Free The Lady Who Cried Murder (A Mac Faraday Mystery) by Lauren Carr Page B

whirled around on his heels. “I’m going to go have a beer.” He climbed the steps to the walkway to take him back to his cottage.
    “This is really fun to watch,” Mac called to him.
    “Don’t make me shoot you, Mac.”

    The dining room table was set for two when Mac came back into the house. It had been set for four when he took out the garbage. His assumption about the steaks had been right.
    Archie was lying out across the sofa with her laptop resting on her knees.
    “Is Chelsea eating at the guest house?” Mac asked her as she sat up to make room for him to sit down next to her.
    “She and David are celebrating her first paycheck from her new job,” Archie said. “She’s cooking dinner for him over at the cottage. I guess they’re having a date night.” After setting the laptop aside, she slipped his arm around her shoulders and cuddled up next to him. “Which means we’re getting a date night.” She gazed up at him with a wide grin.
    “Date nights are always good.” He kissed her. One kiss turned into two and then three, until they heard a throat clear.
    Looking awkward about walking in on them, Chelsea stood at the bottom of the stairs. “I was going to sneak out, but…”
    “That’s okay,” Archie assured her.
    “What are you cooking for your chauffeur?” Mac asked her. “I saw steaks in the grocery bag.”
    “Steak Diane,”’ she said. “It’s one of David’s favorite foods. I’m also serving roasted potatoes and grilled asparagus.”
    Mac asked Archie, “What are you cooking for me?”
    “Salmon and rice pilaf.”
    “I’d rather have steak.” He asked Chelsea, “Can I crash your dinner?”
    “Behave,” Archie ordered. “It will be hard enough to keep Gnarly from crashing it.”
    “Gnarly won’t be any trouble,” Chelsea said. “You talk like he’s a devil dog.”
    “You don’t know Gnarly,” Mac said. “If he gives you any grief, tell David to bring him back home.”
    “He never gives me trouble.” She started for the doors leading to the back deck.
    Calling out, Mac stopped her. “Hey, Chel?”
    She turned to them. “Yes?”
    “How are things going with David?”
    “Fine,” she replied. “Why?”
    “Well,” Mac drawled. “You’re cooking dinner for him. He’s helping you move. He drives you to and from work and takes you to lunch.”
    She placed her hands on her hips. “Are you asking about a return on your investment?”
    “Actually,” Mac said, “my question is, are you leading him on?”
    “I would never do that,” Chelsea said. “What kind of woman do you think I am?”
    “The type of woman who would be straight with a guy.” Mac turned back around. “I just wanted to be sure.”
    Chelsea slammed the door on the way out. When she stepped out onto the deck, Molly and Gnarly sounded like a herd of stampeding horses escorting her back to the guest cottage.
    “What was that about?” Archie asked him.
    “Exactly what it sounded like,” Mac said. “I don’t want her hurting David by leading him on. He’s got it bad for her.”
    “And she’s got it bad for him,” Archie said. “She’s been playing touch-don’t-touch for weeks. She wants him, but then she’s afraid that he’ll hurt her again, or she’ll give up her independence, which she has worked hard for. It isn’t that she doesn’t want him. It’s that she wants him so bad that she’s scaring herself.”
    “I know exactly what she’s going through,” Mac said. “I’m afraid that if she doesn’t make up her mind soon, she’ll lose her chance with him.”
    “David’s not going anywhere,” Archie said. “It’ll do him some good working to win her back. Make him appreciate her more.”
    “Sounds like you’ve been thinking about this.”
    “And you haven’t?” She sighed. “She wouldn’t be cooking Steak Diane for him if she didn’t care. Women don’t cook for men they don’t want.”
    “You cooked for me from day one,” Mac recalled.
    “I wanted