Read Online Canyon Secret by Patrick Lee - Free Book Online Page B

seemed to be listening to the other one talking. “Ladies. We’ve lots to do. July 2nd is only a few days away. Where are we with everything?”
    Hannah picked up her list that contained large checkmarks. “Well, I got the decorations, lined up the music, picked up the beer and whiskey, and I got a crew of kids to help me clean and set up at Rocco’s. I still need to get a couple of door prizes and three bartenders. Other’n that, I’m set.”
    In each of their minds, the four ladies separately looked forward to the event with some trepidation and with some excitement. Hannah wondered if Mikhail would attend, and if he did, would he show her any attention. She still wondered how their day on Lion Lake went. She hadn’t seen or heard from him since they parted late Saturday afternoon.
    Lila worried about David showing up. She wanted to see him, and at the same time hoped he wouldn’t attend. Her husband was on the road for the weekend, and David was off work Saturday and Sunday. If he was drinking, he might make a scene and their secret might be exposed. Oh, I wish he’d call and let me know what his plans are. That man drives me crazy.
    Betty Hansen experienced a terrible argument with her husband before he left for work at the Dam that morning. In her mind, she reviewed their argument. He told her he wasn’t going to any ridiculous dance with a bunch of drunks and worn-out old women. Instead, he was going to Kalispell with a lawyer friend of his to see the movie Singing in the Rain. “Sometimes I wish he’d drown in the rain. He’s so boring and self-centered. We do nothing fun together. Maybe I’ll just have more than a few drinks and dance up a storm with some rowdy Dam workers. That would serve Mr. Hansen right,” she said to herself.
    She sat and looked at her friends as they reviewed their lists and made final plans for the dance on Saturday night. Mabel Simons smiled and enjoyed the friendship and banter of her three close friends. They accepted her for just who she was. Her Madam job really never mattered to any of them. She cleared her throat before she joined in the exciting planning discussion for their big event. “I talked to Mary Curtain today after her husband’s funeral. I asked her about comin’ with me Saturday night. She said it’s too soon after her husband’s accidental death on Sunday. But I told her I need her to help me with the raffle ticket sales. At any rate, I think we’ll give her whatever money we make over the cost of the resuscitator.”
    Hannah wiped the tears from her eyes as she spoke, “You’re a great lady, Mabel. We’re so lucky you live here. Thank you.”
    The other ladies echoed Hannah’s sentiment and wrapped up their meeting. They planned to get together Saturday afternoon at 2:00 to decorate and get Rocco’s Super Club ready for the July 2nd fundraiser dance.

CHAPTER ELEVEN
     
     
     
    E ach year since the beginning of the Dam construction, the Ironworkers Union sponsored the Ironworkers Ball. The celebration began and ended at the Blue Moon. The wooden building took up a double lot at the intersection of Highway 40 and LaSalle. Traffic from Kalispell and Whitefish intersected at the front door of the Blue Moon. The past winter at the Ironworkers Ball, a fight broke out inside the bar near the front door. A fierce winter storm raged outside but paled in comparison to the intensity of the two men fighting. The heavy wooden door didn’t hold the force of the two men as they exploded through the door and out into the parking lot. Two other men held the door in place and the driving snow out. No one knew who won the fight as the crowd quickly came back inside as the fight and the storm raged on.
    The mounted deer, mountain goats, fish, and elk crowded the walls of the Blue Moon and brought the flavor of hunting and fishing in Montana inside the famous watering hole. David Sednick opened the door to the Blue Moon Bar. Four men sat at the bar and quietly talked