Girls' Night Out Murder (Ryli Sinclair 2) Read Online Free

he still made time
to come over and have a beer with us one night,” I said.
    My mom grew up in this town—and this very house—when both
were barely the size of a postage stamp. She went off to college after she
graduated high school, which is where she met my dad. They got married, settled
down in Granville, and had two kids. He died years ago when I was a little girl,
so I never really knew him. Mom decided to stay in Granville…where she spent
thirty years teaching at the local elementary school.
    On rare occasions she’ll get together with a couple of her
old classmates when she visits the lake house. I guess this is where she was
getting her information about Jim.
    I glanced out the window again and watched the taillights
disappear. Jim had decided to put a Morton building up a while back. So instead
of being able to see the house like we used to be able to do…we now see the
back side of a rather beautiful building. I was glad he didn’t just put up an
ugly shed, but instead took the time to make it appear as though the building
was an extension of his house.
    The workshop was beige and had multi-colored stones going
halfway up the outside of the building. The slate colored roof had many different
pitches. I remember him throwing out words like gables and dormers when he was
putting it up, but I didn’t want to act like I didn’t know what he was talking
about. I think it had something to do with the little extensions all over the
roof to make it look more like a house instead of a shed.
    For Jim, the Morton building was an extension of his
business and offered him more seclusion. For a nosey neighbor like me, it made
it impossible to see if he was home or if he had company.
    Hearing another car, I looked out the window and squealed.
Mindy laughed. “I’m thinking that must be Paige and her mom.”
    I ran to the front door and threw it open. Mom, Mindy, and I
slipped on our coat and shoes and helped Paige and her mom carry in their numerous
suitcases and Paige’s wedding dress. By the time we finished, I was exhausted.
    “Wanna grab some whiskey-spiked tea and unpack?” I asked.
    Paige laughed. “Music to my ears.”
    Mom made up a cup for Paige and we headed downstairs to
unpack while Mom and Mindy helped Bea.
    “Aunt Shirley already asleep?” Paige asked as she closed the
bedroom door with her heel.
    “Yep. But she’s all excited about going grocery shopping
tomorrow to get booze for jello shots,” I laughed. “She downloaded recipes from
Pinterest for different jello shots. She says we’re having an impromptu jello
shot party Wednesday night to see which ones she wants to serve at your
bachelorette party on Friday.”
    Paige rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Great, just what
I need. Your aunt drunk every day before my wedding.”
    I bit back my laughter and took a drink of the warm tea
instead. The heat from the tea and whiskey burned in a nice way. I decided now
was not the time to tell her about the penis ice trays and penis jello molds.
    I silently watched as Paige unfolded her plastic-encased
wedding dress from the crook of her elbow. Her wedding dress was almost
identical to my chiffon floor-length bridesmaid dress…except it was white. She
also had a small band of bling under her breasts for enhancement. She was originally
supposed to wear her mother’s wedding dress, but the years had not been kind to
the dress, and it was deemed a lost cause.
    Paige shook out the bottom of the bag. “I can’t wait to put
our dresses on. Remember when we’d play dress up in our moms’ dresses and dream
of this day?”
    “I sure do. Now hurry up and put this stuff away, before you
make me cry.”
    Paige laughed and shoved the rest of the week’s clothing
into her side of the dresser. Picking up her tea, she sat cross-legged on her
twin bed and took a sip. “Wow, that’s some strong tea.”
    “I told mom I needed something strong after having to listen
to Aunt Shirley for four