Read Online Dead and Breakfast by Kimberly G. Giarratano - Free Book Online

that the best way to handle Mick was to pretend like the man didn’t intimidate him. Key word: pretend . Mick thrived on weakness, and he could smell it like a shark smelled chum in the water.
    Liam feigned a smile. “Can I help you, Mr. Canton?”
    Mick flicked a mosquito off his forearm. “Doubtful. I thought you were making your money in the Dakotas, drilling for oil.” The way Mick said it made it seem like Liam had gone off to earn money on Mars.
    Liam felt a burgeoning headache. “Didn’t work out.”
    “Course not,” said Mick, his wide mouth turning up at the corners.
    Liam cringed. “Okay, well if that’s all—”
    “Not quite young man. Now that you’re back, I want to make it clear that you should stay away from my granddaughter.”
    Liam watched a beetle scuttle along the sidewalk. “I promise you that Victoria and I have no plans to get back together. That ship has sailed.”
    Mick sucked on his teeth. “No hard feelings, son. I just don’t want her getting hurt.”
    “She broke up with me,” Liam said.
    Mick smirked. “That’s not what I meant. You see, a girl like Victoria, with money and influence, is an easy target for boys like yourself.”
    Liam balled his fists. He stepped toward the SUV and Burly Flattop opened his car door. Mick put his hands out to stop him. “Not necessary, Finn. Young Liam wasn’t making any threatening movements. Were you?”
    Liam didn’t respond.
    Mick chuckled and motioned for Finn to start the car. “I hope not to see you around, Breyer.” Then the SUV sped off, kicking up bits of gravel on its way out.
    With shaky hands, Liam turned on the scooter. He was late for his shift at the Cayo. After his confrontation with Mick, taking orders from Evelyn would be a treat.
    #
    Autumn always cut through City Cemetery on her way home from school. The Cayo was directly on the other side of the cemetery, off Pine Street. When she and Evelyn first moved there in the spring, Autumn used to spend hours reading the creepy epitaphs, sometimes gliding her fingers along the ancient skulls embedded in the headstones. Eventually, she realized that despite the cemetery being a huge tourist destination, some people in Key West still had beloved family members buried there. Like Mr. Blazevig, who, on most days, tended to the graves of his dead wife and son. Today was no different.
    “Hi, Mr. Blazevig,” Autumn said cheerfully.
    The man was crouched on all fours, leaning toward a squat headstone and holding a garden trowel. He was digging out weeds that had crept up over the stone. Unlike the larger, grandiose grave markers in City Cemetery, the Blazevigs’ stones were modest and close to the ground.
    Autumn never asked Mr. Blazevig directly, but Aunt Glenda said his son died in Afghanistan, and Mrs. Blazevig succumbed to pneumonia a few years ago.
    Mr. Blazevig stood up and wiped his hands on his dingy white shirt. He leaned over the black iron fence that separated his family plots from the walkway where Autumn stood. “Why, hello, dear. How was school?”
    Mr. Blazevig was tall and scrawny with sunburned skin. He had wispy, white hair and a jovial laugh. Aunt Glenda referred to him as a kind soul, but there was something about Mr. Blazevig that seemed tormented.
    Autumn shrugged.
    “That good, huh?”
    “Just some mean girls at school.” No matter how good the rest of her day went, Victoria Canton always managed to seep under Autumn’s skin.
    Mr. Blazevig’s narrowed his dark eyes. “Never had patience for bullies. They’ll get their comeuppance, don’t you worry.”
    Perhaps. Victoria’s life seemed next to perfect. Autumn couldn’t imagine the popular and rich mean queen would ever have to worry about paying for her dream college.
    “Anyway.” Autumn tried to muster a smile. “My mom needs me at the D&B.”
    Mr. Blazevig wiped sweat from his brow. “Your mom is trying her hardest to get that place back on its feet. She’s smart, if you ask me. Say, you