Read Online The Lure of White Oak Lake by Robin Alexander - Free Book Online Page A

mild compared to what I did to him when he got home.” Shawna sighed. “Maddie and Heath were nice enough to bail me out of jail.” She fluffed her hair with one hand. “Now what was it you were interested in?”
    Morgan paid more for the coffee table and bookshelf than she would’ve liked but decided not to haggle on the price for two reasons. First, Shawna had admitted that she’d been jailed for doing something to her husband, and Morgan imagined all sorts of grisly possibilities. Second, Shawna talked nonstop, and it took Morgan nearly two hours to make her purchase. And the kicker, she’d have to make two trips since both items wouldn’t fit in the Jeep at the same time.
    Shawna was still yammering away when Morgan drove out of the lot with the coffee table. She cranked up the music in an attempt to purge Shawna’s voice from her mind and tried to decide on painting the wood or restoring it. At Main Street, she made a right and parked on the curb in front of the hardware store. Inside it smelled of feed, and birds chirped as they flew in and out of the open bay doors. Morgan searched the aisles until she found the sanders.
    “May I help you find anything?”
    Morgan turned to the woman who was at least an inch shorter than Jaclyn, her hair was a shade darker, but she had the same thin nose and mouth as her sister. “You’re related to Jaclyn, aren’t you?”
    “Yes,” she said with a smile and spun around. “As you can see, there’s no hairy hump on my back, and there isn’t a bell tower in White Oak Lake. Jaclyn often refers to me as Quasimodo, but my name is Maddie Richard. It’s very nice to meet you, Morgan.”
    “Nice to meet you, too. I just bought a couple of pieces of furniture from your sister-in-law.”
    Maddie made a face. “She talked your ear off, didn’t she?”
    Morgan smiled sheepishly and nodded.
    “If you can stand her prattling on, she has some pretty good buys. I had my eye on a beautiful set of lawn furniture, but the owners finally came in and paid the rent on their storage unit before their time limit ran out. Did she start off by telling you that Heath and I had to bail her out of jail?”
    “She did mention that, yes.”
    Maddie rolled her eyes. “She does that all the time to the newbies so they’ll be hesitant to haggle. She did break his nose, though. Shawna’s got a mean right hook. Of course, Charlie was lucky if he was five-foot-two and probably weighed a hundred pounds soaking wet.” She pointed to the sander. “Doing some restoration?”
    “Yes, on the coffee table, but the bookshelf is painted a hideous pink. I’m wondering if I should save myself a lot of effort and paint it something else.”
    “I’ve got a deep brown that would cover nicely, or if you want to go white, you’ll probably need a primer. We have that, too.”
    Morgan raised a brow. “White may brighten up the corner I have intended for the case. I’m really undecided on what I should do. Maybe I’ll just sand on it some first.”
    Maddie reached up and pulled a packet of sandpaper from the shelf. “This has varying grades and will work with the sander you have there.”
    “Perfect,” Morgan said as she took the paper. “I guess that’s it then.”
    “Don’t need anything else?” Maddie said with a smile. “Maybe a water hose?”
    Morgan felt her face heat. “Ever have a bad day when nothing goes according to plan?”
    Maddie folded her arms. “I have two children, three if you count my husband. Need I say more?”
    “I read you loud and clear. Where are the hoses?”
    “Follow me.” Maddie led Morgan through the store into the patio section where she selected a midgrade hose she hoped she wouldn’t have to duct tape anytime soon. “I’m glad you moved in so close to my sister. She’s surrounded by the older crowd on the other side of the lake, and I’m sure she enjoys having someone her age to chat with besides Skip.”
    “Jaclyn’s very kind, and Austin is too.”