Home Sweet Home (A Southern Comfort Novel) Read Online Free PDF Page A

person with a bad attitude who moves to town.”
    “What’s this about?” asked Todd, and Mary Beth filled him in on Grace and the state of the house, with Jake interjecting rolled eyes and sarcastic snorts.
    “Wait, the Spinster House?” asked Todd. “You sold the Spinster House?”
    “No,” said Mary Beth. “The Spinster House is over on Walnut.”
    “That house? Baby, you know I hate to interfere in your business, but that pile of crap is a meth lab waiting to happen. That’s not the Spinster House.”
    “Yes, it is! The logging heiress built it on the outskirts of town and then left with her new husband before she could move into it. And it was scandalous because she built it on one of the out-of-the-way streets so people assumed she was up to no good.”
    “No, that’s the house built by her no-good brother. It was a brothel. That’s why it has all those porches and those tiny rooms.”
    “Todd, I hate to disagree with you, seeing as you’re carrying a gun and all,” said Jake, “but I’m pretty sure my sister’s right. Look how big that place is. And, yeah, it’s falling apart now, but it has big money written all over it. The house that Mary Beth sold Grace is just . . . weird.”
    “You ever heard of an eccentric millionaire?” Todd asked.
    “Todd, I’m sure you’re wrong.” Mary Beth started clicking through on her computer. “See? It has a Wikipedia entry and everything.”
    Jake joined Todd behind Mary Beth’s desk and they scanned the article together. Sure enough, the Spinster House in Willow Springs, Kentucky, was a dilapidated brothel-looking house on the outskirts of town. Not a cute but strange mini-Victorian in the center of town.
    “You believe everything you read on the Internet?” asked Todd.
    “That’s one thing I love about you,” said Mary Beth, wrapping her arms around her husband. “You’re always willing to admit when you’re wrong.”
    They started whispering in each other’s ears and Jake knew it was time to get gone.
    “I knew my sister was right,” he said, heading toward the door. “Otherwise, I would’ve bought that house and fixed it up. But I’m not touching anything called the ‘Spinster House.’ Not for a million bucks and a life free from professors.”
    “Ah, yes—my brother, the confirmed bachelor.”
    “I think that’s a euphemism for being gay,” said Todd.
    “You wish,” said Jake.
    “Boys,” said Mary Beth. “Jake, go away. And close the door behind you. I want to make out with my husband.”
    Jake got whiplash on his way out the door.
    “Oh!” Mary Beth called after him. “Mom wants to know if you’re coming to dinner on Sunday. Will is making lasagna.”
    Jake scowled. His mom knew he couldn’t resist her husband’s lasagna. “Fine.”
    “And Jake, be nice to the new girl.”
    Jake growled.
    Mary Beth laughed and put her arms around her husband. “She’s probably not going to call anyway,” she told her brother’s retreating back.
    Good, thought Jake. He didn’t want her to call.

Chapter 4
    G race held out for almost two weeks before she called Jake. Jane and Dev helped get her moved in, despite Priya’s best efforts to distract them with cuteness. There was a freezer full of homemade food from Dev’s mother, who had absolutely no confidence in Grace’s ability to feed herself, which was fine with Grace. Her books were still in boxes until she painted, her clothes were mostly in the closet, and she finally found her favorite moisturizer after a week of going without. She met with the head of the English Department, got a university-issued laptop, and set up her office in the creaky old brick building in the middle of Pembroke’s campus. She rode her bike into town for coffee, for lunch, for library books.
    She was especially impressed with the Willow Springs Public Library. It was small and dark, but it had an amazing stained glass window that took up almost the entire south wall of the building. It was an