Free Dawn Stewardson by Five Is Enough Page A

shouldn’t have assumed the worst. They were merely a couple of working men. And Snake probably only smelled like a brewery because they’d stopped for a beer or two after a hot day’s work.
    “It wasn’t that I didn’t like your looks,” she offered politely. “It was just…well, as I said, I enjoy walking. I live in Manhattan and everyone walks there. And I thought that since this was such a nice summer day… I guess it’s closer to evening by now, isn’t it. But, either way, I decided I really wouldn’t mind the walk to the gas station and—”
    “Can we get going?” Sully interrupted. “Grace is holding dinner until we get back.”
    “I’m not going back,” she informed him with a cool glance. As glad as she’d been to see him, the feeling was fading fast. His can we get going? had sounded a whole lot more like an order than a question, and she didn’t take kindly to being ordered around.
    “I’m going to Dead Head,” she elaborated. And if he didn’t want to drive her, she’d darn well go with Roy and Snake, now that she knew it would be safe.
    Roy and Snake, though, had begun to laugh about something.
    “North Head,” Sully muttered to her. “The town is North Head, not Dead Head.”
    “Oh. Well, whatever, that’s where I’m going. Then as soon as I get some gas I’ll be on my way again.”
    “Lauren, the gas station in North Head closed at six. And I’m not driving thirty miles and back to the next closest one until I’ve had dinner. So can we please go back to the lodge?”

CHAPTER FIVE
    Billy the Kid’s new plan

    D INNER , S ULLY THOUGHT , had taken a lot longer than usual—mostly because every time Lauren had finished telling the boys one story, they’d gotten her started on another. They’d barely sat down at the table before Grace had prompted her to tell them about how he’d walked in while she’d been bathing the cat. And she’d made the story sound a lot funnier than things had seemed at the time.
    All in all, she’d turned out to have a surprisingly good sense of humor—when she wasn’t busy cutting off his funding, or playing Ice Princess, or doing one of a hundred other things that he didn’t find the least bit amusing.
    “Hey, you guys,” he said as the last of the boys polished off his second serving of Grace’s apple crumble. “None of you helped get dinner ready today, so you’re all on cleanup detail.”
    As they began pushing back their chairs, Sully got the coffeepot and filled four mugs for the adults, glad he was finally going to be able to ask Lauren about that woman’s phone call. He’d been awfully tempted to raise the subject earlier, in the van, but he’d decided not to say anything without Otis and Grace there. By triple-teaming her they should be able to get at the truth.
    “Let’s take our coffee into the family room,” he suggested. “Give the boys space to clear the table.”
    Before any of the others rose, though, Lauren said, “You know, I’ve been thinking I should just phone a garage and have some gas brought to my car. There’s no point in one of you having to drive me someplace. And if I called right now—”
    “I think you should stop worrying about getting gas tonight,” Grace said. “I think you should just stay right here until morning.”
    Sully looked at Grace, not wanting to believe she’d actually said that. Was he the only one who hadn’t forgotten that Lauren Van Slyke was the enemy?
    Around him, the kitchen was silent. The boys had begun clearing the dishes, but now they were all standing like statues. Statues with big ears.
    “I’m not sure,” Otis said, “that leaving an expensive car just sitting out overnight would be a good idea.”
    Otis was right, of course, but before Sully could voice his agreement Grace was saying, “Oh, don’t be silly, Otis. You locked it, didn’t you, dear?” she asked Lauren.
    “Yes, but—”
    “Then it’ll be fine. There’s hardly any traffic on that road,