Free The Librarian's Last Chapter by Cynthia Hickey

no.”
    “I had second thoughts.”
    “How did you know he
would still be here?” He stepped past me into the house. “Mrs. Bohan , I’m surprised to see you.”
    Mom crossed her arms.
“Don’t start with me young man. I knew your mother.”
    He opened and closed his
mouth a few times, then shook his head. “How did you get in?”
    “The back door was open,”
I said. Well, it was by the time I entered. “We’ll take this sweetie and go
now, shall we?” I motioned my head toward the front door.
    “I’ll just get my purse
off the counter.” Mom skedaddled to the kitchen, tossed her little leather pack
into her purse, while holding a hand to her side to keep the journal in place, then dashed back to me.
    “Why are you holding your
side?” Bruce asked.
    “Oh, it’s nothing,
really.” Mom widened her eyes. Instead of the innocent look she was most likely
trying for, she looked deranged. “The cat startled me, and I bumped into the
counter. See you later.” She grabbed my arm with an iron grip and dragged me
from the house.
    “We need to get to the
cars,” she said. “Before Bruce wonders why we didn’t park in the driveway like
normal people.”
    We were far from normal.
I glanced back.
    Bruce stood on the porch
and watched us scurry away like the guilty people we were.

 

 
    CHAPTER TEN
    With working at the shop and meetings for the book fair,
Marsha had yet to dig into Mrs. Grimes’s journal. Now, it was Saturday and the
day Lynn was picking her up to go dress shopping. “Lindsey, she’ll be here any
minute! Mom?”
    “Settle down,” Mom called
from the kitchen. “We’re ready.”
    Marsha stormed into the
kitchen and reached over the refrigerator for her M&Ms. The day called for her stress reliever and a venti -sized
coffee at the coffee shop. Her first wedding had been a quick, thrown together
affair when Marsha had donned her mother’s old wedding dress. Now, she was
shopping for a new one and had no idea what she was looking for. Should she
even wear white? As a widowed mother, maybe she should be happy with a
sundress.
    “Why aren’t you smiling?”
Mom handed me a cup of coffee. “This is a fun day. We closed the shop for the
occasion.”
    “I don’t think I need a
wedding dress. I can go to the department store and buy a pretty sundress I’ll
wear again.”
    “Mom!” Lindsey pouted.
“I’m looking forward to this. I want a gorgeous bridesmaid dress so I’ll look
awesome in the pictures.”
    “Fine, but why do I have
to wear a big frilly gown?”
    “They aren’t all frilly,”
Lynn said strolling into the kitchen. “I hope you don’t mind me just barging
in. The front door was unlocked. Not wise, considering Marsha is neck deep in
murder again. Oh, pretty.” She petted Prince, Mrs. Grimes’s cat, who would not
stay off the counters no matter how many times we rattled a can of marbles or
sprayed him with water.
    Maybe it had something to
do with the German Shepherd staring up at him and
licking her lips. Or the fact that Samson the monster cat hissed everything the
fancy cat came near him.
    “Mom doesn’t want to buy
a wedding dress,” Lindsey said. “I think she thinks she’s too old or
something.”
    “I never said that.” I
grabbed another handful of candy. “I’m a widowed mother. This isn’t my first
marriage.”
    “Nobody cares about that
anymore. Buy the wedding dress of your dreams. Oh.” Lynn popped out and
returned moments later with four mocha flavored
blended coffees. “I set these on the foyer table to close the door and left
them. Are we ready to go?”
    I sighed. “As ready as
I’ll ever be.” I wanted to marry Duane with all my heart, but the planning that
went along with it gave me hives. I wasn’t the type to want to be the center of
attention.
    We trooped out to Lynn’s
modest Toyota Corolla. Mom and Lindsey climbed in the back, leaving the shotgun
seat to me. I sipped my frozen drink and stared out the window. I knew without
asking