Read Online Lemon Larceny (The Donut Mysteries) by Jessica Beck - Free Book Online

Well, I was warned that might happen.”   Then she caught a glimpse of my face in
the lightning.   “Suzanne, are you
okay?”
    “I think something’s
in the attic trying to get out,” I said in a strained voice.
    “We’ll just see
about that, won’t we?” Momma said as she put the food down on a nearby table,
retrieved a mini-flashlight from her purse, and led the way upstairs.
    Suddenly I was a
lot braver than I had been a few moments ago now that I had my mother with me.
    Between the two
of us, I was sure that we could handle just about anything.

 
 
 
    Chapter 8
       

 
    As I put my hand
on the doorknob of the attic, I turned to Momma and whispered, “Are you ready?”
    “I am,” she said
calmly.
    I took a deep
breath and then I opened the door, fully expecting someone to jump out at us.
    Only there was
nothing there.
    Then we both heard
the noise again.   My hand
instinctively went to the light switch, but the power was still off, so of
course, nothing happened.
    Momma shined her
flashlight in the direction where the sound was coming from, and I saw a tree
branch through the window outlined in her beam.   As we watched, the wind howled fiercely
again, and the branch seemed to want to break through the window and attack us.
    “It’s nothing
after all, see?” Momma asked me.
    “I don’t know if
I’d call it nothing,” I said, “but at least it’s not out to get us.”
    “Suzanne, we’re
safe.”
    “From that, at
least,” I said.
    My mother smiled
brightly as the power suddenly came back on.   “There, now isn’t that better?” Momma asked
as she shut off her flashlight.   “I
hope you’re hungry.   I bought enough
food for four people.”
    “That’s good,
because I’m starving,” I admitted as we turned off the light and headed back
downstairs.
    “What did you
get?” I asked as we walked into the kitchen.
    “There weren’t
many options.   Maple Grove is no
April Springs.”
    “I don’t even
care.   I withdraw the question.   I’ll eat whatever you could find.”
    Momma
smiled.   “I thought you might.   How does pepper steak and rice sound to
you?”
    “Delicious,” I
said.   “Is that what you got?”
    She laughed.   “Suzanne, why in the world would I ask
you how it sounded if I hadn’t gotten it?”
    “I don’t
know.   Maybe you’re just toying with
me.”
    Momma reached
into the large bag and began to pull out white cardboard containers.   “Let’s dig in before this gets cold.”
    “I’m so hungry
I’d eat it frozen on a stick like a Popsicle if that were my only choice.”
    After the first
bite, I nodded.   “Hey, that’s not
bad at all.   Pretty good, as a
matter of fact.”
    “I suspect that it’s
better than Anna Albright’s casserole.”
    “I don’t see how
you could be wrong about that.   It’s
got to be a pretty low bar,” I said, and then I took another bite.   I’d foregone the chopsticks my mother
had offered, preferring a good old-fashioned fork, but my mother handled her
chopsticks with casual grace.   “How
do you do that?”
    “With style and
grace, just as I do everything else,” Momma said with a smile.   “Actually, Jean taught me when we were
younger.   She loved trying new
things.   I’m going to miss her more
than I can express.”
    “I once read that
someone said the older you get, the more people you lose that you love.   It’s kind of sad, isn’t it?”
    Momma thought
about it for a few moments, and then she said, “It does put things in
perspective.   Seizing the day is
good advice for just about anyone.   I will say that my sister and I enjoyed a great many years being
family.   I always thought of her as
more of a friend than as a sister.”
    “She was
awesome,” I agreed.   Then I held up
my water glass and offered a toast.   “To Jean, one truly wonderful lady.”
    Momma
frowned.   “Suzanne, you know that it’s
bad luck to toast with water.”
    “I’ll risk it if
you