Read Online Pumpkins in Paradise (Tj Jensen Paradise Lake Mystery Book 1) by Kathi Daley - Free Book Online

guess.” Tj hadn’t really considered that. Every other box Zachary had built for her had been opened by discovering the clue and the key that converted letters into numbers. But she supposed it was possible a number was just a number. The word numbered on the card appeared to have a line under it. Tj had assumed the mark was just a smudge, but perhaps Zachary had been trying to tell her to look for a number. “I guess it could be someone’s lucky number, or maybe a special date.”
    “Like Christmas?” Gracie suggested.
    “Yeah, or a birthday or an anniversary. An anniversary,” Tj realized. She picked up the box and arranged the numbers to read 1031 , Halloween and the anniversary of their first meeting. Nothing. She was so sure it was that. Still, Gracie might be on to something with the number idea. Zachary loved numbers. He spent a lot of time teaching her how to solve puzzles dealing with numbers. He used to tell her that numbers were the basic building blocks of the universe, and an understanding of numbers and their relationship to one another was important not just for mathematics, but for science and art as well.
    She looked at the card again . “For Tj, on our PERFECT day. As my life draws to a close and my days become numbered, I want you to know that you’ve been my sanctuary in an otherwise dark life.”
    “Can I come in? ” Ashley was standing in the doorway dressed in a flannel nightgown with a picture of Cinderella on the front. Her long, red hair hung across her face as she curled the toes of her bare feet against the cold of the hardwood floor.
    “Storm wake you?” Tj asked as she turned back the quilt on her other side in welcome.
    “No, I heard you talking. ” Ashley climbed up onto the bed and burrowed in under the warm covers. Tj realized Jenna was right; Ashley was more like her than she cared to admit. Like Ashley, as a child she’d never simply admit to being scared by a storm, which, Tj realized, was how the ritual of her dad pretending to remain asleep while she climbed into his big bed started in the first place. Tj accepted Ashley’s explanation about the noise in spite of the fact that her room was down the hall and she and Gracie had been talking quietly. She wrapped the covers around her sister and showed her how the box worked.
    “We thought the clue might be in the card,” Tj explained.
    Ashley picked up the card and read it. “How come perfect has all big letters?”
    Tj took the card from Ashley . “I’m not sure. Maybe Zachary was telling me to look for a perfect number.”
    “Seventy three,” Ashley proclaimed .
    “How did you know? ” Zachary once had told her that 73 was his favorite number, but she was certain she’d never mentioned it to Ashley.
    Ashley shrugged as she yawned . “Can I have a glass of milk?”
    “Sure, and then it’s off to bed.”
    “Can Crissy sleep with me?” Gracie asked.
    “I don’t see why not . You’ll need to keep the door closed, though, so she doesn’t get out.”
    “Okay . I don’t think I’ll be ascared if she’s with me, but maybe we should turn on the night-light just in case.”
    “I think that would be a good idea . How about you?” she asked Ashley. “Need a night-light?”
    Ashley looked at her as if she had just asked the most ridiculous question of all time . “I’m eight,” she reminded her older sister.
    “You’re right . I don’t know what I was thinking.” Tj shuffled both girls out the door and down the hall toward their own rooms.
     
    After getting the girls back to bed, Tj went down to the kitchen and poured herself a glass of wine. Her dad and grandpa had long since gone to bed, so Tj tossed a log on the fire in the cozy living room. Settling onto one of the overstuffed forest green sofas that were arranged in a giant U in front of the fireplace, she settled into the cushions and pulled the handmade quilt her Grandma Maggie had made before she died over her tucked-up legs. The secret to