Read Online His Wicked Dream (Velvet Lies, Book 2) by Adrienne deWolfe - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Adrienne deWolfe
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you steal my snuff?"
The child's eyes grew bigger than silver dollars. "No, ma'am!"
"Yeah?" Claudia's cagey gaze narrowed, darting suspiciously from side to side. "Well, somebody sure did. Where'd that tow-headed hillKit go?"
Eden cleared her throat. "I'm sure Mr. McCoy was too busy admiring Jamie's toad to pinch your snuff tin, Auntie."
"Burro's milk. McCoy was busy admiring my money safe. Er... not that there ain't nuthin' to admire about Georgie," she added for Jamie's benefit.
The boy looked up anxiously. "Georgie's not eating as good as he did last week." He used a forefinger to tumble the pile of insects closer to his pet. When Georgie made no move to pounce, Jamie bit his lip. "Do you reckon he's sick?"
Claudia harrumphed. "More likely, Georgie's tired of flies—barflies, that is," she added ominously, glancing toward her broken window shutter.
Eden glimpsed a blond head ducking out of sight.
"Dang McCoy," Claudia groused, stalking to her gun rack and snatching up her scattergun. "And dang that cousin of his. I don't like the looks of 'em. Them two Pitkin County rabble are nuthin' but trouble, and I don't want them skulking around my store."
For emphasis, Claudia thumped the stock of her shotgun on the window ledge. The window's crank promptly thudded to the floor.
"Tarnation!" Claudia's face flooded with color. "The whole blamed store's falling apart. First the shutter, now this two-bit crank! And yesterday, for no blessed reason, the lid from a licorice jar got dashed all over the floor."
Eden started. She could have sworn she'd heard a boy's muffled laughter coming from outside the window.
Claudia, however, looked far from amused. Stomping over to Cooter's counter, she yanked open a drawer and flung the crank inside. "What deuced good is a handy man if he ain't handy? Michael promised he'd come over and mend my shutter—not to mention my rainspout—before the week was out. Well, that was last Monday."
She glared at Eden as if she were somehow to blame. "I ain't seen hide nor hair of that boy since you pulled in to town. Makes me think I'll have to stick that mouser of yours under a wagon wheel if I want to drag him out of hiding."
Stazzie's tail lashed indignantly against the pickle barrel. Eden gave her a reassuring pat and offered a sprig of parsley to Georgie.
"I'm sure Michael didn't mean to forget you, Auntie," Eden said absently, watching the toad flatten itself on top of the herb, as if it were nesting. "He's probably just been busy."
"Yeah, he's been busy, all right. Busy mooning over you."
Eden knew she'd turned as red as Jamie's bandanna. "Really, Aunt Claudia. The man talked once to me, and that was at the stage depot," she said, carefully omitting her worry that he'd recognized her from some previous encounter. "I'd hardly consider our discussion of cuts and bruises grounds for rumors of a courtship."
"That's 'cause you ain't lived around here long enough to know better. Sera says he's sweet on you. And Bonnie's mighty sore about you being Michael's backdoor neighbor." Claudia's face split in an impish, sparsely toothed grin. "Yep, as fillies go, I'd say you're ahead by a nose."
Eden sighed, shaking her head. She didn't bother to point out for at least the tenth time that Michael wasn't behaving like a lovestruck beau. She wondered how much his mysterious first sighting of her was to blame, and how much could be credited to her recklessly altruistic behavior at the stage depot. He had made a point to chide her foolhardiness, after all.
Maybe he didn't think her ladylike enough, since she'd charged a rearing horse, flopped in the gutter with her bloomers bared, and audaciously sought to revive Bonnie with a home remedy. To a university-educated doctor like Michael, her homemade smelling salts had probably smacked of quackery. Eden wouldn't have been surprised if he'd decided right then and there that she was a trouble maker whom he'd be wise to avoid.
She just wished he would be
The child's eyes grew bigger than silver dollars. "No, ma'am!"
"Yeah?" Claudia's cagey gaze narrowed, darting suspiciously from side to side. "Well, somebody sure did. Where'd that tow-headed hillKit go?"
Eden cleared her throat. "I'm sure Mr. McCoy was too busy admiring Jamie's toad to pinch your snuff tin, Auntie."
"Burro's milk. McCoy was busy admiring my money safe. Er... not that there ain't nuthin' to admire about Georgie," she added for Jamie's benefit.
The boy looked up anxiously. "Georgie's not eating as good as he did last week." He used a forefinger to tumble the pile of insects closer to his pet. When Georgie made no move to pounce, Jamie bit his lip. "Do you reckon he's sick?"
Claudia harrumphed. "More likely, Georgie's tired of flies—barflies, that is," she added ominously, glancing toward her broken window shutter.
Eden glimpsed a blond head ducking out of sight.
"Dang McCoy," Claudia groused, stalking to her gun rack and snatching up her scattergun. "And dang that cousin of his. I don't like the looks of 'em. Them two Pitkin County rabble are nuthin' but trouble, and I don't want them skulking around my store."
For emphasis, Claudia thumped the stock of her shotgun on the window ledge. The window's crank promptly thudded to the floor.
"Tarnation!" Claudia's face flooded with color. "The whole blamed store's falling apart. First the shutter, now this two-bit crank! And yesterday, for no blessed reason, the lid from a licorice jar got dashed all over the floor."
Eden started. She could have sworn she'd heard a boy's muffled laughter coming from outside the window.
Claudia, however, looked far from amused. Stomping over to Cooter's counter, she yanked open a drawer and flung the crank inside. "What deuced good is a handy man if he ain't handy? Michael promised he'd come over and mend my shutter—not to mention my rainspout—before the week was out. Well, that was last Monday."
She glared at Eden as if she were somehow to blame. "I ain't seen hide nor hair of that boy since you pulled in to town. Makes me think I'll have to stick that mouser of yours under a wagon wheel if I want to drag him out of hiding."
Stazzie's tail lashed indignantly against the pickle barrel. Eden gave her a reassuring pat and offered a sprig of parsley to Georgie.
"I'm sure Michael didn't mean to forget you, Auntie," Eden said absently, watching the toad flatten itself on top of the herb, as if it were nesting. "He's probably just been busy."
"Yeah, he's been busy, all right. Busy mooning over you."
Eden knew she'd turned as red as Jamie's bandanna. "Really, Aunt Claudia. The man talked once to me, and that was at the stage depot," she said, carefully omitting her worry that he'd recognized her from some previous encounter. "I'd hardly consider our discussion of cuts and bruises grounds for rumors of a courtship."
"That's 'cause you ain't lived around here long enough to know better. Sera says he's sweet on you. And Bonnie's mighty sore about you being Michael's backdoor neighbor." Claudia's face split in an impish, sparsely toothed grin. "Yep, as fillies go, I'd say you're ahead by a nose."
Eden sighed, shaking her head. She didn't bother to point out for at least the tenth time that Michael wasn't behaving like a lovestruck beau. She wondered how much his mysterious first sighting of her was to blame, and how much could be credited to her recklessly altruistic behavior at the stage depot. He had made a point to chide her foolhardiness, after all.
Maybe he didn't think her ladylike enough, since she'd charged a rearing horse, flopped in the gutter with her bloomers bared, and audaciously sought to revive Bonnie with a home remedy. To a university-educated doctor like Michael, her homemade smelling salts had probably smacked of quackery. Eden wouldn't have been surprised if he'd decided right then and there that she was a trouble maker whom he'd be wise to avoid.
She just wished he would be
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