Read Online Murder at Granite Falls by Roxanne Rustand - Free Book Online Page B

a new sense of respect for the young teacher standing in front of him, though for the life of him he still couldn’t imagine her having the required strength. The Snake was beautiful, but its changing channels could be fast and treacherous in the spring, and had even claimed a number of lives in recent years.
    Penny toed one of the life jackets. “I know you’ll want to check out her skills, so if you two want to take a trial run, go right ahead. Tina and I can handle everything here for a while. And hey, it might even be a good chance to get to know each other. Honestly, I’ve never in my life seen two people trying so hard to ignore each other. I think you’d find each other to be good company.”
    Uncomfortable, Carrie looked away.
    She’d expected that she’d need to demonstrate her river skills, but she’d been thinking that Penny or Tina would go with her because they were the guides who were on the river the most. The last thing she wanted was to face those hours alone with Logan.
    Sure, the water was fast and high. Reading the currents, channels and hazards of an unfamiliar river would require fast decisions and decisive maneuvers, leaving little time for awkward conversation.
    But since she’d come to terms with her concerns about hispast, her traitorous heart had gone back to its old routine—with that little extra skip every time she saw him, along with an unwanted sense of extra awareness that had no place in their strictly business relationship.
    And she definitely wanted nothing more than that.
    She’d already succumbed to foolish attraction once before and had discovered that she was apparently a poor judge of character. And where had it gotten her? A precipitous marriage to Billy, and after it was over, she’d ended up watching the shadows and fearing the night, regretting her poor judgment. It would be a long, long time before she had any interest in taking that risk again. Distance was the best policy.
    Though from the pained expression in his eyes, Logan had little desire for greater proximity, either. Exactly how she felt…so why did his cool reserve rankle?
    He cleared his throat. “Sounds like a good plan, Penny—except I have an appointment at the bank at eleven, and they close at noon so I can’t be late. You’ll have to go with her instead.”
    “I have two two-hour float trips scheduled today.” Penny folded her arms across her chest and frowned. “You could reschedule that appointment.”
    “Nope. It’s with Rob Peters, the loan officer. He’s leaving on vacation later this afternoon. Tina—”
    “Has to watch the office while I’m on the river, so she can collect the money and release forms from the second set of customers today. Then she has to bus them down to Hawk Landing so they can board, and bus the first group back up here.”
    Logan thought for a moment. “We’ll also need to check with the insurance company about adding another guide.”
    “Don’t worry about it,” Carrie murmured, backing away. “I…um…have lesson plans to work on and errands to run.Penny can just let me know when she has the time…or we can forget about it altogether. It doesn’t really matter to me.”
    Penny frowned. “But you said you’d be interested in some hours, right?”
    “Yes, but—”
    “If you could handle the office this afternoon, that would be great. As a guide you’d be getting tips, but at least this would be an extra paycheck. And if things are slow, you can work on your lesson plans in the office.”
    “That would be fine.”
    “Good. Then we can sort out the other issues later.” Penny gave her brother a long, pointed look. “After Logan and I sit down for a talk, I’m sure we can get this settled.”

SIX
    C arrie hesitated on the steps of the Granite Falls Community Church and glanced at the sign listing service times, needing an extra moment or two to settle the butterflies in her stomach.
    She’d always loved old churches, and had admired this white