Sweet Gone South Read Online Free PDF

a security system.”
    “Which means nothing if someone has a key and a code. Before I can sign a lease, you’d have to agree to install commercial locks with non-reproducible keys on all the doors. And I’ll go ahead and tell you that’s a deal breaker.” It would be expensive but for what she was charging she ought to be able to afford it. She certainly hadn’t minded spending a fortune on custom closet systems and a whirlpool tub.
    She looked at him without blinking. It was Luke’s business to read people and he was rarely wrong. Unless this was one of those rare times, she was trying to decide if the locks really needed to be changed or if he was trying to make her do something because he said so. And she was trying to decide if he was worth the effort for the rent.
    He needed out of that farmhouse.
    “Look,” he said. “I want this apartment but I won’t rent it unless you do this. I’ve made enemies in the courtroom as a DA and more since I’ve been on the bench. I have to make sure my child is safe.”
    She bit her bottom lip and nodded. “All right. Yes. I’ll call someone tomorrow.”
    “Good. Let’s go down to your office. We’ll work out the other details and I’ll write you a check.” A few phone calls, a check, and he had a place to live where he could start fresh. Maybe.
    “I’ll make us an espresso,” Lanie offered as she made her way toward the stairwell.
    “Lanie, did Lucy decorate your shop?” He would need someone to put together some rugs and furniture for him and maybe make Emma’s room look more little girl-like but if Lucy Mead had decorated that shop, it wasn’t going to be her.
    Lanie looked over her shoulder and beamed at him. “No. I did it all by myself — well, the design. I didn’t actually do the painting. I wanted it to be magic. When people walk in my shop, I want them to think of Easter baskets, Christmas candy, Candy Land, Halloween, and Valentine’s Day. Did you notice the chocolate stars on the ceiling?” She waved her hands excitedly. “My great-grandmother started the business making chocolate stars in her kitchen and they’re our trademark. That’s why I put them on the ceiling — so they can smile down on everyone. I thought of outlining them in silver glitter so they would show up better, but I decided it would be best if they look like they really do. Don’t you think that was better?”
    “Oh, yes.” And he did agree. Glitter never improved anything.

CHAPTER TWO
    At Lou Anne’s Diner, Lanie slid into the booth across from Tolly. Though their food was already on the table, Tolly sat with her hands folded in her lap. She would have walked naked down Main Street before she would have started eating before Lanie arrived. Tolly wore her debutante training like her silk blouses and pearls.
    “Sorry I’m late.” Lanie folded her napkin into her lap. “Kathryn had to go the dentist and I had to watch the front.”
    “No problem,” Tolly said. “I ordered for you. Chicken salad plate. No pea salad. Extra fruit.”
    “I
am
predictable.” Lanie squeezed the lemon into her iced tea. “One of these days I’m going to do something really wild like get the meatloaf.”
    “I think letting Luke Avery move into your building is about all the wildness you can manage for a while.”
    “You have no idea.”
    “Is he sleeping there yet?” Tolly picked up her fork and speared a piece of boiled egg from her chef’s salad.
    “No. That’s supposed to happen tonight. Not that I’ve talked to him since he signed the lease. I’m getting all my information from Lucy. I hope she’s charging him a fortune because he’s running her ragged.”
    “You haven’t seen him? How does someone move in somewhere without putting in an appearance?” Tolly asked.
    “Lucy. I tell you, he’s about to kill her — and me. I swear that man does nothing for himself. In the last week, there’s been a steady stream of people though at all hours of the day and night