All the Pretty Poses Read Online Free PDF Page B

my hand. It’s a number I don’t recognize. The
switch to Harrison Spencer is swift and automatic.
    “Spencer,” I answer brusquely.
    “Mr. Spencer, my name is Oswold Bingham. I
represent Malcolm Spencer’s estate. Would you be available to
attend the reading of his will today? You’ve been mentioned in a
recently-notarized codicil.”
    I frown. I never expected to be named in
Malcolm’s will. It makes me feel even worse about my protracted
absence.
    “What time?”
    “Three pm, sir. The reading will be done here
at Bellano. In the study.”
    I don’t bother to hide my sigh of irritation.
“Fine, but I can only give you until 3:45. No later. I’m flying out
this afternoon.”
    “I’ll make sure to accommodate you then, sir.
I’ll be seeing you at three?”
    “Yes,” I respond.
    “Thank you.”
    I hang up in a much pricklier mood than I was
two minutes ago.
     

CHAPTER EIGHT- Kennedy
     
    As I shower and dress, I still question the
wisdom of taking Reese up on his offer. It’s a golden opportunity.
All I have to do is just resist him long enough to make it off that
boat and get what I came for.
    Just resist him.
    Like it’s that easy.
    Right.
    Impulsively, I decide to visit Tanny. All my
life, she’s been my go-to person for advice. And comfort. And
trustworthy friendship. Growing up at the back edge of Bellano with
my foster father, Hank, in the grounds keeper’s cottage left me
with little in the way of playmates or companions that lived
nearby, so Tanny was it.
    And Reese.
    For a while.
    Out of habit, I drive around the property and
park at my old house, one that now sits empty since Malcolm hired a
company to care for the grounds. I walk the old, familiar trail
through the woods, the one that bursts into the lush grass
surrounding Bellano, right behind the garage at the kitchen
door.
    I rap my knuckles on the screen and wait for
a response. Tanny is an early riser, but even if she weren’t,
eleven is plenty late for an impromptu visit.
    Within a minute, I hear the click of a lock
and the wooden door swings open, revealing Tanny’s smiling face
behind the screen between us.
    “I was wondering when I’d see you,” she says
with a smile, flipping the latch on the screen so that I can
enter.
    “What made you think I’d come today?” I ask
as I enter the kitchen. It smells just like it always has, like a
mixture of something sweet baking, coffee and Malcolm’s pipe
tobacco. It’s the most comforting aroma in the world.
    “Yesterday was hard for all of us. In all
kinds of different ways,” she adds meaningfully, sending me a
knowing look over her shoulder as she pours me a cup of coffee.
    “Tanny, it was awful! He saw me dancing the
other night. That was bad enough, but then to have to see him and
talk to him…and for him to ask me to work on his boat…”
    She turns around at that. “He asked you to
work on his boat?”
    “Yes. In exchange for getting me an audition
with the Altman troupe. Can you believe that?”
    Her smile is slight. “Yes, actually I can.” I
don’t ask what she means by that. “Have you decided what you’ll
do?”
    I sigh and circle my fingers over one
throbbing temple. “I think so. I’m not sure it’s the right thing, but I just can’t see me letting an opportunity like this
pass me by.”
    Tanny nods her head, sipping her coffee and
holding her tongue.
    “I mean, I got over Reese a long time ago.
And this is work. Not to mention that it could mean a totally
different future for me.”
    “That, it could,” she agrees.
    “Right?” I ask, looking for her validation
and her encouragement, and maybe someone to tell me I’m doing the
right thing.
    “Will you be able to live with the regret of not taking this chance?”
    “I learned a long time ago that I can live
with a lot of regret and still survive, Tanny. But the thing is, do
I need to? Can this really be as amazing as it seems? Or is it too
good to be true?”
    “What, exactly, are you worried