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“I don’t want to go shopping,” Cody grumbled as Dani pulled into the parking lot.

“But you need some new school clothes and shoes,” she pointed out.

“Not today! School’s still a few days off.”

“And all the sales have just started.”

“Aw, Mom,” he grumbled, getting out of the pickup when Dani had parked between the faded lines tn the dusty asphalt. “Give me a break, will ya?” Angrily, he slammed the door of the pickup, nearly clipping Runt’s nose in the bargain.

“Be careful,” Dani reprimanded.

“Oh, sure.”

The dog paced and whined, sticking his head out the open window.

“We’ll only be a couple of minutes,” Dani said, patting Runt’s head and glancing pointedly at her son. Then, thinking the dog would be too hot inside the cab, she let Runt out and had him sit in the back of the truck. “Just don’t bark your fool head off, okay?”

The temperature seemed to soar as Dani walked across the hot parking lot to the store. Things were no better inside Anders’ Super Market. The air conditioning had gone out and one of the coolers had broken down.

“Land o’ mercy,” Marcella Anders said to Dani as she carefully repacked the meats into the remaining, still-cold display case. “And every repairman in town working overtime. I hope to heaven this meat doesn’t spoil.” She was a large woman, big boned and heavyset. She wore her graying hair piled high on her head and a starched white apron over her clothes. For nearly as long as Dani could remember, Marcella had worked in the meat department of her husband’s store.

“It’s been incredibly hot this year.”

“Don’t I know it?” Marcella grumbled. “Brings out the worst in people, ya know. Just yesterday, Jenna Peterson came in here fit to be tied.”

“That doesn’t sound like her,” Dani remarked, thinking of Caleb Johnson’s kindly housekeeper as she eyed the packages of frozen fish.

“No, indeed, it don’t. But she was in a regular tizzy, let me tell you. Something about one of Caleb’s men . . . a new man he’d hired. Jenna seemed to think that this man was no good, just on Caleb’s payroll to cause trouble.”

Dani felt her face go pale. “Did . . . did she tell you the man’s name?” she asked, looking Marcella square in the eyes.

“Nope. I think she wanted to tell me more, but she thought better of it, ya know. Jenna needs her job; she practically supports her daughter and grandson and she never was one to gossip much.”

“Loose lips sink ships,” Dani said to herself, thinking about Chase and finding him in the creek in the middle of the night. And now he was gone...

“Pardon?”

“Nothing,” Dani said, and forced a smile. “You were right, it was probably just the weather.”

Marcella’s face pulled together in a thoughtful frown. “I hope so,” she said aloud. “I wouldn’t want to think that any of Caleb’s men are dishonest. The people of this town, we’re all countin’ on that resort of his. My husband thinks it’ll triple business in the next year. He’s already had the plans drawn up to expand, put in a delicatessen and a garden department.” Marcella chuckled to herself as she placed the last package of meat into the full display case. “This is his big chance, he thinks. Just like most of the rest of the folks in this town.”

“Except Mom,” Cody said.

Marcella nodded curtly. “Well, we’re all entitled to our own opinion, aren’t we?” she said, still smiling as she wiped her hands on her apron. “It’s a free country.”

“Yes,” Dani said, pushing her cart forward.

“See ya around,” Marcella said, and moved down the meat counter to help another customer.

Dani pushed her cart down the crowded aisles and tried to concentrate on shopping, but found it nearly impossible. She came out of the store with only half the items she’d planned to pick up.

“You think Mrs. Anders was talking about Chase, don’t you?” Cody said once they’d climbed back into the pickup with Runt.

“I don’t know.”

“I can tell it’s what you think.”

She eased the truck into the sparse traffic of the main street of the small town and pushed the hair from her eyes at the one stoplight near the gas station. “I didn’t say that.”

Source: www.allfreenovel.com
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