Black Water Creek Read Online Free PDF Page B

online.”
    “We sure do,” Sue wiped her hands dry on her aprons and took it off. “It’s getting on in years, but still gets the job done. Just like me.” She winked at Kelly and led her out of the kitchen and down the hall.
    She sat Kelly down at the computer desk in one of the bedrooms set up as an office. “Help yourself. Would you care for a cup of tea? Maybe something stronger? I’m actually thinking about grabbing one of Eddie’s beers. A cold one sounds good about now.”
    Kelly couldn’t hide the mild look of shock flash across her face and she laughed. “Sorry. I guess I didn’t peg you as a beer drinker.”
    “I’m not usually, but every once and while it hits the spot.”
    “I’m good, thanks.”
    Sue excused herself while Kelly hit the power button on the old beige computer tower and CRT monitor. Her anxiety rose as the computer groaned into life. She was nervous about calling her aunt unannounced and couldn’t help imagine what her reaction might be. Kelly always tended to overthink awkward situations. As the operating system logo flashed across the screen, she heard her Aunt’s voice in her head, angry for calling late and bothering her. What if she told her not to come? What if Aunt Sarah told her to go back to Don and leave her alone?
    She was being ridiculous and knew it. As the web browser launched , she tried to picture Sarah the last time she saw her at Mom’s funeral, hugging her tightly and smelling slightly of peppermint.
    Kelly searched for a white pages type website and finally found a decent looking one. She entered her aunt’s last name and town and was relieved to find only one entry: FOSTER, SARAH A. It listed an address on Hickory Street in Allenton but she didn’t know if that was the right street or not. Correct address or not, that had to be her aunt.
    She reached for the desk phone and paused for a moment, debating whether or not to ask Sue if it was alright to make a call. She didn’t want to lose her nerve and figured Sue wouldn’t mind, so she quickly dialed the number and held her breath. She glanced at the computer clock, wondering if it was too late to call her elderly aunt while the phone rang its seventh time on the other end. She was just about to hang up when the connection went through. A man’s voice answered.
    It threw her for a loop and she almost hung up. She stared at the phone number displayed on the computer screen but had no way of knowing if that was the number she dialed or not.
    “Hello?” the man said again.
    “Hi. Um…I’m sorry, I think I must have the wrong number. I’m looking for Sarah. Sarah Foster?”
    “ Sarah Foster,” the man repeated. “No, this is the right number. Who is this?”
    “ Kelly Raney, her niece. I’m her sister Katherine’s daughter.”
    The man on the other end let out a big sigh but didn’t say anything.
    “Is Sarah there? Could I talk to her?”
    “I’m Phil Albert, the owner of the apartment building here. I hate to be the one to tell you this, but I guess nobody else has. Your aunt passed away.”
    A soft croak escaped from Kelly’s mouth as she stared at the screen, mesmerized by the seven digits of her aunt’s phone number. The silence over the phone line was deafening.
    “Miss? Did you hear me?”
    She nodded her head and cleared her throat before finally answering. “I don’t understand. Passed away when? How?”
    “ We’re not sure. They think it was about a week ago, maybe more. One of the kids pulled the fire alarm yesterday afternoon as a joke. As we all waited out in the parking lot for the fire department to arrive, I didn’t see your aunt, even though her car was in the lot. I figured she was home, but she never came out.
    “Once we got the all clear , I knocked on her door for a quite a while and got worried when she didn’t answer. So I let myself in and found her on the kitchen floor. They say she had a stroke.”
    Kelly didn’t know what to say, so she didn’t anything at