Under the Moon's Shadow Read Online Free PDF Page B

she leaned in to set the briefcase down. Before she answered his question, she gave him a measured look. “This is off the record, right?” He just raised an eyebrow and waited. Giving in, she explained. “This isn’t privileged info, but I don’t want it shouted from the rooftops, either. That article I wrote about the animal shelter? The Grayson camp is not happy about that. They called Marshall and got pretty heated with him.”
    “After reading it, I can’t imagine why,” he remarked dryly.  Beth rolled her eyes at him. “Anyone else?”
    She tilted her head and placed her hand on her hip with pretend outrage. “Isn’t that enough?” She moved her shoulders in a small shrug. “There are always folks out there who don’t like what I write or what the paper prints, or even what the weather was like today. Who knows? I suppose it’s possible that anyone who thinks they have a beef with me, real or imagined, could have done this. The Graysons are the only ones I can think of who might be inflamed enough to pull something so vicious right now, and I really can’t even see them doing this. This was personal.”
    She slid in behind the steering wheel and closed the door as she rolled the window down.  “I don’t know, Ethan. I really have no clue who would do this or why.”
    He slipped the notebook back into his pocket. “We’ll figure it out. I’ll follow you out to the farm.” He turned away, then stopped to look back at her. “I’m glad you’re okay, blondie.”
    Beth smiled tiredly. “Thanks.”
    Once he was in his truck, he flashed his lights at her. Following as she pulled out of the parking lot, he had to make a concerted effort to relax his jaw. When she’d made the joke about
    him offering his couch, he’d almost offered his bed, instead. Just for a few minutes, as he drove behind her, he let himself wonder how it would have turned out if he’d made the offer, and she’d accepted.
     
     

 
     
    Chapter Six
     
    Sunday morning, Beth drove into town with her parents to survey the damage on the apartment. As she unlocked the door and led them inside, she saw that someone, probably Jason, had swept up all the broken glass from the hall.  In the stark morning light, the rest of the destruction looked even worse.
    “I guess I was hoping some magic restoration fairy would come along last night and fix everything.”
    Her father walked over and gave her a quick hug. “We’ll get it straightened up, honey,” Richard told her.
    Her mother had made her way through the mess and was now heading back into the living room. Jackie had a determined look on her face, and seeing it, Beth started to feel a little better. She felt a rush of gladness that her parents were the people they were.
    “Garbage bags in the kitchen?” Jackie asked. Beth told her yes and went to the cabinet to pull them out, careful to avoid stepping in the mess from the countertops. She handed several bags to her mother.
    “What’s the plan?”
    “Your father and I will start in here and in the bathroom and gather up all this broken stuff. You head into one of the other rooms and go through your paperwork, clothing, whatever needs sorting, and we’ll have this cleaned up before you know it,” Jackie said as she passed some bags to Richard.
    Beth grabbed her in a hug, tight and quick, and then headed toward the office without a word. By the time Jason and Chase showed up, she’d made significant progress in getting the office set to rights, and her parents almost had the bathroom livable again. Richard answered the door and let her brothers in, and Beth poked her head around the office door to greet them.
    “Hudson Cleaning Service,” Jason said in a sing-song voice. When he saw the pile of garbage bags stacked in the hall, he whistled low. “Dang, you guys are smoking. Don’t even need us.”
    Chase walked over to where she stood.  He looked at the room behind her, his face tight with anger. Not speaking, he