Rumpled Between The Sheets Read Online Free Page B

out of
whatever situation was brewing.
    "We'll take
care of all this and go. For real this time." Betsy winked and shooed Mary away.
    Glad the almost-inquisition
ended, Mary headed back to her room upstairs. Her clothes hit the floor and she
crawled into bed in the buff. Unlike her previous residence, no slimeball would violate her privacy in Beowulf Hollow. In
the morning, she'd figure out whether to take the money and run or stay in the
only place she'd ever felt safe.
    ****
    Morning came too soon, accompanied
by loud banging on the front door. Mary crawled out of bed and grabbed her robe
to shimmy into. "Coming!" She raced down the
steps, fearing a gaggle of the locals were lined up with egg casseroles and a
vat full of bacon.
    She opened the door to see a
grinning Vivian. "Hello, Mary. Care to have breakfast in town with
me?" She wore stiletto heels with sparkling rhinestones in the front. Her
outfit, a tailored black suit, hugged her body and left nothing to the
imagination for what she packed as a bust size.
    "Well, I..."
She glanced outside and to her robed body.
    "Don't
worry. My car is like spreading garlic to keep vampires away in this town. No
one's going to send in the local breakfast fare to make you pack on the
pounds."
    "Let me get
dressed." Mary almost closed the door. "Oh, come in and have a
seat." She ran upstairs. Her suitcase had hardly any clothes and the ones
in her closet paled in comparison to what Vivian wore. In New York it might
matter. In Beowulf Hollow? No one would give her a
second glance. She plucked out a nice loose fitting blouse and tight jeans.
With her favorite heels out of commission, she decided a pair of tennis shoes
would be more suitable.
    Mary bounded
down the stairs. Vivian put down a book on the coffee table. "Your mother
always had a unique taste in books."
    "Always one
for the classics." Mary nodded, noting the title of the book. The Count of Monte Cristo.
    "Let's be
off to the only place to eat in this town. If we get lucky, cheerful ole Janis
will wait on us." She draped her arm around Mary's shoulders.
    "Oh,
joy."
    "My BMW
broomstick awaits ." Vivian opened the car door
for Mary and they both slipped in. She noticed the residents peeking out their
windows. Nothing got past the neighbors.
    "So, I must
admit, I do have a few questions for you before I head out." Vivian
stopped the car, waiting for a woman and her dog to cross.
    "About
what?"
    "Your
mother's shop."
    "Mrs.
Tucker—"
    "Darling, do
you hear me calling you Miss Becken ? We're friends
here, not partners jockeying for position. Please, call me Vivian."
    "Vivian."
She wrung her hands together. "What could there possibly be to discuss?
I'm not sure what I'm going to do." Mary had an idea about her plans but laying
them all out on the table? She was not ready to do that.
    "I'm hoping
you continue it. I know you can pick up where your mother left off."
    "Yeah,
right. I know nothing about sewing." Mary scoffed. She dabbled like every girl in
this town did, a required course in high school. She
never took to it like her classmates.
    "It's like
riding a stiff one, honey. You never forget."
    Mary caught her jaw
before it fell open. Never would she ever figure Mrs. Tucker as one of the more
free-spirited women. Speaking her mind, yes. Lacing in
sexual innuendo? Mary was speechless.
    "All I'm
saying is give it a chance and you won't regret it. When your father died, that
shop is what kept your mother from breaking down. There was a magic within
those walls for her. Maybe it will do the same for you." She pulled along
the street and pointed to the diner. "And there she is."
    Mary peered over
and saw Janis, puckered-lips and all, staring out the window. She hopped out of
the vehicle and joined Vivian in their march across the street. People slowed
to regard them both. No one said a word.
    "It's like
I'm going to cast a spell on them." She laughed and hooked her arm in
Mary's. Not waiting for the hostess, Vivian picked a big booth