Read Online Hope Callaghan - Garden Girls 07 - Missing Milt by Hope Callaghan - Free Book Online Page A

right back in the saddle,” Margaret encouraged. 
    Lucy pulled a five from her pocket and handed it to Dot.  “I guess I’ll see you Thursday morning,” she said.
    Gloria winked at the girls and followed Lucy out the front door and they headed back to the farm.
    Lucy pulled up next to the house and put the jeep in park.  “What time you want to leave in the morning?”
    Gloria grabbed the door handle and stopped.  “Will right after lunch work?” She wanted to take a run by her friend, Andrea’s place, in the morning. She hadn’t heard from her in a few days, although she knew Andrea was hard at work, getting her Magnolia Tea Room ready to open for business. 
    Lucy nodded.  “Sounds good.”
    Gloria pushed the door open and slid one leg out.
    Lucy grabbed her arm.  “Gloria.”
    Gloria twisted back around.  “Hmm?”
    “Thank you for being such a great friend.  I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
    Sudden tears sprung to the back of Gloria’s eyes.  She loved Lucy.  Loved all of her friends.  There wasn’t anything she wouldn’t do for them…including giving them the shirt off her back. 
    She leaned across the seat and hugged her friend.  “Same here. That’s what friends are for.” When she pulled back, she could see Lucy’s eyes brimming with unshed tears.  “You alright?”
    “Yes! Yes, I’m fine.” Lucy waved her out. “Go on.  Get out of here before both of us start bawling like babies.”
    Gloria stepped out and leaned her head in.  “See you tomorrow then.” She didn’t wait for a reply.  Instead, she softly closed the door and slowly walked to the house.
     

     
    Gloria had a few minutes to kill before it was time to get ready for her date with Paul. 
    She wandered over to her computer and turned it on.  Her cat, Puddles, had curled up on the computer chair, his favorite spot to hang out.
    She picked him up and settled into the seat.  She set him on her lap where he promptly began to purr. 
    It was time to do a little more Milt investigating.  She logged into her Worldbook account and typed in “Milton Tilton.”
    Seconds later, a picture of Milt popped up.  Much to Gloria’s surprise, he had hundreds of friends, mostly women, she noted.  Or maybe she wasn’t surprised.
    She read several of the messages posted on his page.  Some of them nearly singed her eyebrows.  She shook her head.  This Milt was a real player!
    She wondered if Frances was aware of all the female friends he had and all the racy posts they left on his page.  She scrolled through his friends list to see if Frances and Milt were friends.  She couldn’t find her name anywhere. 
    A few of the women looked familiar and Gloria could only surmise that they were Dreamwood residents. 
    The last few posts were panicky women who wondered where Milt had gone and begged him to call them asap. 
    She almost clicked away when one message in particular caught her eye.  It was from someone named “Raven Fair.” Her text message read “Milt, baby.  We need to get together again after you get back.”
    Gloria’s eyes narrowed.  She wished she knew who “Raven Fair” was. She clicked on Raven’s profile.  A picture of a black bird popped onto the screen.  Did this “Raven Fair” know something that no one else did?  Maybe that Milt had gone somewhere of his own free will?
    Gloria wandered to the bath and drew a tub full of warm water.  She poured several capfuls of her homemade rose scented oils in the water.  Gloria stripped off her clothes and sank into the fragrant waters.  She leaned her head back and closed her eyes. 
    Instead of a nice, relaxing soak in the tub, she spent the entire time bouncing between thoughts of Milt and Lucy. 
    Perhaps she had overstepped her boundaries when she set Lucy up on that date. 
    But what the heck. It was a harmless breakfast.  The worst that could happen was that Lucy would end up with a new friend, someone to hang out with…or maybe it