Read Online Mummified Meringues by Leighann Dobbs - Free Book Online

grabbed his arm and urged him away from the window.  
    “Don’t worry, we’ll sort this out,” she said as she pulled him into the living room.  
    Jack plopped into a chair and pulled her into his lap. “You’re right. I’m not all that worried.”
    He lowered his lips to Lexy’s and her stomach did a little flip, but then a flash of light outside caught her eye. She turned her head toward the window, causing Jack’s lips to brush her cheek.  
    Was someone out there watching them?”
    She scrambled out of Jack’s lap and ran to the window. Across the street sat a bright, red Mustang convertible with a white-haired old lady behind the wheel. And she wasn’t just parked there—she was looking in Lexy’s window with binoculars!
    Lexy ripped the door open and ran out, but she was too late. The car screeched around the corner.  
    She closed the door and turned to Jack who was still sitting on the chair, his left brow raised at her.  
    “What was that all about?” he asked.
    “Someone was outside looking in here with binoculars. I think they were stalking me!” Lexy fumed.
    “Stalking you? Who would want to do that?”
    “I’m not sure … but I think it was Violet Switzer.”

Chapter Eight

    Lexy kept her eye on the rear-view mirror, looking for a red Mustang, as she drove to Nans’ apartment the next morning. Pulling into the parking lot, she felt silly. Surely, Violet wouldn’t follow her everywhere, and even if she did, what did Lexy care? She wasn’t afraid of an old lady.
    Her phone chirped and she looked down. Her mother. Lexy debated not answering because she was in a hurry to meet with Nans and the ladies, but guilt took over and she pressed the green button.
    “Hi, Mom!”  
    “Lexy? Is that you?” Vera Baker’s voice blasted out of the phone at its usual high volume, causing Lexy to hold the phone six inches away from her ear.
    “Yes, Mom. How are you?”
    “Oh, good, dear. What about you? Is Jack treating you okay?”
    “Yes, he is, Mom. Where are you guys now?” Lexy had given up on trying to keep track of her nomadic parents who were traveling across North America in a haphazard manner. One week, they could be in Nevada, then the next week, Florida, then the next, Canada. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to it, but Lexy figured if they were having a good time then who was she to question it?
    “We’re in the desert of Maine.”
    “There’s a desert there?” Lexy cradled the phone between her ear and shoulder while she reached for the bakery box on the passenger seat, then she got out of the car and started across the parking lot.
    Vera sighed. “You never heard of it? It used to be three hundred acres, but now it’s about forty-five. You had better hurry if you want to see it, though. They say it will be gone in fifty years.”
    Lexy frowned at the phone. She’d never heard of any disappearing desert. “Gone? Where would it go?”
    “The forest is reclaiming it,” Vera said in an exasperated tone.
    Lexy could hear clinking and muttering in the background as she opened the glass door and slipped into the lobby. “What’s that noise in the background?”
    “Oh, it’s just your father.”
    “What’s he doing?”
    “Oh, he’s just tinkering with the RV.”
    “Tinkering?” Lexy felt a wave of uneasiness wash over her. “Is something wrong with it?”
    Silence.
    “Mom?”
    “It’s just a little minor problem, Lexy. Nothing to worry about.”
    “Are you sure? I could send you some money—”
    “Don’t be silly! We don’t need money … your father’s calling for me. I gotta go.”
    “Okay, Mom. Say hi to Dad and you guys take care.”  
    “You, too. Say hi to Mona for us!”
    Vera hung up and Lexy found herself standing outside Nans door, frowning down at her phone. Was something wrong with the RV? Nans had mentioned they’d been having trouble.  
    Her gut twisted—even though she’d offered to send her parents money, she’d been glad her mother