The Bride Takes a Powder Read Online Free PDF Page B

both hands
on the smooth white wooden railing. Her eyes closed as she sniffed fresh clean
country air and the delicate sweet scents of early spring flowers. A gigantic
bush of yellow blooms sat in a sunny corner of the yard near the front sidewalk.
White flowers shaped like bells drooping from arching stems flowed along the
base of the porch. She'd ask Jan the names of the flowers.
    Her gaze lifted to the back of
Ollie's bar which she could see easily from her vantage point. It was after
three, and school would likely be out. She wondered what was going on with Mike
Banning. The mood at school would be pretty tense now that the news of the
cheating scandal was out.
    Her instinct about the man was that
he wasn't a cheater. She could agree with Phoebe on that. He seemed like a
great guy—nice, protective, and polite.
    This
scandal is none of your business. And that was what crossed her mind even
as she pushed through Ollie's front door. As her eyes adjusted to the dark, she
spotted him sitting in the back next to the juke box. His arms rested on the
table, his gaze focusing on his hands, folded as if in prayer.
    "May I sit down?"
    His eyes lifted first, then his
head, and he frowned in confusion for a moment.
    "I was here last night? That
big lummox was bothering me?" she reminded, trying to make him smile.
    "Sure, I know who you are. I
was just surprised to see you again."
    "May I?" She gestured to
a chair.
    "Of course." He stood up,
still not smiling. "Would you like something to drink?"
    She shook her head. "No, but
go ahead if you want."
    Going behind the bar, he drew a
half stein of beer and brought it back to the table.
    "I'm sorry I was rude last
night. You were only being polite and protecting me from that guy."
    One dark eyebrow lifted. "Axel
Davis. He is a lummox, that's for sure." Changing the subject, he said, "We
went to the same school, didn't we?"
    "Yes, I know. I didn't
recognize you at first until you said your name." She brushed back strands
of hair tickling her forehead. Damned
humidity. "You've changed."
    He finally laughed. "That's a
mild way of putting it. I looked pretty nerdy back in those days."
    "I won't comment on that."
She tried to suppress a giggle. What was she doing? She wasn't the giggling
type.
    "You, on the other hand, haven't
changed a bit," he remarked. "Except you're even prettier."
    "Stop it." She waved away
the compliment but couldn't hold back a grin.
    "Didn't you go to law school?"
He took a sip of beer.
    "Yes. I've been practicing now
for a few years."
    "What brings you here?"
    "I'm not sure what my plans
are," she said repressively. "I came on the train. It was a spur of
the moment decision." Confused, bitter, and at odds with her life, she
certainly wasn't going to talk about it with him. He had enough problems of his
own.
    "Well, B Falls is a nice town,
at least usually."
    "Don't you have to see to
customers?" People had come in, and no one was working the bar. Besides,
she didn't want him asking too many questions.
    "Oh crap, yeah. Mom's in the
kitchen. I'd better handle things." He started to walk away then turned
back. "Will you stick around for a while more so we can catch up?"
    She nodded as he strode to the bar.
The crowd wasn't large, and he returned to the table fifteen minutes later.
This time he brought two beers and slid one over to her.
    "Thanks, Mike." She
sipped and said, "I saw the newspaper this morning."
    Stressed and angry looking, he
squeezed the bridge of his nose and rubbed his eyes.
    "It must have been a really
hard day at school." She felt for him but kept her voice and expression
neutral, in attorney mode.
    "Did you happen to see the guy
with the ponytail last night? Stu Pressman's the reporter who broke the story.
He came in to give me a heads-up."
    "Yes, I noticed you went from
cheerful to upset after talking to him."
    "It sucked. I can't believe my
name came up in this—situation. I'm not involved in it in any way. The fact
that someone I work with, who I