Free A Gala Event by Sheila Connolly Page A

I’ll be in as soon as I’ve handed Phoebe over.”
    â€œThanks.” Meg retreated to the warmth of the kitchen. Now what? It was midafternoon. Bree didn’t seem to need her. The ex-convict situation had been resolved, at least for the moment. Poor man: based on what little she had seen of him, admittedly under the worst circumstances, he hadn’t looked evil. What kind of a person would set his own home on fire, knowing that his family was inside? It was unimaginable to her. Even if he’d taken God knew what kind of drugs . . . could those drugs override the innate person? Wipe out his sense of right and wrong? She didn’t want to believe that, but she had extremely little direct experience with drugs, strong or weak.
    And what had he been doing at the Historical Society the day before? Or in Granford at all? He couldn’t have happy memories of the place. It was unlikely he knew anyone here anymore, or if he did, that they would speak to him. Gail had mentioned his brother and sister. Had they never returned to town after the deaths of their parents? Where were they now? Would they even speak to their brother, convicted in the deaths? Where could he go from here? Poor man.
    Meg saw Patty Gardner’s truck and trailer pull in, and Patty climbed down. When she spied Meg standing in the window, she waved. Meg waved back but made no move to join the party in the driveway. Patty and Seth conferred and apparently reached some kind of agreement. Then together they loaded Phoebe into the trailer, and Patty pulled away. Seth headed for the back door.
    â€œWhat’s the story this time?” she asked, once he had shut the door behind him.
    â€œI’ll go over in the morning to check out her fencing, and make some recommendations. This is their first venture in rearing animals, and they don’t really know what they’re doing. The former owners kept cattle in that field, and I’m guessing alpacas and cattle react differently to fencing. They need to get the right gauge for their needs.”
    â€œAnd you know this how?”
    â€œI don’t have the answer, but I know people who do. Don’t worry—I’m not going to take over, just point them in the right direction.”
    â€œI’ll hold you to that. What’re you up to now?”
    â€œI . . . don’t know. You have some ideas?”
    â€œI need to go grocery shopping, but I think I can handle that on my own. And Bree’s going to be out tonight, if you recall.”
    â€œAh. Yes. And it’s Saturday night. Maybe a bottle of wine is in order?”
    â€œAn excellent idea, sir. You can open the bottle while I cook.”
    â€œAn equitable distribution of labor, I believe.”
    Meg laughed. “What has gotten into us? We sound like a bad imitation of some old English novel. I have to say, I don’t know what to do with myself when I don’t have sixteen things to do. It’s been months since I had anything like leisure time, and I’m afraid to start something frivolous because I don’t trust it to last.”
    â€œâ€˜All work and no play . . .’” Seth began.
    â€œYeah, yeah—what is it with you and quotations today?”
    â€œI’m as giddy as you are, I guess. Not that I don’t have things to do—my client list is just about the right size, which probably won’t last. But nobody is clamoring for a renovation right this minute. Want to go wander through big-box stores and look at bathroom fixtures?”
    â€œWow, you do know how to charm a girl. And we can do the rest of the errands on the way back.”
    â€œDeal,” Seth said happily. “I’ll go walk Max. Too bad we can’t take him with us.”
    â€œI think the stores might have an issue with him. We can play with him later.”
    While Seth took Max out to burn off some energy, and accomplish a few other things, Meg studied