A Matter of Honesty Read Online Free Page B

She was exhausted. She smiled at Hannah. “It
    was nice to meet you. I‘ll see you in a little while.”
    “See you later,” Hannah replied.
    Lauryn walked out of the kitchen, pausing when she reached the other side of
    the doorway. Steve stood studying her silently.
    “Did you need something else?”
    She shook her head. “No. I just wanted to tell you thanks again for everything.”
    “You‘re welcome, Lauryn.”
    She offered him a small smile then turned toward the stairs. Sleepiness was
    tugging at her. As soon as she made it upstairs she was going to give in.

Chapter Two
    The sun peeked through the curtains, waking Lauryn slowly. It was then she
    realized yesterday hadn‘t been a dream. She glanced at the clock on the bedside table;
    eight-thirty. Throwing back the covers, she spotted the check and cash on the
    dresser. Steve had left her the five–thousand-dollar bonus he‘d promised her. He‘d
    written a four-thousand-dollar check, and left one thousand in cash in case she didn‘t
    have a bank account, with instructions to set one up if she didn‘t.
    She did have a bank account. She needed to stop at the bank first thing this
    morning to alert them of her lost card and change of address. Steve‘s note said he had
    Hannah with him, but he would drop her off at one o‘clock this afternoon. He wanted
    her to spend the morning shopping so she could have everything she needed. The keys
    to the spare car were on the coffee table. Yesterday afternoon Steve had driven her
    back to the motel to see if anything of hers had been salvaged. All her belongings were
    gone but now, thanks to Steve, she had the means to replace them. Yet all the things
    she had to remind her of the good times with her parents were gone.
    A short time later she headed downstairs. She planned to stop by the bank and
    hopefully a few stores that hadn‘t been too badly affected by the storm would be open
     
    so she could get some errands done. A phone rang in the seat next to her the instant
    she slid into the car, causing her to jump. She smiled when she saw the name on the
    caller ID.
    “Good morning, Steve.”
    “Good morning to you too. Did you sleep okay?”
    “I slept better than okay.”
    “Good. Just to let you know you are using your cell phone.”
    “But I don‘t need a cell phone.”
    “This coming from a person who was trapped under a tree less than twenty-four hours ago, and really could have used a phone.”
    Lauryn laughed. “I probably wouldn‘t have been able to get to it or use it if I‘d
    had one, anyway.”
    “Hmm, you have a point there. If you need to use it when you‘re driving,
    connect it to the cell phone holder on the dash.”
    Lauryn spotted the holder. “Okay. Hang on a second so that I can set the phone
    in it now.”
    Surprisingly it only took her one try to get it right. “Can you hear me?”
    “Yes, I can. Where are you headed?”
    She pulled up to a red stoplight. “To the bank to put the money you paid me in
    my account. Then I‘m going to head to the mall, and maybe to the grocery store.”
     
    “Sounds like you have a busy morning planned.”
    “I do, but I will be back at the house around one o‘clock.”
    She turned down the street leading to the bank, taking in all of the debris still
    littering the street. Her heart squeezed painfully. There was so much destruction.
    “Okay take your time, get everything you need, and don‘t spend anything on the
    house. I have a separate budget for that. This is your money, so spend it on you, and
    only you. I have a feeling it‘s been a while since you have. I don‘t want to hold you up,
    so have fun and I‘ll see you later.”
    After her tour of the kitchen yesterday and the interesting food selections, a
    trip to the grocery store was on her priority list, separate budget or not. She would
    just leave him a receipt on the counter if he wanted to reimburse her. However, she
    had no plans to tell him or he might want to have a long,