Free Cemetery Silk by E. Joan Sims Page B

climbing into my wheels easier. And I got my first wolf whistle in a long time from the guy at the Exxon station next door.
    I rolled down the windows and tuned the radio to a country music station. Reba, Wynonna, Dolly, and I sang at the top of our lungs all the way home.
    I had not expected whole-hearted approval of my choice, but I also never imagined I would be verbally tarred and feathered. Mother peered cautiously out the library doors.
    â€œPaisley! Why, that is you. Oh dear, you haven’t had a wreck have you?”
    â€œNo, Mother, I’m terrific. Meet my new Jeep!”
    She raised her elegant eyebrows just a millimeter. “Couldn’t you find something a little less tasteless? Really, dear, that is the ugliest thing on four wheels I have ever seen. And lose those silly boots, dear. You look like a clown.”
    She turned and went back inside. I had been dismissed.
    I was mad now, and determined that someone come and play with me and my new toy. I honked the horn madly and was a bit dismayed to hear something that sounded more like a wounded goose than the macho basso profondo I had expected.
    Cassie came bouncing out of the back door with a big grin thinking she would see some friend or other, since I had just sounded the teenage siren. The bounces died down and the grin faded as she approached and realized that somehow the Jeep and I were together.
    â€œMy God, Mom! What are you doing with that monstrosity? What a horrible color! You look positively bilious just standing next to it. Where is our real car?”
    That was it! I started laughing. Rafe, with all his Latin dignity, hated it when I laughed at him, and Cassie liked it even less. She looked at me with fire in her eyes and actually stomped her foot. I laughed even harder. She picked up a big handful of wet mud from the edge of the driveway and flung it at the front door of my truck. I lay across the hood and laughed hysterically.
    I heard her slam the back door. I tried to control myself, but it was another five minutes before I could wipe my eyes, blow my nose, and hiccough my way into the house.
    Mother was standing by the kitchen sink looking out at my vehicle.
    â€œReally, Paisley, whatever possessed you?”
    â€œLook, Mother, I never liked that little red death trap. You used to call it that, remember? This is much safer, and besides,” I finished lamely, “we can carry things.”
    She looked at me suspiciously. “What sort of things?”
    â€œWell, I don’t know, farm things.”
    I searched my mind desperately for something.
    â€œAntiques! You always see things you want to buy when we go to those flea markets but you don’t have a way to get them home. Now you do!”
    â€œPaisley, that’s just the excuse I give rather than hurt someone’s feelings by saying, ‘I wouldn’t have that if you gave it to me.’”
    â€œOh.”
    She looked out the window speculatively.
    â€œNow, if you bought that thing because we need to blend into the scenery when we go about foiling the schemes of evildoers, I think with a little more mud on the fenders you may be onto something.”
    She turned and grinned at me. “Paisley, is the game afoot?”
    I gave her a quick and grateful hug. “Yes, Mother! The game is definitely afoot! Let’s go get muddy. You want to drive or shall I?”
    â€œI’ll give it a go.” She winked and looked down at my feet.
    â€œDo they have those boots in my size and maybe a more discreet color?”

Chapter Seven
    As Mother got ready for our first adventure in the Jeep, I went to seek out Cassie. I banged on her bedroom door like I was the teenager. She would not answer me at first but when I mentioned the possibility of new footwear my beloved little brat finally condescended to open up.
    â€œDo they have to be cowboy boots?”
    â€œNo, they have all kinds of boots.”
    â€œAnd leather jackets?”
    This