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“Are you okay?” he asked, reaching out and touching her forehead.
She nodded, fighting back the nausea. “I’m fine. Must just be the stress.” She moved into the bathroom and brushed her teeth. “I feel like someone has sawed off my right arm with Sarah not here. I just don’t know what to do with myself.”
He wrapped his arms around her and drew her close. “I know what to do with you,” he said low in her ear.
She smiled and touched her lips to his. “We had better go if you want to be back before lunch.”
He patted her bottom and said, “I need to grab something out of the safe. I’ll meet you downstairs.”
Lou walked down the steps and met John, who was pacing in the kitchen.
“What’s got your tail in a twist?” she asked playfully.
He pointed to his cast. “I get this thing off today. Hallelujah!” he yelled. “I might just have to keep it because it sure does get me some points with the ladies.”
“You get any sympathy dates last night?” Lou asked.
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“Not yet but I got some sympathy phone numbers.” He grinned like a child.
Brody walked into the kitchen.
Lou walked by John and tapped his shoulder. “You’re incorrigible,” she stated.
“And you, Lou, my friend,” he paused for dramatic effect and then pointed at the base of her neck, “have a hickey right there.” He laughed uproariously and Brody had to cough to cover his own laughter.
Lou tugged at the neck of her shirt, raising it higher. Her face colored instantly and she huffed out the door, sure the two grinning men were trailing her to the Jeep.
Brody got behind the wheel of the Jeep and started the vehicle. He opened the glove box and placed a large wooden cask inside along with a small velvet box. He closed the glove box, his hand brushing Lou’s knee as he did so.
“What’s that?” she asked.
Brody smiled at her. “The attorney brought me a list of my mother’s assets, jewelry, and things that were in the home at the time of her death. There was one piece of jewelry in the safe that wasn’t on the list. I want to take it and have it appraised so it can be accounted for.” He shrugged. “That’s all.”
She pointed to the small box. “And that one?”
“Oh, that’s just a ring of my mother’s. I want to take it and have it cleaned. Sentimental reasons, I guess.”
John chimed in from the back seat. “Can you drop me off at the doctor’s office?”
“Yeah,” Brody nodded. “Can Lou go with you while I go to the jeweler’s?”
“What if I want to go to the jeweler’s?” Lou broke in, her eyebrows drawn together.
“I’ll need a few minutes at the jeweler’s,” Brody answered. “John looks like he could use some company.”
“But…” Lou started.
“Please?” Brody asked patiently.
“Well, if you don’t want me to go with you…” Lou frowned.
“I knew you would understand,” he said, clasping her hand in his own and squeezing before he pulled into a parking space at the jeweler’s. He leaned over and kissed her soundly. “Stop by when John’s done and pick me up.”
He left no room for argument as he retrieved the jewelry cases from the glove box and slid out of the Jeep. He slammed the door behind him. Lou sat still and watched him cross the street, until John bumped her arm.
“I’ll be glad when I can drive again,” he said, bringing her out of her reverie. She slid into the driver’s seat and fastened her seatbelt, unable to figure out what bothered her so badly about this one trip to town.
