Sookie 06 Definitely Dead Read Online Free PDF Page A

live in one of his rent houses (and gosh, I’d enjoyed the level floors and the new plumbing and the neighbors), but there was nothing like being home.
    The new stove was in, so I could cook, and I’d laid a sheet of plywood over the top of the cabinets so I could use it as a work station while I was cooking. The new refrigerator gleamed and hummed quietly, quite unlike the one Gran had had for thirty years. The newness of the kitchen struck me every time I crossed the back porch-now larger and enclosed-to unlock the new, heavier back door, with its peephole and deadbolt.
    “This is where the old house begins,” I said, going from the kitchen into the hall. Only a few boards had had to be replaced in the floor in the rest of the house, and everything was freshly cleaned and painted. Not only had the walls and ceilings been smoke-stained, but I’d had to eradicate the burned smell. I’d replaced some curtains, tossed out a throw rug or two, and cleaned, cleaned, cleaned. This project had occupied every extra waking moment I’d had for quite a while.
    “A good job,” Quinn commented, studying how the two parts had been united.
    “Come into the living room,” I said, pleased. I enjoyed showing someone the house now that I knew the upholstery was clean, there were no dust bunnies, and the glass over the pictures was simply gleaming. The living room curtains had been replaced, something I’d wanted to do for at least a year.
    God bless insurance, and God bless the money I’d earned hiding Eric from an enemy. I’d gouged a hole in my savings account, but I’d had it when I needed it, and that was something for which I could be grateful.
    The fireplace was laid ready for a fire, but it was just too warm to justify lighting one. Quinn sat in an armchair, and I sat across from him. “Can I get you a drink-a beer, or some coffee or iced tea?” I asked, conscious of my role as hostess.
    “No, thanks,” he said. He smiled at me. “I’ve wanted to see you again since I met you in Shreveport.”
    I tried to keep my eyes on him. The impulse to look down at my feet or my hands was almost overwhelming. His eyes really were the deep, deep purple I remembered. “That was a tough day for the Herveauxes,” I said.
    “You dated Alcide for a while,” he observed, in a neutral kind of voice.
    I thought of a couple of possible answers. I settled for, “I haven’t seen him since the packmaster contest.”
    He smiled widely. “So he’s not your steady?”
    I shook my head.
    “Then you’re unattached?”
    “Yes.”
    “No toes I’d be stepping on?”
    I tried to smile, but my effort was not a happy one. “I didn’t say that.” There were toes. Those toes wouldn’t be happy piggies. But they didn’t have any right to be in the way.
    “I guess I can handle some disgruntled exes. So will you go out with me?”
    I looked at him for a second or two, scouring my mind for considerations. From his brain I was getting nothing but hopefulness: I saw no deceit or self-serving. When I examined the reservations I had, they dissolved into nothing.
    “Yes,” I said. “I will.” His beautiful white smile sparked me to smile in return, and this time my smile was genuine.
    “There,” he said. “We’ve negotiated the pleasure part. Now for the business part, which is unrelated.”
    “Okay,” I said, and put my smile away. I hoped I’d have occasion to haul it out later, but any business he would have with me would be supe-related, and therefore cause for anxiety.
    “You’ve heard about the regional summit?”
    The vampire summit: the kings and queens from a group of states would gather to confer about … vampire stuff. “Eric said something about it.”
    “Has he hired you to work there yet?”
    “He mentioned he might need me.”
    “Because the Queen of Louisiana found out I was in the area, and she asked me to request your services. I think her bid would have to cancel out Eric’s.”
    “You’d have to ask Eric