The Grand Finale Read Online Free PDF Page A

bad,” Berry said to Jake. “You see that cheery yellow light in the window above Giovanni’s Grocery? That’s Mrs. Giovanni making supper. In the summer she hangs window boxes from her kitchen window and fills them with red geraniums. The apartment building next to me houses four generations of Lings. Last year Charlie Ling won first prize at his school science fair.”
    “So you really like this neighborhood?”
    Berry shrugged. “It’s okay. I’d rather look out my window and see a meadow or a mountain, but instead I have Mrs. Giovanni’s bold red geraniums. I try to make the best of it.”
    Jake smiled down at her. Damned if she wasn’t getting to him. He added loyal and positive to his earlier assessments of kind to old ladies, resilient , and slightly daffy .
    Nice smile, Berry thought, but she was pretty sure she didn’t want to know what was going on inside his head. He looked like the wolf that wanted to eat Red Riding Hood’s grandma.
    “This way,” Berry said, heading for Grande.
    Jake snagged her arm. “Hold it, Goldilocks, where’s your umbrella?”
    “I don’t own an umbrella.”
    “Then at least put your hood up.”
    “I hate wearing hoods.”
    “Mrs. Dugan would take her wooden spoon to you if she caught you out in the rain like this without a hat.”
    “Back off!” Berry said.
    Jake Sawyer mentally checked off the boxes labeled temper and stubborn . And then he decided it was all adorable on her, so he kissed her.
    “Good grief,” Berry said.
    Jake rocked back on his heels and smiled. He was infatuated.
    “I have to admit, it’s a little unnerving knowing you’ve seen me naked,” he said to Berry. Actually, unnerving wasn’t precisely correct, Jake thought. A better word might be erotic .
    “I didn’t see you naked. I fell out of the tree before you got to the really good stuff.”
    Jake was glad she thought he had good stuff, but he was sort of disappointed she hadn’t seen it. He’d had a really good fantasy going for a while there.
    He pulled her hood over her head and tied the drawstring securely into a bow in his best first-grade-teacher fashion. Without saying another word he took her hand and pulled her along beside him.
    As they approached Grande Street Berry felt his grip tighten. Big, strong Jake Sawyer was nervous. He really did like his flashy car. Berry didn’t know much about cars, but she knew about losing things you love. She knew aboutthe pain and anxiety such a loss produced. Berry felt an overwhelming urge to rush out and buy Jake Sawyer a pint of his favorite ice cream. Instead she squeezed his hand and sent him her most comforting smile.
    He glanced down at her. “I’m kind of nervous.”
    “I guessed.”
    “Probably it’s okay.”
    “Probably,” Berry said, not entirely believing it. With the way her luck had been running, the car would be picked cleaner than a turkey carcass the day after Thanksgiving.
    They turned the corner and found several officers standing hands on hips by a black-and-white squad car, inspecting an article at curbside. It took several seconds before Jake and Berry recognized the object of their curiosity. At first glance it seemed to be a piece of scrap metal resting on four cinder blocks.
    Jake expelled a well-chosen expletive that caused the officers to turn in his direction.
    “Is that my car?” Jake asked.
    “If you’re Jake Sawyer, that’s your car. What’s left of it,” one of the cops said.
    Jake stretched his hands out in despair. “What the…oh…man! Look at this. How could this happen so fast?”
    “Modern technology,” one of the cops said.
    Jake kicked at the cinder block and swore some more.
    Berry trotted beside him as he paced back and forth the length of the car carcass. “It’s not so bad. The insurance will buy you a new one. You do have insurance, don’t you?”
    “Of course I have insurance. Who cares about insurance? This car was irreplaceable.”
    “Nonsense. There must be parts