Lawman Read Online Free PDF Page B

before. He remembered how he’d felt when his mother had died; but especially, when the woman he loved had died. He remembered how sad and depressed those events had made him. At the time, he’d had no one to help him get through it. His family was back in Texas, and he’d been living in Georgia, working out of Atlanta, when it happened. He should have remembered how alone he’d felt. He’d been less than sympathetic with Grace.
    So he got up earlier than usual, made biscuits, fried bacon and scrambled eggs. He phoned the Collier house and only then recalled that the phone was out of order. He climbed into the car, dressed in city clothes and drove over to get Grace and Miss Turner.
    They were dressed, just coming down the steps. Grace was wearing jeans and the floppy sweatshirt again, with her hair in a bun. They both looked surprised to see him.
    â€œI made breakfast,” he said without preamble. “Let’s go.”
    â€œBut you didn’t have to do that,” Grace protested.
    He started to take her arm, to herd her out the door, but she stepped back in an instant, her eyes wide, her cheeks rosy.
    He glowered at her. “It’s only breakfast. I’m not proposing,” he added sarcastically.
    Her eyebrows went up. “Well, thank God for that,” she replied carelessly. “I’ll consider it a lucky escape.” She hesitated when he gave her a blank stare. “Or shouldn’t I have said that until after breakfast?”
    He didn’t smile, but his eyes did. He made a rough sound in his throat, avoided Miss Turner’s amused gaze and led the way out to the car.
    Grace ate with apparent enjoyment, but she was wary of her big, taciturn neighbor. She’d never met anyone quite like him. If he had a sense of humor, it must be very deeply hidden.
    â€œIt was very nice,” she said when she finished the last strip of bacon. “Do you mind if I use your phone to call the hospital?”
    â€œHelp yourself,” he said. “There’s an extension in the hall.”
    She got up, wiping her mouth gently, and went to find the phone.
    â€œHow’s she doing?” Garon asked Miss Turner.
    â€œShe’s going to take it badly,” she replied. “Mrs. Collier is a nightmare of a mother substitute, but Grace has lived with her so long that I think she just overlooks the bad attitude.”
    â€œI noticed that the old lady seems to dislike her.”
    Miss Turner grimaced. “It’s even worse than it seems. Mrs. Collier failed Grace at a time when she needed her most. I think it’s guilt that makes the old woman treat her so hatefully.”
    â€œWhat happened?” he asked curiously.
    â€œIt’s not my business to talk about Grace’s business,” came the terse reply.
    He sighed and finished his coffee. Apparently secrets were part of small town life.
    Grace came back subdued. “She’s in ICU,” she said as she sat back down at the table. “He didn’t tell me that last night.”
    â€œI’m sure he had his reasons. Are you going to work?”
    â€œI have to,” Grace said baldly. “Granny’s social security check barely pays for the utilities. I have to get in as many hours as I can.”
    â€œNo ambition to go to college or learn a profession?” Garon asked.
    Grace gave him a bald stare. “And where would I get the money to do that, even if I didn’t have to take care of Granny? She’s been an invalid since I graduated from high school, and I’m all she has.” She scowled. “You know, for a man who wants everybody else to mind their own business, you sure spend a lot of time prying into other people’s.”
    His eyebrows arched. “See here, I’m loaning you my housekeeper…”
    â€œMiss Turner doesn’t have to be loaned,” Grace replied. “ She has a heart.”
    He glowered. “So do