Lacy (The Doves of Primrose) Read Online Free PDF Page B

building and her shoulders relaxed.
    “Excuse me, Mrs. Campbell?”
    Lacy flinched at the name and the voice. Her shoulders balled into knots once more. She had to resist the urge to slam her forehead into the door before turning.
    “Please call me Lacy, Miss Michaels.” She made an attempt at a smile but her lips rejected it. She really didn’t like this lady. No one was that perfectly put together. Maybe she was a robot or a cyborg. Lacy watched movies, it was possible.
    “I prefer to keep things formal.”
    Lauren’s hair didn’t move as she nodded her head. She straightened her pristine white jacket and pulled the sleeves down then swung her arm at an imaginary flying insect. Lacy thought about warning her about ticks with Lyme disease or West Nile virus from mosquitoes, but she didn’t think that was what a good hostess did. The woman sighed without wrinkling any part of her face.
    “I was wondering if you could help me with something?” She clasped her hands in front of her, but the look in her green eyes said it was more of a demand than a request. In fact, Lacy didn’t know it was possible to go that long without blinking or looking away.
    “Sure.” Lacy shut the barn door and followed in the skinny woman’s precise stride.

Chapter 3
     
    The two women stood at the bay window in Lauren’s guest room, one like a professor beginning a lecture, the other a reluctant student in a required course.
    “Here i s the problem, Mrs. Campbell.”
    Lauren indicated the open window with one hand and then r eplaced it to its permanent position, clasped with the other. She took two steps on her high heels, making Lacy wonder if her clothes ever wrinkled or if she ever teetered on those stilts. She had no clue what the crazy woman was talking about. The screen was over the window protecting her from insects; a nice northwestern breeze was drifting in keeping the room cool. The cushion and all the pillows on the window seat were clean. Okay, maybe the one had a stain, but it was on the other side and very small.
    Staring as though she were looking in the refrigerator wonde ring what to make for dinner, Lacy inspected the area for clues. Lauren watched her with what Lacy thought to be perplexity or anticipation; it was hard to be certain.
    “I’m sorry, Miss Michaels, but I don’t understand-“
    “Shhh!”
    Lacy backed up with the urge to fling her hands up in surrender.
    “There. Did you hear that?”
    Lacy tipped her head to listen more closely for whatever mysterious noise she was supposed to be hearing, but kept a suspicious eye on her guest for fear the woman might shed her human skin and reveal metal and computers beneath. Lauren kept a silencing hand up while her eyes scanned the ceiling. It was possible she was tuning in the mother ship.
    “There it was again.” She was getting excited now.
    “The birds?” Lacy was scared to speak. “Is that what you mean?”
    “Yes.” Lauren focused her wild gaze on Lacy. “The birds.”
    “Okay. Well,” Lacy paused, wondering how to explain to this clearly unbalanced person that this was nature and you were bound to have birds and bees and even the occasional snake around.
    “I’m afraid this simply won’t do , Mrs. Campbell.” Lauren had transformed into the controlled being from earlier. “You’ve got to get rid of them.”
    Lacy actually dropped her jaw. What the hell had she gotten herself into with these high maintenance prima donnas? Was she seriously going to have to put up with it?  First Kyle with his flirty arrogance, now mutant Barbie and her fear of nature. Two hundred thousand dollars plus royalties. She had to keep repeating it to herself. It was her only hope of surviving this ordeal.
    She scratched her forehead.  “What if I switched your room with someone else?”
    “No. I like the light in this room and the window seat.” Lauren ran her hand over the striped pillows. “I love it.” Again she folded her hands together. Maybe it was