Tourist Trapped Read Online Free PDF

so here I am.”
    “What are you making?”
    “Veal chops.”
    “Humanely raised?”
    “Huh?”
    “Veal comes from baby cows. Was this baby cow treated well and killed without stress?”
    “It’s two chunks of meat on Styrofoam, wrapped in plastic. I have no idea how it got there.”
    “You and millions of other meat eaters. These poor animals are separated from their mothers and penned up in tiny crates, with barely room to turn around. Then they’re slaughtered, oftentimes suffering in the process.”
    “When did you become a spokesperson for PETA?” Matt pulled a roasting pan out of the cupboard.
    “The moment you sneaked into my condo.”
    “I wanted to surprise you with a nice dinner. I had a free night and I wanted to spend it with you. Is that so terrible?” He kissed her on the cheek.
    “I guess not. But I won’t eat the veal.”
    “Fine. More for me.”
    Her stomach awoke and complained of the void. “What else are you making?”
    “Winter squash with fennel. Any concerns over the inhumane treatment of plant life?”
    “Not yet, give me a few minutes.” Amanda thought it odd to see little squares of vegetables. One cubed cheese or tofu, but squash? Shouldn’t it be smooth and creamy? Not hard-edged.
    Like me.
    Matt gathered the squash cubes—tiny in his massive hands—and dropped them into the roasting pan, spreading them evenly over the bottom, followed by a drizzle of olive oil. “Have you thought about what I said?”
    “About the vegetables?”
    “About easing up on your career.”
    She pulled a bottle of Talbott Logan Chardonnay out of the wine refrigerator and set it on the counter, a contrast of green against gray granite. “I think this conversation will require a glass or two…or three.”
    The phone rang and Amanda picked up before she realized it was her father. Hell of a night. She wandered into the living room, out of earshot of Matt.
    “Mandy, please. We haven’t heard anything. Trent and Rebecca could be dead by now. We need you in Cancun.”
    A nugget of concern lodged itself in her chest. “They haven’t surfaced? What’s been done?”
    “The police said they’re searching for them, but no leads so far.”
    Maybe, instead of confronting Matt about the engagement and the senate race, heading to Cancun would give her time to figure out how to handle the situation. And, if something serious had occurred in Mexico, Amanda could help with it before the Chicago papers caught wind of any family strife.
    I must be going stark raving mad. Was she willing to drop her commitments to help a woman she’d resented for the last thirty years? But Rebecca hadn’t masterminded the affair between their father and the pasty-faced shrew. Would it be so terrible to acknowledge a little sister?
    “Damn!” A pan clattered across the tile floor. “Amanda, I need ice. I burned myself.”
    Dad now, Matt later. “I’ll fly down tomorrow. Jaz will give you the details.”
    She hung up and rejoined Matt in the kitchen, put a bowl beneath the ice dispenser and watched the refrigerator spit out frosty cubes. “That was my friend Lauren. She’s heading down to Cancun and Dylan can’t make it. Some last-minute problem at work. She asked me if I could rearrange my schedule and join her.”
    “For how long?”
    “Um, she’s going to be there for two weeks. I don’t know if I can get away that long—”
    “No, go. I think it would be good for you to take a little time off. Get away from the job and think about dumping some of your workload. Consider it a taste of life as the wife of a senator.”
    “I thought you wanted me to accompany you on the campaign trail.”
    “Well, yeah, of course, but a two-week break wouldn’t hurt too much—especially now, before the February primary. The important thing is to start winding down your work.”
    Amanda’s blood pressure shot up like a fighter jet off an aircraft carrier, but she bit her tongue. Best to get away, clean up the mess in