With Baited Breath Read Online Free PDF Page A

apartment’s parking lot until Tori pulled into the Cannon compound at Lotus Bay an hour later. Her carrier had been the last item squeezed into Tori’s compact car. Tori had tossed a load of her clothes into large plastic trash bags, filled boxes with staples from her cupboard, and grabbed as many of her creature comforts as she could cram into the hatchback, back seat and passenger side seat. The hamlet outside of the town of Erie had a storage facility. She’d make sure to inquire about their rates at the earliest opportunity, for until she could purge Gramps’ house of Grandma’s clutter, there’d be little or no room for her own stuff.
    The day was sunny with little puffy clouds scudding across the sky. Tori had just about emptied the contents of her car and had settled Daisy with litterbox, food, and water in the cramped guest room when Kathy’s white Focus pulled into the Cannon compound’s weedy parking area.
    “Howdy, stranger,” Kathy called as she got out of her car. It had been a mere twenty-four hours since they’d last seen one another. She was dressed for work in a faded pair of jeans and an old t-shirt.
    Tori crossed the distance between them and gave her friend a hug. She held on for a long moment and Kathy obliged. “Thanks for coming,” she said as she pulled back.
    “What’re friends for?”
    Tori waved a hand to take in the entire Cannon compound. “Well, what do you think?”
    Kathy’s expression darkened. “It’s fallen on even harder times since the last time I was out here.”
    Tori’s eyes filled with tears as she looked at the various buildings that made up the compound through someone else’s eyes. The place was a dump.
    “Hey,” Kathy said with compassion, and gathered Tori into another embrace. “Don’t worry. You and I are going to fix this. I’m sure a lot of it is just cosmetic.” She pulled back.
    Tori forced herself to look her friend in the eye. “Ya think so?”
    “I know so. Is your grandfather around? I want to say hello and then we can get started.”
    “Where do we start?”
    “A lawn mower and a weed whacker will make an instant improvement.”
    “Then what?”
    Kathy turned to face the bait shop. The concrete-block building hadn’t been painted in decades. “We’ll spruce up the shop and give it a little personality, then we’ll turn our attention to the Lotus Lodge.”
    “I haven’t yet mentioned that part of the plan to Gramps.”
    Kathy faced the shabby little motel. “Can we look inside?”
    “I’d have to get the keys from Gramps. He says the rooms are crammed full from floor to ceiling, without even a trail leading to the small bathrooms.”
    “You’re going to order a Dumpster, right? Do it today and you might even get it delivered by tomorrow. But I figured we’d paint the shop, first.”
    “Keep talking. You’re giving me hope with every word.”
    Kathy smiled. “Is your grandfather in the shop?”
    Tori nodded.
    Kathy’s eyes narrowed. “Has he got any snapping turtles for sale?”
    Tori shook her head. “Not right now.”
    “Good. Then I can’t get in trouble for releasing them.”
    “They’re not pets,” Tori reminded her. “They’re food.”
    “I only eat mock turtle soup.”
    “Honey, you’re not in the city anymore, and that’s the first thing you need to learn. People around here don’t see things the same way you and I do.”
    Kathy nodded. “I’ll try to keep that in mind. Come on. We’ve got work to do.”
    #
    Kathy wasn’t afraid of hard work, and she’d been right; the mowed lawn made a huge difference to improve the compound’s curb appeal. Afterward, they sat in the kitchen with sweating glasses of iced tea and a pen and pad making lists of what needed to be done to turn the Cannon’s businesses around. Tori ordered the Dumpster and then they’d set off for the hardware store, heading straight for the paint section.
    “What color should we buy?” Kathy asked.
    “White.”
    “Oh, no!”