When Bobbie Sang the Blues Read Online Free PDF Page A

to marry and start a family. It had felt so good to love again. But the memory of Chad, who had died seven years ago, made her fear losing Dan and suffering another heartbreak. She became possessive and jealous, and those ugly feelings caused her fears to become a reality. She had driven Dan away.
    After their last argument, she had stormed out of the restaurant where they were having dinner. Then for a week, Dan had been too stubborn—or perhaps too angry—to call her. When she finally saw his number on the caller ID, she refused to answer. And she couldn’t bring herself to return his other calls. Then he had quit calling.
    Christy turned down her street of pastel houses set in neat squares of green grass. As she turned into the driveway that ran alongside her pale pink house, she recalled how folks in Summer Breeze had once left their doors unlocked. Not anymore. Not since a prominent resident turned out to be a vicious killer.
    She unlocked her front door and hurried up the hallway, bypassing the kitchen and turning into the second bedroom that served as her office. She cut across to the desk and tried to force her thoughts toward the questions she needed to ask her editor. She took the handset of the phone into the living room and sank onto the blue chenille sofa.
    While she waited for the phone call, her gaze roamed around the living-dining area that was her haven. Beside the matching love seat, glass end tables held fashion magazines and a couple of new mystery novels. After kicking off her shoes, Christy put her bare feet on the glass coffee table and glanced at the entertainment center. She considered checking out the news and weather but dismissed the idea. She didn’t need any distractions.
    The phone rang, and she picked up the handset.
    After the conversation with her editor, Christy changed into a jogging shirt and shorts. As she hurried back to the kitchen, grabbing a bottle of water, car keys, and billfold, she heard the slam of a door followed by an enthusiastic bark.
    She rushed to the back door and yelled, “Tell him to water the grass and leave the corner of my house alone!” Her younger brother, Seth, stood in her backyard, and she looked meaningfully at Atticus, his beloved black and tan bloodhound.
    “What?” Seth frowned. “No ‘Hey, how are you’? Just get your—”
    “And no swearing. It upsets Atticus.” She walked over to petAtticus, who stood waist high. “See your ball over there?” She pointed toward a corner of the yard. “Go for it.”
    He did.
    She straightened and looked at Seth. “Who but you would name a dog after a fictional character?”
    “How come you’re the only one who gets it?” he asked, grinning at her.
    “Maybe it had something to do with the way you kept raiding my bookcase. How many times did you read
To Kill a Mocking-bird?
”
    “I raided your bookcase, and you stole my favorite T-shirts.”
    She pretended to be horrified. “Surely not. We were the two most perfect children in town.”
    They both laughed. As she looked at him, Christy wondered why they had spent their early years killing themselves to please everyone, only to hit their teenage years like two hand grenades disguised as Easter eggs. Her rebellion had culminated in the accidental death of Chad, the man she’d loved and planned to marry. Heartbroken and considering the tragedy punishment from God, she had left Summer Breeze for four years, finding answers at last in a small mountain church in Colorado.
    Seth’s rebellion had struck like a thief in the night, stealing his last resolve to “fit in.” He had run off to Australia to put space between himself and his frustrations in Summer Breeze. Christy knew he needed to test his wings, find out who he really was, but the guy who returned hardly resembled her beloved younger brother. This guy partied every night, chased girls all over theEmerald Coast, and remained absent from the family pew. He had worked hard to escape the image of the