Minnie Crockwell - Will Travel for Trouble 01 - Trouble at Happy Trails Read Online Free Page B

jumped. I was always jumpy, had been for the past two months.
    “Who could that be?” I said. I got up, grabbed my air horn from near the door, and called out.
    “Who’s there?”
    “Bob Stewart, Sally’s brother! Is she in there?”
    “Oh! It’s my brother!”
    I unlocked the door and opened it. A short, squat man who looked like he might have wrestled in high school waited at the foot of the stairs.  
    “Come in,” I said.
    “No, thanks. I’ll just wait for Sally out here.” His hands were shoved in his pocket, and he declined to meet my eyes, rather staring at the first step.  
    Sally arose, her voice breaking. “Oh, Bob!” She came to the door. “Come in.” At the sight of her brother, tears streamed down her face anew. She reached for him.
    He sighed and climbed the stairs. “Well, just for a minute,” he said in a gruff voice.
    He stepped into the RV and looked around, continuing to avoid my eyes. I wasn’t sure he was any more pleasant than Carl had been. Poor Sally. She was certainly surrounded by bad-tempered men. I preferred a kind, easy-going man myself.
    With a temperate disposition? Madam, you have described me perfectly. Although you did fail to note my charming looks, wit and intelligence.
    Peregrine Ebenezer Alvord! This is hardly the time to flirt. Help me assess the situation here.
    On a side note, I had seen what Ben looked like on the web. A portrait of the officers of Lewis and Clark’s Corps of Discovery expedition showed Lieutenant Peregrine Ebenezer Alvord to be a startlingly handsome man with thick straight blue-black hair, beautiful aquamarine eyes, a prominent chin with a cleft, thin nose and a charmingly full lower lip. The high black collar of his coat emphasized the color of his hair and contrasted with a well-starched looking white cravat. Of course, the portrait painter could have embellished.
    Minerva! I am offended. I remember sitting for the portrait you speak of. The likeness is true and accurate, Ben had said then in response to my doubts.
    Now, Sally threw herself into Bob’s arms. He held her awkwardly while she cried. He continued to avoid eye contact with me, and I gave them space, choosing to sit down on the couch and study my laced fingers.
    “I didn’t know he’d do it, Bob. I didn’t know. We had a fight tonight. I should have kept my mouth shut. I said mean things to him.”
    “Hush now, Sally. You couldn’t have said anything he didn’t deserve. Don’t cry. It’s over now.”

Chapter Three
    I alerted on Bob’s last statement. It seemed odd. He clearly meant the marriage was over now, but it sounded so final.
    “But I loved him,” she wailed. “For all his ornery, cheating ways, I loved him.”
    “I don’t know why,” Bob said flatly. He patted his sister’s back. “Okay, now. Stop crying.”
    Sally gulped and pulled back. She moved to the table to grab her drink and down it.
    “You’re drinking?” Bob asked incredulously. He looked at me with an accusing expression, and I shrugged my shoulders with an innocent look.
    “Yes,” Sally said defiantly. “I’m drinking the brandy he was saving for someone else, I guess.”
    “Well, grab your bottle and let’s get going.”
    She turned to me. “Thank you for everything, Minnie. I’ll get out of your hair now.”
    “Oh, no, you’re not in my hair,” I said inanely.  
    “Thank you anyway. I hope I see you again.” She picked up her bottle of brandy, stuffed it into her recycled shopping bag and followed her brother out the door. I stood on the stairs and waved goodbye.
    “Well, that was weird,” I said aloud.
    An abrupt farewell certainly, but probably excusable under the extraordinary circumstances.
    I turned and reentered the RV, making sure to lock the door behind me.
    “So, you didn’t see him shoot himself?”
    Alas, or fortunately, no. I assumed when I saw her bent over him that she had committed the deed.
    “Something seems slightly off here, but I’m not sure what it