Sea Glass Sunrise Read Online Free Page B

Blueberry was the smallest of the small when it came to everyone knowing everyone else’s business. She’d have to get used to that again. Though, admittedly, she’d learned that the Capitol Hill legal community was a close second when it came to high-functioning grapevines. It was a miracle no one here knew what had been transpiring in her life back in D.C. for the past six months. Just because she hadn’t told a single member of her family didn’t mean that somehow word wouldn’t make its way back to the Cove anyway. Hannah was certain it hadn’t though, because Barbara would have been the first one to call her if it had. And then, only if Uncle Gus hadn’t beaten her to the punch.
    Hannah had already planned to make up an excuse for why Tim wasn’t with her at the wedding. She’d come clean after the ceremony was over and Logan and Alex were off happily honeymooning, but not now. Not yet.
    “When did that happen, anyway?” Hannah asked. “The four-way stop, I mean. And all the way out there? Why? Fiona ran the damn thing, too. Darn thing,” she automatically corrected when Barbara gave her The Look. Hannah reached for her purse so she could dig out two quarters for the swear jar that had sat on Barbara’s desk for longer than Hannah had been alive.
    Barbara reached over and filched a dollar when Hannah opened her wallet, then dropped it in the jar. At Hannah’s raised brow, she said, “Price of swearing has gone up, just like everything else.”
    “You know,” Hannah said, mildly, “Fiona’s convinced that having a swear jar in a police station, even one as small as ours, probably put every one of your kids through college. What does the loot go to now that they’re all grown and married? The grandkids’ college funds?”
    Barbara leaned closer and examined the laceration on the bridge of Hannah’s nose, making clucking noises. Hannah knew from experience that was her version of swearing. “Always had a hankering to see Alaska,” Barbara said, as she finished her perusal and moved back behind her desk. She was still frowning at the state of Hannah’s face, but there was a decided twinkle in her eyes when she added, “Preferably from the deck of a cruise ship.”
    Hannah laughed, then flinched and gently put her hand over her nose and busted lip. “I can’t believe I have to play maid of honor with this. I don’t think even Fiona’s amazing cosmetic skills are going to save me. Logan’s going to kill me when he finds out. If Alex doesn’t first.”
    “What did Bonnie have to say about it?”
    “She said my head must have been jerking forward when the air bag exploded, because the impact was harder than it usually is. I bought an older-model car because I liked the look of it better, which made the air bag technology dated.” She raised a hand to stall the lecture. “I know, I know. Happens sometimes, apparently. So . . . lucky me. It’s not broken, thank goodness, just a deep laceration from the canister hitting me, three stitches. Lip isn’t pretty, but no stitches there, so there’s that. Bruised shoulder, but nothing worse.” Although . . . tell that to her shoulder, which felt as if it were on fire. “And I’m probably going to have two black eyes from the impact.”
    Barbara clucked again, but mercifully spared her the full-on safety lecture. “Trust your sister,” she said instead. “She can make anything look good.” At Hannah’s twist of a half smile, Barbara waved her hand. “You know what I meant. And Alex isn’t exactly one to worry about things like that and neither is your brother. Although he might not be too thrilled with you drag racing through town and wiping out the signage.”
    “I wasn’t drag racing,” Hannah said, letting the exasperation come through. “I wasn’t even speeding. I just . . . I didn’t see the stop sign, that’s all. I was distracted by the lupines.” And the wreckage that is my personal life . “So . . . why do we have a