Read Online False Impressions by Terri Thayer - Free Book Online Page B

got up out of her recliner and headed to the kitchen, trying to beat April to the counter. “I didn’t know if you wanted coffee,” she said.
    “I’ll get it,” April said. “Sit down.”
    Charlotte parked herself at the kitchen table, watching April as she got down a mug and a cereal bowl.
    “Want eggs?”
    April held her hand up. “I’m just going to have instant oatmeal.”
    Charlotte settled back like a cartoon bird on a nest. “Are you having dinner with Mitchell, dear?”
    “Yes, he’s cooking.”
    Grizz harrumphed from the other room, whether at Mitch’s cooking or something Maury Povich said, she wasn’t sure.
    April finished off the soy milk. A trip to the store was in her future. Since the weather had turned so cold and snowy, she did all the shopping. Charlotte and Grizz hadn’t left the house in probably three weeks.
    “Do you have a grocery list for me?” she asked.
    Charlotte produced one from her apron pocket.
    “I’ve got some work to do, and then I’ll run errands.”
    “Thank you, sweetie pie.”
    April went back up to the loft after her shower and drew for an hour. She never hit her stride, feeling like she was trying to force something that wasn’t coming.
    She gave up and headed out for her errands.
    Mary Lou’s real estate office sat in an old home at the edge of the development she and her husband had built twenty years earlier. Her own house was visible on a hill that overlooked both. April pulled into the small asphalt parking lot.
    The door opened into a small reception office. A middle-aged woman with tightly controlled curly hair smiled at her.
    “Can I help you?”
    “Mary Lou here?”
    “No, I’m sorry, she’s not.”
    April was disappointed. She’d hoped to get to Mary Lou right away and apologize. She didn’t want this to fester. “Okay. Do you have an envelope for me? April Buchert? She said she would pull together a list of rentals for me.”
    The receptionist looked through a pile of papers on her desk. The door to the inner office opened and closed. Logan, Kit’s husband, came through.
    “April? You taken care of?”
    The receptionist shot him a look of pure resentment. “Got it covered, Logan,” she said, not looking up from her task.
    “You working?” April asked.
    “Yeah. Going out to make the rounds. Make sure no pipes burst over the weekend.”
    “That’s nice,” April said. From the exasperated expression of the receptionist, April got the feeling Logan was padding his importance.
    “I don’t see anything with your name on it, Miss Buchert.”
    Again, April was disappointed. She wanted to get started looking for a new place.
    Logan came forward, perching himself behind the receptionist on the desk return. He ignored her pointed look and swung his legs. “Whatcha need?”
    “Your mother-in-law said she had a list of houses for rent. I want to start looking at what’s available.”
    “I can take you to a few.”
    “I’d rather go by myself. Mary Lou said she’d give me the lockbox key.”
    She didn’t need an escort. Especially Logan.
    “Wait here,” he said, jumping off the desk and going back into the inner sanctum. April could see a giant mahogany desk and credenza. Pictures of Kit and the twins filled the walls. Mary Lou’s office.
    The receptionist smiled slightly. The phone rang, and she answered it. April knew when she was being dismissed. April had thrown her lot in with Logan, and the receptionist was miffed.
    “Here you go,” Logan said.
    The receptionist looked over, trying to see what was in his hand. He palmed the page and gave April a key.
    “I put my cell number up on top. If you need anything, just call. This key will get you into all of these. These are all foreclosures, so they’re empty.”
    April glanced at the list. There were ten houses listed. A lot of the descriptions were abbreviated, and she wasn’t sure what they meant.
    She could go home and look at them on Google Earth and see if any suited her