Read Online With Baited Breath by Lorraine Bartlett - Free Book Online Page B

that we need to stand out from our competition.”
    “We’ll sure as hell stand out—and be the laughing stock of the bay.”
    “I don’t think so,” Kathy said. “Give it a couple of weeks. If you’re not making double your money on sales, I’ll come back and paint it white—and all by myself, too.”
    Herb smiled. He was a gambling man if the stack of losing lottery tickets they’d found while cleaning the night before was any indication. “You’re on.”
    “You want to give us a hand, Gramps?” Tori asked.
    Herb reached a hand around to rub his back. “I’d like to, girls, but that old sciatica has set in again.”
    “Uh-huh,” Tori muttered. “How did your visit with Irene go?” Tori asked.
    Herb grimaced. “She hinted that we should hook up.”
    “What?” Tori asked, appalled. “Grandma’s only been in the ground a few days.”
    “Yeah, well, Irene’s been a widow for a while. I expect every widow in the county will be after me now.”
    “Are you interested in…” she swallowed, “hooking up?”
    “Hell, no! Not with what’s available locally, anyway. Besides, your grandma seemed to think Irene nagged her last husband to death.” He cleared his throat. “I thought I’d make me a sandwich. It’s just about lunchtime. Want me to make you something, too?”
    “What did you have in mind?” Kathy asked.
    “Egg salad.”
    Tori grinned. “Nobody makes egg salad like my Gramps. He chops up green olives and mixes them in.”
    “Sounds great to me,” Kathy said.
    “Watch the store, willya?” Herb asked. It wouldn’t be hard to do. He hadn’t had a customer the entire time they’d been painting. They’d made good progress. Tori estimated they’d be finished with the first coat by the time the sandwiches were made.
    Sure enough, by the time they wrapped the brushes in plastic and batted the lids onto the paint cans, Herb returned. “I already ate. Your lunch is in the fridge.”
    “Thanks, Gramps.”
    “Any customers?” he asked, looking out over the bay.
    “Not so far,” Kathy said. “But soon they’ll be coming in droves.”
    “Hmmm,” was Herb’s only reply as he went back into the shop.
    Tori looked at her hands, which were a mess with splatters. “I wonder if Gramps has a scrub brush handy.”
    “Totally unnecessary,” Kathy said, as she started toward the house. “Got any baby oil?”
    “I think there’s some in the bathroom, though God only knows how old it is.”
    “It should work. Come on. I’m starved.”
    The baby oil worked like magic—once they employed a scrub brush--and soon the women were sitting at the kitchen table eating lunch.
    “This is the best egg salad sandwich I’ve ever had,” Kathy said between bites.
    “Told you.” Tori poured more iced tea from the sweating pitcher. “So you want to run up to Anissa’s place after this?”
    “Uh-huh. I also want to take a look at the Bloomfield house. Everyone around here talks about it like it’s some kind of mansion.”
    “Not exactly. It’s a big house, but had a lot of money poured into it over the years.”
    “How many bedrooms?”
    “Nobody I know has ever been inside, although supposedly it’s been featured in a bunch of magazines.”
    “They don’t have help who talk?”
    Tori shrugged. “I haven’t been a part of the scene around here for years. I wouldn’t even know where to hear the latest gossip.”
    “Perhaps in your grandfather’s bait shop?”
    “Well, maybe if we could get a few customers to come in we might hear something.”
    “Just wait,” Kathy said with confidence.
    “If the paint’s still tacky when we get back From Anissa’s, we’ll attack the signs. Have you got a steady hand?”
    “You mean for outlining the letters?” Kathy shrugged. “I’ll give it a try. It can’t look much worse than it does now.”
    They polished off the last of the sandwiches, loaded the dishwasher, and headed out the door. “I’ll drive,” Kathy said after Tori had