Read Online Return to Sender by Fern Michaels - Free Book Online Page B

part of it. Hell, I don’t know. I know I was shocked to see him. And I know something else. This has to stay between us.
    Promise me that whatever you do, you won’t spill the beans on what I’m about to propose.”
    “Okay. I promise. Now, out with it.” Sally took the exit leading to I-75 North. Once she was on the freeway, she set the Hummer to cruise control. “I’m all ears.”
    “You know as well as I do that Will and I had some lean times in the beginning.” Lin wanted to lay the foundation for what she was about to do, in hopes that Sally would understand and agree to help her with her plans.
    “Of course I do. I remember when you came into Jack’s, asking for a job. Even though you weren’t showing, I knew you were pregnant. I think Irma did, too. All Jack saw was another set of arms and legs to serve up his concoctions.” Sally laughed. “You didn’t have anyone fooled. We all fell in love with you, and as they say, the rest is history.”
    Lin hoped her proposal wouldn’t tarnish Sally’s image of her. “I could’ve had a much easier go of it had Nicholas been willing to read my letters. I can’t explain why he chose to ignore me, and at this point I don’t care any longer. What I do care about, though, is this. He’s a very wealthy man. I want to find out just how wealthy he is. Maybe mess with his finances a bit. Make him jump through a few hoops. Sort of like I had to.”
    Sally shot her a wicked grin. “Are you thinking what I think you’re thinking?”
    Lin laughed. “Tell me what you’re thinking first.”
    “You want to mess with old Nick’s bank accounts, maybe steal his identity?”
    “Something along those lines. I don’t even know where to begin. What I do know is this—I want the bastard to suffer a little bit. Let him wonder where his next meal is coming from. Not that I expect that to happen literally, but people with fortunes expect the world to jump at their beck and call. I want Nick and his wife to have a few restless nights.” There, it was out in the open. “So what are your thoughts?”
    Sally raised an eyebrow, then smiled. “I like it. Now, all we have to do is come up with a plan where he gets a good financial fucking without us getting caught. I assume you’ve given thought to what will happen if we’re caught?”
    “Sorry to say I didn’t get that far in my thinking. I wanted to see what your reaction was first before I go full bore.”
    “No, you wanted to see if I would help you.” Sally laughed.
    “That, too,” Lin said with a wicked smirk of her own.
    “What about the diner?” Sally asked.
    Lin raised her eyebrows in question. “You don’t think I can do both?”
    “It’s not a question of what I think. It’s what you can do. Think you can run a business while trying to destroy someone else’s?”
    “People do it all the time,” Lin said airily. “At least they do in the news accounts I’ve read.”
    “Yes, but you’re not like those people, Lin. You’re honest and decent.”
    “Thanks. I think. Look at it this way. Let’s just say I’m about to jump off the wagon for a while. Give me a couple of months to do what needs to be done, and then I’ll put the Miss Goody Two-shoes hat back on.”
    As they were approaching Cartersville, Sally took the first exit. “I need something to drink and a trip to the restroom.”
    “Sally, are you angry with me?” Lin asked suddenly.
    “No! What makes you think I’m angry?”
    “You’re stopping in the middle of a very delicate conversation. I thought maybe you were trying to avoid the subject.”
    “No, I have to pee, Lin. Seriously. I’m thirsty, too.” Sally pulled into a rinky-dink mom-and-pop gas station that looked as though it’d seen better days. “Get us something to drink while I hit the ladies’ room.”
    “Sure, I’ll be right back.”
    Lin removed a ten-dollar bill from her purse and went inside the musty little station. An old icebox-style Coke machine hummed as