Our Red Hot Romance Is Leaving Me Blue Read Online Free PDF Page A

Debbie Sue wanted to tell her longtime friend that her former mother-in-law had most likely been told about the money being hidden by Jimmy Wayne and dropping that bomb on the unsuspecting Edwina drummed up business for the crystal-ball reader. But intuition told Debbie Sue to let it go. Edwina could take a joke as well as anyone, but teasing her at this point would be a bad idea.
    Outside in the parking lot behind the salon sat Edwina’s royal blue 1968 Mustang. As she began to paw inside her purse for keys, it occurred to Debbie Sue that she could end up at Justin Sadler’s house alone while her partner went on her merry way home. “Why don’t you ride with me, Ed? With the price of gas, we’ll save a buck or two by taking one rig.”
    “Well…I guess I could…but I should call Vic and tell him where I’m going.”
    “Why?”
    “In case he needs me for something. He’s due home in a couple of hours.”
    Debbie Sue knew that Vic, who now owned his own big rig and worked as a long-haul trucker in his retirement, had been on the road for a week. “So call him on your cell.”
    “Well…I guess I could…” But Edwina made no move to make the call.
    “Ed, call him. We need to get going.”
    “Oh, hell, Debbie Sue.” Edwina dug her cell phone from her purse and speed-dialed a number. Debbie Sue listened as Edwina explained to Vic where she was headed and added she should be home in approximately an hour and a half. Debbie Sue had to admit letting someone know where they were going could be a good idea, and she didn’t know where Buddy was at the moment. “Look, Ed, there’s no such thing as dead wives coming back from the grave.”
    “I know that.” Edwina hoisted her chin and dropped her cell phone into her purse. She strode to Debbie Sue’s red pickup truck and climbed into the passenger seat.
    Twenty minutes later, they rumbled across the cattle-guard entrance to Justin’s place. As they approached the house they saw that it was a sixties-vintage rambling ranch-style house. An air conditioner unit underpinned by cinder blocks jutted from a window. Trees so large they had to have been planted twenty or thirty years ago shaded the home. A yard with big trees other than mesquites was a rarity in Cabell County.
    The horse corrals and two sorrel mares caught Debbie Sue’s attention. To an untrained eye, they would be nothing special, but to Debbie Sue, who had spent most of her life on horseback, they were spectacular. This pair had cost someone a lot of money. Justin hadn’t impressed her as being a cowboy, so had these obviously highbred horses belonged to his deceased wife?
    Braking to a complete stop, Debbie Sue sat and studied them. She could see they were restless and tense. Too bad they were being treated as if they were house pets. They needed exercise and grooming. From the looks of them, Justin wasn’t the only one missing Rachel. Debbie Sue had even more questions than before for this young man.
     
    Justin walked out on the porch. His chocolate lab, Turnup, got to his feet and met him. “Get back, boy. We’ve got company.”
    He watched as a red Silverado crew-cab truck came to a stop in his circular drive. Shoving his hands into his pockets, he called out to the two women inside, “Y’all have any trouble finding the place?”
    Debbie Sue climbed out of the truck. “Nah. Richard Gill and his brood used to live here.”
    “His mama was an invalid, bless her heart,” the woman named Edwina said. “Years ago I used to come out here every week or so and fix her hair.”
    “You make house calls to fix people’s hair?”
    “Not as a rule. But Mary Gill was bedridden. She always took pride in her looks. It picked her spirits up to have her hair done. Don’t guess anyone ever saw it, but it made her feel better.”
    Justin took an immediate liking to Edwina. He could tell she had a kind heart. He had always felt the world could use more kind hearts, especially women’s. He smiled,