterpillar Press catalog and sat beside her.
    “I don’t understand,” Beth said. “What is this?”
    “Sydney gave it to me,” Lindsey said. “It’s from the publisher’s catalog of upcoming books.”
    “But that’s my book,” Beth said. She pointed to the picture. “How did they . . . and why is Rick’s name . . . ?”
    Her voice trailed off as the ugly truth came into focus.
    “He stole my story, didn’t he?” she asked.
    “I’m afraid so,” Lindsey said.
    “But that’s . . . he told me it was too amateurish,” Beth protested.
    “Well, I guess we know why he didn’t want you to show it to anyone,” Lindsey said. “He’d already sold it under his own name.”
    “What did Ms. Carlisle say?” Beth asked. “She must be furious that he’s deceived them.”
    Lindsey did not want to have this conversation. She really didn’t. If Beth’s feelings had been hurt before, she could only imagine how upset she was going to be now. But there was no need to explain. Her silence was telling.
    “Oh, no—Ms. Carlisle thinks I plagiarized him!” Beth cried.
    “I’m afraid so,” Lindsey winced.
    Beth stared out at the Thumb Islands. The breeze coming in from the water ruffled the spikes of her black hair. Her large, gray eyes narrowed. Lindsey wondered if it was to hold back tears.
    “I’m going to murder him!”
    The elderly couple glanced over from their bench, obviously startled by her outburst.
    “I’m going to deep-fry him in oil,” Beth ranted. “No, that’s too messy. I’m going to chop him up and feed him to the sharks, piece by miserable piece.”
    Now the mother by the tree with the young ones was looking at them with her eyebrows raised up to her hairline. Lindsey recognized her as a regular at story time. Uh-oh.
    “Beth,” she said. “Get a hold of yourself.”
    She looked at the older couple and the mother, still watching them, and forced a laugh. In a loud voice, she said, “You’re such a kidder.”
    But Beth wasn’t going to be diverted. She stood up with her portfolio under her arm and began to stomp toward the pier. “When I get done with him, Rick Eckman is going to wish he was dead.”
    Lindsey followed in her wake with a feeling of dread. Her own breakup with her fiancé had not been pretty, but at least he’d only cheated on her, not stolen her work. She had no idea how she would have handled it if he had, but she couldn’t blame Beth for being furious. She’d been working on that picture book for years, and for Rick to take it and submit it as his own was unconscionable.
    Beth churned across the pavement, past the Blue Anchor and out to the tour-boat office. The dock was empty, meaning both Ian and Sully were out giving tours.
    Ronnie Maynard, the tour coordinator, was in the little storefront office, sitting at her desk.
    Beth slammed through the door. “I need a boat.”
    “Well, hello to you, too,” Ronnie said as she lowered her nail file and glanced at the pair of them.
    “Hi, Ronnie,” Lindsey said. “Don’t mind Beth, she’s a little upset.”
    “A little upset?” Beth repeated. “I am more than a little upset. I am crazy mad. I need a boat, and I need it right now.”
    “What happened, hon?” Ronnie asked. Her voice was kind, as if there wasn’t any trouble she hadn’t heard before that couldn’t be fixed by a sympathetic listener.
    Beth took a deep breath and told her. Ronnie clucked in all the right places, calming Beth down with her genuine understanding.
    Lindsey had gotten to know Ronnie over the past few months. She was a regular at the library and liked to check out the latest romance novels. She was a particular fan of Amanda Quick and Linda Howard.
    If the term Sully had taught her was accurate, then Ronnie was