Consequence Read Online Free PDF Page A

Celtic. Any suggestions?”
    “Romantic standards, definitely,” Bridget
said, wagging her eyebrows. “I see Clay Knight’s back. It’s sweet
he and Erica are reconciled.”
    “Oh yes,” Janet drawled, “didn’t you hear?
They’re getting married and opening a new bookstore in Virginia.
Her dad and June will run this shop.”
    “If she hadn’t, I would have snatched that
man in a heartbeat,” Marcel quipped.
    “As if,” Janet retorted.
    “How are things with you and Tim Rogers?”
Bridget asked.
    Janet’s cheeks pinked and she shook her head,
looking away.
    “She’s too shy,” Marcel said, “and he’s too
stupid. He has no idea. Speaking of love, Bridget, are you getting
some, girl? Tell me everything.” Marcel put a mug of steamy latte
on the counter, sat on a stool and crossed his legs.
    “Not a chance, Marcel,” she said, rolling her
eyes. Her cell phone rang. “Excuse me,” she murmured checking the
caller ID. Lifting the small phone to her ear, she wandered towards
the restrooms, out of earshot.
    “Hello?”
    Boone’s voice was warm and intimate. “Hi.
Where are you?”
    “East of Eaton. I stopped by for a few
minutes.”
    “You want to have lunch there?”
    Bridget peeped over her shoulder and caught
Marcel and Janet watching her curiously. Marcel had a wicked gleam
in his eye. “No, not here. Umm…,” she trailed off.
    “Meet me out front in two minutes and we can
drive to Frankie’s.”
    “Okay.”
    She punched the small button, ending the call
then put the cell phone in her coat pocket. Returning to the
counter, she picked up the latte and swallowed it in several gulps.
She slammed the mug on the counter and wiped her mouth with the
back of her hand. “Wonderful! Thanks, Marcel. Got to go,” she said,
then flew down the stairs and ran out the front door.
    Janet and Marcel raced to the balcony in time
to see the Chance police chief’s cruiser stop alongside the curb.
They exchanged glances with June. “What’s the pool up to now?”
Marcel asked, inclining his head towards the storefront.
    June peered out the window as Boone opened
the car door from within for Bridget. She daintily pushed her
half-glasses up her nose. “Two hundred and twenty dollars.”
    Marcel let out a wolf whistle. The sound
caught Erica’s attention, and her head popped up from the deep
confines of a sofa at the back of the store. “What did you
see?”
    Marcel danced a jig in the café. “Well, Miss
Nosey, get ready to lose twenty dollars.”
    “What twenty dollars?” Clay asked.
    Tim Rogers walked through the shop carrying a
heavy box of books. He set them on the counter for June to sort
through.
    “Did someone win the pool?” Tim asked.
    Marcel’s laugh pealed. “Mark my words,
amateurs. Boone and Bridget are days away.”
    Clay looked at Erica curiously. “Days away
from what?”
    She blushed. “Falling in love.”
    Marcel snickered. “That’s one way of putting
it.”
    June removed an assortment of travel books
from the box. “I still say it’s March with the spring equinox.”
    “I’ve got the week of Valentine’s Day. Marcel
has the first week of the new year,” Janet added. “Want in on the
pool, Clay?”
    “I’ll be happy to take your money, gorgeous,”
Marcel quipped.
    A quizzical look on his face, Clay tucked an
errant curl behind Erica’s ear. “Boone? Is he the guy who came to
the house last summer?”
    Erica nodded, a sad smile tugging at her
lips. “He’s the police chief of Chance, the little town outside
Eaton,” she explained. “Where the kids had the accident.”
    The “kids” – Erica’s daughter, Daisy, and
Clay’s nephew, Brian Elder – were dating before the adults knew
each other and, in August, were in a horrifying car accident
together. While driving to Peachy’s, Brian swerved to avoid hitting
a deer on Last Chance Road, crashing through a guard rail and
rolling his uncle’s Jeep down a hill and into a flooded creek. A
quick response on