Poisoned Pin: A Cozy Mystery (Brenna Battle Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page B

door—until Blythe looked up at me and the smile froze on her face. She hurried gracefully around her desk and to me. “What’s the matter?”
    My phone chirped. “Just a sec,” I mumbled, grateful for the chance to look down. I had a text from Will. “He’s gone,” it said. “Thought you’d want to know.”
    “Thanks,” I texted back. I didn’t know what else to say. I don’t exactly have a way with words, and good to know seemed all wrong.
    “Brenna?”
    I raised my head. I was about to answer Blythe, but I felt a lump rising in my throat. I shrugged instead.
    “Brenna! You’ve been crying! Come on, sit down. It’s not that bad. We’ll get customers. We’ll make this work.”
    “It’s not that. Well, not just that. Someone—someone died. I gave him CPR, but he died anyway.”
    Blythe ran for the tissues and we ended up sitting side by side on the crash mat, a thick, cushiony blue pad we’d bought for when our Bonney Bay Battlers needed a little more protection when practicing their throws. I told Blythe the whole, awkward, crazy story about Harvey and Derek.
    I could almost see Blythe biting her tongue in order not to lecture me on going into that house with Harvey.
    When I got to the end of the tale, Blythe said, “So, how is Will?”
    I’m sure it was part nosiness, part a desire to distract me. “He’s—Will.”
    Blythe gave me a jab. Now was the perfect time to tell her. She couldn’t really hound me about it, given the traumatic events I’d just endured. I felt a little pang of guilt at that thought, but it was true. “ I’m not going to be seeing Will.” Will, with his killer smile and his honest eyes. Will with the dimples that just about made me want to die. Will, who, underneath his professional responsibilities, had wanted to protect me from everything that had started to go so horribly wrong as soon as Blythe and I arrived here in Bonney Bay.
    Blythe sat back and folded her arms. “Is he going somewhere? Because I know you’re not telling me you’re not going to be seeing Will Riggins!”
    “He’s not going anywhere. But Will and me aren’t going anywhere either, and I know you know what I mean.”
    “But he’s—”
    “Not what I need right now.”
    “How do you know?”
    Great. Even poor Harvey and Derek weren’t going to be enough to save me from my sister’s horror at the prospect of me becoming a spinster. It was only a matter of time before she married some successful guy, had a bunch of cute kids, and moved her pathetic, lonely older sister into the basement of their perfect home. Maybe here in Bonney Bay, with an ocean view. What did it matter? I’d be in the basement, and the basement never has an ocean view. I’d probably spend all day watching highlights of my competitive glory days on Youtube, pushing the mute button every time I heard Jake’s voice coaching me, and sobbing over a plate of brownies. Actually, I could really use some brownies right now. Maybe I could get Blythe to bake me some.
    My blessedly loud ringtone blared. Hallelujah! I was saved! Okay, so I’ve cursed that ringtone more times than I can count, but this time, if I could’ve reached my lips through the phone, I would’ve kissed it, or whoever was on the other end of the line—unless it was Will.
    I glanced at the screen. Ruth! It was Miss Ruth! I pushed the green button and gushed, “Miss Ruth! How are you?”
    “Brenna?” she said. She sounded a little surprised. I guess, even for Miss Ruth, who’d only known me for a short time, the bubbliness was not quite expected from me.
    “Yes, it’s Brenna,” I assured her. I toned down the enthusiasm a little bit.
    But once she was sure she was talking to the right girl, Ruth’s enthusiasm more than matched mine. “I’m fabulous, Brenna! Just fabulous. Did I tell you I’m going on a cruise?”
    “A cruise! Where to?”
    “Australia! The Land Down Under. Wallabies and Koalas. The Australian Ballet at the Sydney Opera House!