Defending the Dead (Relatively Dead Mysteries Book 3) Read Online Free PDF Page B

don’t think so. Think of it as praying, if you want to eat dinner tonight.”
    “That’ll do.” He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her, and she leaned back against him.
    Touching was always complicated between them, and she was struggling to control her immediate, visceral reaction to Ned’s contact. Under some circumstances, like in bed, it was great to just let go and feel everything, in all possible ways, mental and physical. Under other circumstances it was reassuring to link hands and feel the instant warmth of their connection. But when she was trying to think, the often-overwhelming rush of sensation when Ned touched her could get in the way of being rational. For now she gave in and spent several minutes being irrational with Ned.
    When they finally peeled apart, Abby went to the refrigerator in search of food. “You were out there with George for a while. Anything I should know?”
    Ned poured two glasses of wine. “Not really. George is a good guy, and he loves Leslie, and Ellie. But he’s really out of his depth here. He wants to help but he has no idea how.”
    “I can certainly understand that. I am kind of surprised that Leslie is still so upset, though. Or in denial. I always thought she was more level-headed than that. You know, identify a problem, analyze it, then fix it. Do you disagree? Did I miss something?”
    “I think you’ve got it about right, at least for most things. But this is her child, or maybe both children, so it’s really important to her. Here.” Ned handed her a glass.
    “Thanks. What about Peter? Are you going to try to be part of his life? I mean, boys see and feel things differently than girls, don’t they? And don’t just blow me off and tell me he’s too young. I’ve got plenty of memories from when I was his age. They may not have made sense to me then, but they were very vivid experiences at the time. He’s got to be noticing things.”
    Ned sighed and sat down at the table. “Abby, I don’t know. I’ve told you, I was probably closer to Ellie’s age when I first met Johnny, at our house. It was a long time before I realized he wasn’t real, or at least that no one else could see him. And then I started thinking about finding live friends and fitting in, so I kind of shut Johnny out. I guess that means that there’s some sort of control over it: if you don’t want to see, you can just look the other way.”
    “Is that what you want for the children? Is it a good thing, to suppress it?”
    “Abby, as I keep saying, I just don’t know. Before you protest, I realize we’re going to have to come up with an answer sooner rather than later, but can it wait a day or two?”
    “Sure. I don’t have any answers either. It’s a lot to work through. Poor George. And Leslie. And us. Most people would look at all of us and think we live simple, ordinary lives. Little do they know!”
    Once they were settled with dinner in front of them, Abby asked, “What’s in the bags?”
    “The big one is a steamer for the wallpaper. They weren’t expensive, so I picked one that looked easy to use. It should make things go faster for you. How far did you get?”
    “I made good progress in the front parlor. You know, the floor there is really nice, if we can get the later crap off. But please don’t race out and buy a floor sander!”
    “I think I can restrain myself,” Ned said, smiling. “At least the days are getting longer, so there’s more light to work by. I can help after work now and then.”
    After a few more bites, Abby said, “You know, I was thinking about how I want to approach this Salem research. Or maybe I mean Andover. Too bad there’s not a word for the whole area. I looked at a few maps, and I hadn’t realized they were continuous back in the day. And a lot of people with the same surnames lived in both of them. What should we call it?”
    “Andalem? Salover?” Ned joked.
    “That’s just kind of silly. But it creates false