Dyer Consequences Read Online Free PDF Page A

dear,” Mimi said with her maternal smile. “I’ll see you tomorrow, then. Five o’clock. We’ll look forward to creating new colors together.”
    “Oh, yes,” Tracy breathed, clearly still excited, face flushed with pleasure. “I can’t wait. In fact, I’d better run back to my apartment right now and do all my homework tonight, so I’ll have tomorrow night completely free. See you then.” Tracy turned and sped from the shop without waiting for their good-byes.
    “I didn’t know the shop had scholarships,” Jennifer said.
    Mimi smiled as she headed toward her office. “We didn’t until now.”
    “That was my bright idea,” Kelly confessed. “I remember being a broke college student. By the way, Mimi, since I thought it up, put Tracy’s fee on my bill, okay?”
    “I wouldn’t dream of it,” Mimi said over her shoulder. “This is my treat.”

Three
    Kelly stood by her patio door and sipped her second cup of morning coffee while she stared out into the backyard, watching Carl galumph through the crusty snow. Good thing she had extra rugs waiting by the door. Four big wet dog feet made quite a mess.
    Carl ran to the fence and began to bark, little white puffs of frozen dog breath floating upward in the frigid air. Squirrels were probably taunting him from the treetops, Kelly figured, as she glanced into the cottonwood trees that bordered the adjacent golf course and shaded her backyard. Sure enough, Carl’s nemesis, Saucy Squirrel, clung to one of the overhanging branches.
    Kelly was about to turn away when a movement beside the trees caught her eye. What was that? Was someone standing there? She didn’t see anything, just the trees. Then she saw the outline of someone in a dark jacket edge slowly from behind a tree. He stood still, staring into the backyard.
    Who the hell is that?
    Kelly yanked open the glass door and raced out onto the patio. “Hey, what do you want?” she yelled at the intruder. Carl’s barking had turned furious now.
    The black-hooded figure took one look at Kelly, then turned and broke into a run across the frozen golf course. All Kelly could tell in that brief glimpse was that he was tall and slender and apparently in good shape because he was running fast. She watched him glance over his shoulder once, then head for the busy street and traffic.
    Her heart raced as she watched the man disappear in the distance. Was that one of the vandals? Had he come back? Why? Was he looking for something else to damage? Damn it! Why was he targeting her place? What would he do now that she had confronted him?
    Carl paced back and forth atop the crusty snow, barking doggie threats into the icy air. Still agitated and frustrated, Kelly started pacing, too, ignoring the freezing cold. From the corner of her eye, she spied Steve’s big red truck heading down the Lambspun driveway and pulling to a stop beside her cottage. The huge engine’s throaty rumble silenced even Carl’s barks. It was a monster truck, not your average go-to -the-mall, haul-around-garden-supplies, handyman kind of truck. Out west, trucks were serious vehicles.
    Steve stepped out and slammed the door. “Hey, there,” he yelled. “Ready to head up into the canyon?”
    Carl had raced to the fence the moment he saw Steve. Playmate Steve. Provider-of-golf-balls-and-toys Steve. Roll-on -the-grass-in-the-summer Steve. This time, Carl’s bark was welcoming as he stood, paws on fence, waiting for a head scratch.
    Steve obliged. “Hey, boy, whatcha been doin’? Chasin’ squirrels?”
    “No, he’s being a good watchdog. He was barking, and I saw a guy standing over there beside the trees.” Kelly pointed.
    Steve’s smile disappeared. “You’re kidding.”
    “I wish I were. Now I’m wondering if it was one of those vandals checking out the place again. Damn! ”
    “What did he look like? Did you get a good look at him?”
    “Just a glimpse. He was standing beside the trees, staring into the yard. I came out and