Read Online Ellen McKenzie 03-And Murder for Desser by Kathleen Delaney - Free Book Online

obediently held the glass up to my nose and swirled the liquid around, watching the wine as it dripped down the inside of the glass.
    “What are you doing?” asked Dan.
    “Looking at the ‘legs,’” I told him.
    “The what? Why do you do that?”
    “I have no idea,” I answered, “but this is what Sabrina told me to do, so—”
    “Are you going to drink that stuff?”
    “I doubt it. Are you?”
    “No. Here. Let’s go over there.”
    Dan took both glasses, emptied them into the open concrete drainage line that ran along one side of the cellar floor under the tall stainless steel tanks, put the glasses down on an upright barrel and started to lead me away. We could see Mark standing in the middle of a small group, with what looked like an oversized meat baster in his hand, pointing at the oak barrels stacked up to the ceiling.
    “That stack of barrels is ‘racked,’” he said. “The wine is resting, picking up flavor. It should be ready for bottling next year.”
    “There are several people here tonight who might be improved by racking. The kind they did in the middle ages,” I muttered.
    Dan laughed. “Remind me to stay on your good side.”
    We were at the other end of the cellar, standing beside huge stacks of boxes, labeled with the famous Silver Springs logo. No one was around, and the voices that had echoed so annoyingly were muted.
    “Ellie, have Mark and Sabrina found a place yet?”
    The abruptness of Dan’s question startled me. “Yes. That’s what I was going to tell you. They put a deposit on a house this morning.” I paused and asked, “Are you glad?”
    “Oh,” he started, trying to be nonchalant. “I just wondered. Jake really does hate that dog. And we have so much to do the next couple of months, to get ready for the wedding and all.” He grinned somewhat sheepishly, then, without looking directly at me, went on. “When are they moving out?”
    “Next weekend probably. Are you glad?”
    “Well.” Dan still wasn’t looking at me. “They have been staying with you almost a month.” Now he did look at me and smiled. A corny kind of smile, half hidden under his mustache. “It’s put a crimp in our love life.”
    “It’s been awkward, but…”
    “I know, I know. Sabrina is your niece, you have a large house, it’s the house you and your sister grew up in, and you could hardly refuse when she called and asked if they could stay.”
    “Could I have? This job came up so suddenly, and they didn’t have time to find anything. Besides, I’ve enjoyed them. It’s given me a chance to get to know Sabrina. Catherine never came home to California much, and Brian and I somehow never made it back East. I thought you liked them, too.”
    “I do like them. They’re great kids. But a month’s a long time. And I’ve missed you.”
    I didn’t say anything for a minute. I knew what he meant. I’d missed him, too. Long, lazy evenings, waking up the next morning with him warm beside me, sharing coffee and the news paper over my kitchen table, those things hadn’t been the same with Mark and Sabrina wandering through the house. I’d loved those times. Oh, Dan had continued to stay a couple of nights a week, and I’d spent a few nights at his condo, but that hadn’t worked out. His next-door neighbor, Mrs. Bloom, a friend of my mother’s, made a point of being on her front porch each time I left. I felt as if I were back in high school. It wasn’t much better at my house. Moving over politely for Mark and Sabrina in the kitchen, making sure we didn’t dawdle in the bathroom, ignoring closed bedroom doors, having to get dressed for breakfast. I knew exactly what he meant and looked forward to having my home back, and, sometimes, to being in it by myself.
    “You see me every day,” I said.
    “We’re never alone,” he said. “I like cuddling with you on the couch, watching dumb movies and eating ice cream.”
    “We still do that.” Blast the man. He made me feel guilty