Murder for a Rainy Day (Pecan Bayou Book 6) Read Online Free PDF Page A

she said, her smile a little on the vacant side.
    "So how is the romance going with you and our district attorney? " Libby Loper pulled on her turquoise necklace that adorned her beige jean jacket and matching skirt. She looked like she might have just stepped out of one of her father’s old cowboy movies.
    "Oh everything is fine," Elaina said, her lips thinning.
    "Might we be planning a wedding shower for you sometime in the future?" Aunt Maggie said, a little gleam in her eyes.
    "Leave her alone ladies," I said. "You’re like a bunch of vampires at a blood bank. Give her time. "
    "Thanks, Betsy. Although, I do have to admit all this baby stuff does look like fun," Elaina repeated, more convincingly this time.
    "Which part? The massive weight gain, the backache, or that you don't sleep for the last three months?"
    Aunt Maggie came over and patted my hand. "Now, now, Betsy. This will all be over before you know it, and you won't even remember how miserable you are now. I promise."
    Birdie, the owner of Birdie’s Diner, brought over a gift bag with a yellow giraffe on it. "Go ahead and open mine, Betsy. I can’t stay. My new boyfriend needs me down at the diner. We’re putting a chicken he made entirely out of soup cans on the roof. He has a knack for crafts, you know." I had been so absorbed in my own life, I wasn’t aware of Birdie’s new boyfriend. 
    "Hmmm. Next time I’m in the diner I want to hear all about this new man in your life."
    "He’s wonderful," she said. "I never thought I’d find love again this late in the game."
    "How did you meet him?"
    "I’m a little embarrassed about this, but everyone’s doing it."
    I waited for her to say she met him online.
    "I went down to the bingo game at the Our Lady of Guadalupe in Andersonville. I heard it was a great place to meet people. I’m not even Catholic, but they let me play anyway. He sat right next me and the next I knew we were dating."
    "So romantic," I said.
    "You don’t know the half of it." She smiled. 
    I reached into the gift bag and pulled out a set of yellow booties and t-shirt that emblazoned with Birdie’s Diner — Fine Dining for the Family .
    "Very nice. Thank you," I said. Birdie gave me a quick hug.
    "I’m off. Time to get that chicken on the roof." 
    "You have to open my gift next," Ruby said. She reached over and grabbed an ornately decorated bag and put it in my hands. I was ecstatic that we were going straight to the pink and blue boxes and bags sitting on the fireplace and skipping all the silly baby shower games.
    "Now Ruby, we can't start with gifts first. We have to play 'Baby Name Scramble'!" my aunt said, rubbing her hands together in excitement.
    I longed for my nap.
    An hour later, I finally got to opening the gifts. One by one the ladies of Pecan Bayou gave me everything I would ever need. It had been so many years since I had a little one in the house, I was starting all over. Their gifts were wonderful, especially seeing as I hadn't felt like shopping for the baby in the last couple of weeks.
    "Danny, where is your gift? Did you put it in the pile with the others?" Maggie asked.
    "No. I did not," Danny said between handfuls of Fritos.
    "Well go and get it. People are starting to leave."
    "No. The baby hasn't come in on angel wings yet. I want to give my gift to the baby."
    "Yes, but this is a time when we get Betsy presents to get ready for the baby."
    He spoke to my aunt slowly as if he felt she was not comprehending. "That baby isn't here, yet. I will give my gift to the baby when he's here. That way he can say thank you."
    "I hope you can wait, Betsy," Maggie said.
    I stretched and yawned and then turned toward my cousin. "Makes perfect sense to me."
     

     
     
     
     
     
     

CHAPTER FIVE
     
     
    As I finally made my way home from the shower, I drove by the town square where bronze Charlie Loper now stood proudly with his giant fiberglass horse. A couple of boys were playing near the horse and one ventured on top