Fatal Chocolate Obsession (Death by Chocolate Book 5) Read Online Free Page A

“You were blond.”
    She bit her lip and wiped one eye, smudging the mascara further. Her eyes were blood shot as if she’d been crying. Or drinking. Or both. “You’re a redhead. I thought he’d like me better if I looked like you.”
    Oh, good grief. “That was a very bad decision.”
    “He kicked me out! Yesterday we were talking about having a baby and tonight he kicked me out!”
    “Yeah, Rick’s not the fatherly type.”
    “Yes, he is! When he told Grace he was going to have a baby with me, she said she’d give him Rickie but only if he got back together with you. Grace likes you. Rickie likes you. Rick has to do it because that’s his son and he missed the first years of his life, not because he loves you. It’s all for his son.”
    I released a long sigh and dropped my head, uncertain how to respond to such a load of hogwash.
    Ginger rushed into the gap of silence. “Rick says you’re a good woman, but he’s wrong. What kind of life do you think you’re going to have, taking one woman’s kid and another one’s man?”
    I could have told her Rick was lying, but it was the middle of the night and I didn’t want to get into a pointless argument. “You’re right,” I said instead. “I won’t do it. You keep Rick, and Grace can keep Rickie. Good night.” I closed the door.
    “Really?”
    “Yes, really. You’ve made me see the error of my ways. Good night.”
    “Don’t leave! I don’t have anywhere to go. Rick kicked me out, and it’s your fault.”
    Marrying a con artist is like grabbing hold of a sticky fly strip with both hands. Even when you finally manage to get it into the trash, you can never get all the sticky off your hands.
    I was not going to take Ginger in for the night. I’d already provided B&B services for way too many of Rick’s relatives and pseudo-relatives.
    “There are lots of motels on the highway just a few miles away. I’d invite you to stay here, but I have a cat and Rick’s allergic to cats, so if you go back to him all covered in cat hair, he’ll go into anaphylactic shock and you’ll have to take him to the hospital to get a shot in his genitals. You won’t be able to have sex for five months. He might never be able to have kids after that.” Yes, that was a load of hogwash too, but Rick set the standard.
    “Really?” Ginger asked. “That’s scary.”
    “Easily avoided. Find a motel. Good night. Live long and prosper.”
    I returned to bed. Henry opened one eye when I slid in beside him. I repeated the story I’d concocted about Rick’s allergies and the possible consequences. He smiled and went back to sleep.
    I actually slept better after Ginger left than before she came. The absurdity of the whole thing took my mind off Bob’s death.
    However, Henry woke me with his jungle-cat noises an hour later. He stood with his paws on the sill of the window, looking out at the street and making the noises he makes when someone he doesn’t like comes around.
    I wasn’t even surprised at this third intrusion into my slumber.
    I dragged myself out of bed and headed downstairs. Again. Henry marched alongside me. Either the new visitor had catnip or my cat thought I needed protection.
    What foul creature awaited me on my front porch? Rick? His son, Rickie? A zombie? Of the three, I was hoping for the zombie.
    I peered through the peephole and saw no one, but Rickie’s only nine years old so he’s short. He could have been hiding.
    Henry wasn’t trying to claw through the front door so I assumed the visitor had probably left already.
    Cautiously I eased the door open.
    A huge bouquet of red roses waited on the porch.
    Henry growled deep in his throat.
    My thoughts exactly.
    I stepped onto the porch and reached for the card. I had no doubt they were from Rickhead.
    Henry growled again.
    The noise sent shivers up my spine. I scanned my surroundings, looking for shadows in the moonlight, movement in the bushes, a figure darting behind somebody’s house. Then