Protecting Peggy Read Online Free PDF Page A

summers,” she continued, trying to ignore the jump in her pulse. “I spent hours in here helping her cook, my mouth watering from all the delicious scents. This room always felt so homey to me. The whole house, in fact. I want my guests to feel that Honeywell House is more a home than an inn.”
    His eyes narrowed. “ Do they feel that way?”
    â€œMost say they do.” She tilted her head. “When you check out, maybe you’ll let me know your take on the subject.”
    â€œYou’ll want to ask someone other than me about homey feelings. I tested the inn’s water last night and this morning.”
    She blinked. His sudden change of subject had her mentally stumbling to catch up. Putting a hand to her throat, Peggy shifted her gaze to her daughter. Samantha hunched over her drawing, the point of her small tongue caught between her teeth while she put the final touches on Bugs’s oversize carrot.
    A wave of uneasiness swamped Peggy. Despite reassurances from city officials, she had spent countless hours worrying about the town’s water supply and wondering if she should take her daughter out of harm’s way until the crisis was resolved.
    â€œIs the inn’s water safe?”
    â€œYes. Everything checks out.”
    She closed her eyes. Opened them. “Thank you, Mr. Sinclair.”
    â€œYou’re welcome.”
    â€œIt’s been two weeks since they found out the water on Hopechest Ranch was contaminated. Some of the kids who drank it are still sick.”
    â€œDo you know any of those kids?”
    â€œNo. I’ve only been to Hopechest a few times because the inn keeps me so busy. I do know, though, that Blake Fallon is terribly worried about those kids.” As she spoke, Peggy resumed stirring her pancake batter. “After the agony he went through last year over his father, this is the last thing Blake needs.”
    â€œWhat agony?”
    Peggy looked up. “I thought you said you and Blake were friends.”
    â€œWe are.” A look of unease slid into Rory’s blue eyes. “We’ve been friends for a long time.”
    â€œWell, it sounds as if you have some catching up to do.”
    â€œYou’re right. I have an appointment to see him after breakfast.”
    Nodding, Peggy decided to voice the concern she’d had since shortly after the EPA inspector checked into Honeywell House. “Charlie O’Connell claims there’s no way to predict how long it might take to find out what it was that contaminated the ranch’s water supply. And how it got there.”
    Rory settled a palm on the counter. “Are you asking me if I agree with him?”
    â€œYes, I guess I am.”
    â€œIf O’Connell is conducting his study by the book,he will have taken water samples at the ranch on the day he arrived in Prosperino. Those samples should have been sent to the EPA lab for analysis. Depending on the rarity of the contaminant, it could take weeks to break down its components and make an ID.”
    â€œThat just seems like an awfully long time.”
    â€œI know it does.” Rory angled his chin. “To put things in context, the breath you just exhaled contains one hundred and two different composites. To conduct a scientific analysis of that one breath, each composite has to be separated, then analyzed. Contaminated water has to be broken down that same way. In a lab, you can’t rush tests, can’t skip steps. That’s why I agree with O’Connell. There’s no way to predict how long it might take to find out what it was that wound up in the ranch’s water. And how it got there.”
    Although she knew next to nothing about Rory Sinclair, instinct told Peggy she could trust what he said. Her gaze went to his hand resting on the countertop, his long, elegant fingers splayed against dark granite. Those long elegant fingers that she somehow knew would work slow, sweet magic against a