Trapped in Tourist Town Read Online Free PDF Page B

scowled at Cady from his perch in the corner.
    Gerald Potter. She didn’t blame him for being cranky. The man’s family lived right in town and only made it over to the nursing home on Thanksgiving and Christmas. It was disgusting. Pasting on a bright smile, Cady walked up to him, crouching down so they were eye to eye.
    “You any good at Texas Hold ’Em? ’Cause I’d feel just awful if I ended up taking all your money.” She winked.
    “Raise the stakes, Missy. Strip poker. And I ain’t gonna go easy on ya. You’ll be in your skivvies in no time.”
    “Gerald! You mind your tongue, you dirty old man,” Cadence hollered from the couch. Cady nearly fell on her butt, she was laughing so hard.
    Getting up, she rummaged in the roomy storage closet and took out three card tables, scattering them around the room. Gerald wheeled himself up to the closest table, telling Cady he’d save her a spot next to him. She flashed him a thumbs-up and headed out into the hall to round up some more poker players.
    The afternoon passed quickly and Cady had to admit that there were some real card sharps in attendance. Gerald Potter was definitely one of them. He was such a character. She really looked forward to the time she spent volunteering at Kittredge Manor.
    “Hey, Cady, you’re still here? We could use some help getting everyone down to dinner if you aren’t too busy.” One of the nurses had bustled in to break up the poker tournament.
    Wait a minute! Surely it couldn’t be dinnertime already.
    “What time is it?”
    “Going on five thirty.”
    Oh, crap! She was an hour late for her meeting with Burke. Way to show what a responsible assistant she could be. Smacking herself on the forehead, she tugged her hair for good measure.
    “I love you, Auntie, but I am so late. I’ll see you in a few days.” She gave the old woman a hug, blew a kiss to Gerald, and hoped she had a prayer of finding Burke still waiting for her at the library.
    Her brother, the cop, would have thrown her in jail if he’d caught her speeding through town to get to the library. Throwing open the big glass door, Cady jogged up to the second level to the children’s section. She looked around wildly. There was no sign of Burke.
    “He’s pissed.”
    Wincing, she turned to face her old friend, the head children’s librarian, Bree.
    “How long did he wait?” She scuffed toward Bree’s desk and sat down on the corner.
    “I’m not sure. Maybe an hour?”
    “I am
such
a jerk! I was at the nursing home. We were having a poker tournament. I completely lost track of time.”
    “You and your play dates. Really, Cady, you are such a bad influence on those poor people.”
    She wanted to laugh but felt too guilty to manage anything more than a chuckle.
    “He was so cute, too, sitting over at that little bitty table. His knees were all the way up to his chin.”
    Cady followed the direction of Bree’s finger, visualizing Burke folded into a chair built for a preschooler. If it were possible to feel worse, now she did.
    “I’ll catch you later, Bree. I need to go bake up a batch of ‘I’m-sorry-I’m-such-a-bonehead’ brownies. And maybe some cookies.”
    “A pie wouldn’t be a bad idea too.” Bree lowered her eyes, a smile lurking at the corners of her mouth.
    “A pie too, then.” She started to compile a grocery list in her head as she walked to the library exit.
    It was going to be a long night.
    • • •
    His fantastic view of the ocean went unappreciated as Burke glowered into the bottom of his third crappy cup of coffee. He’d been up since dawn. He had hoped to run off his anger on the beach, but coming back to the cottage and standing under the lukewarm shower spray, he found himself snarling under his breath.
    It was just a huge reminder that Cady wasn’t his type. He shouldn’t be counting on a townie for anything. He was here to do a job and as soon as he finished, he’d be off to the next assignment. So what if she’d