When Bobbie Sang the Blues Read Online Free

alike, I reckon. Small build, small features.”
    “Yeah, but the similarity ends there,” Bobbie replied. “Beth was the good girl who always said, did, and wore the right thing. I was the rebel. Still am.” She winked at Christy.
    Miz B chuckled, her chest heaving behind the purple apron bib. “Well, we’re mighty glad to have you. Let me turn in those orders.”
    Jamie passed the table again, balancing several empty plates. “I see Miz B is personally taking care of you, so I’ll stay out of the way.” Her eyes strayed to Bobbie. “Will you be staying here long?”
    Bobbie nodded. “I’m opening a shop called I Saw It First.”
    “What a cute name for a shop!”
    “Oh, honey, it’s just trash I find at flea markets and garage sales, but unlike most people, I look beyond the flaws and see the promise.”
    Christy smiled, impressed. “What a great way to put it.”
    Bobbie smiled back, obviously pleased by Christy’s comment. “Yeah, I admit I get a lot of satisfaction out of working with things that have been thrown away, taking those objects and making them beautiful and useful again. That’s especially important to families who don’t know what to do with the junk in their attic or a broken dresser that belonged to Grandma.”
    “Well, I declare,” Miz B said, having reappeared with twoplates piled with food. “That’s just about the best idea I’ve heard in years. And that gives me an idea. Our Red Hat club meets here on Thursday. The girls would just love it if you could talk to them about restoring old things. We’ve all got stuff we don’t know what to do with, but we don’t want to throw it away.”
    “Great idea!” Christy looked across at Bobbie. “You could start drumming up business for your shop.”
    Bobbie laughed. “I like the way you think, honey.”
    “Eat and enjoy,” Miz B said, placing their breakfast before them.
    They ate in silence for a moment, and then Bobbie looked up at Christy. “I saw an old post lying in your parents’ garage. Grant said it came from his mother’s back porch and he hated to part with it.” She stared into space as she munched on a crusty brown biscuit. “I can show the ladies how to turn that old post into a lovely coat tree.” She looked at Christy and winked. “It would look real good.”
    Christy had seen the splintered old post and couldn’t imagine it fitting anything but a garbage can, but she merely shrugged. “I just don’t have that kind of imagination.”
    “You have a wonderful imagination. I love your mysteries. What are you working on now?”
    “The third book in my pirate series. I have to do a ton of research.”
    A deep voice floated down from behind Christy’s head. “I’ll take a bite of that biscuit if you put a hunk of real butter on it.”
    Christy looked up at a grinning Jack Watson. He had on his usual jeans, and the blue polo shirt he wore emphasized his blue eyes,bracketed by lifelines. In his case, age only added to his charisma. Sometimes when Christy looked at him, she could see Chad, and her memory rolled back to the good times and hung onto the if-onlys.
    “Care to join us?” she asked as his gaze swept Bobbie. “Jack, have you ever met my aunt, Bobbie Bodine?”
    “No, he hasn’t,” Bobbie extended her hand. “I never forget a handsome face.”
    Jack chuckled and slid into the booth beside Christy. “Thank you, ma’am. I’m Jack Watson. I look out for your niece.” He glanced at Christy and scowled as though remembering something. “Most of the time,” he added.
    Jamie paused at the table. “Hi, Mr. Watson. Would you like breakfast?”
    “Nah, just coffee. Thanks.”
    “I assume you’ve already had your cold cereal,” Christy said, handing him a buttered biscuit.
    “She knows me pretty well,” he said to Bobbie.
    “I can see that,” Bobbie replied, watching the two of them together. And then her eyes widened as though she had just thought of something. “You’re Chad’s