Worst Laid Plans (A Maddox Storm Mystery Book 1) Read Online Free

know me, not at all. “I’ve saved some space for pie,” I piped up eagerly.
    Her eyes found mine. “Are you sure, honey? That poor Heather Ottenburgh withered away to almost nothing when her marriage fell apart last year,” she said wistfully, her gaze running down my over-sized tee.
    I’d never be skinny and I’d learned to be okay with that. I tended to fluctuate between a healthy size ten and a slightly healthier size twelve, depending on my self-will power in any given week. I’d squeezed into my size tens this morning and unfortunately that was as much as I’d ever whither.
    “There’s nothing wrong with Maddie’s figure,” Dad said thickly.
    “Of course there isn’t,” Mom told him, then to me, “But even perfection can be improved on, that’s all I’m saying.”
    Suddenly my jeans felt a size too small. I squirmed uncomfortably in my own skin, something I hadn’t done in years. Thanks, Joseph McMurphy, for that knock to my self-confidence. You’re the gift that just keeps on giving.
    “Enough,” Dad barked, shooting up from the table to glare down on Mom. “This is the last thing Maddie needs when her husband has just left her for a younger woman!”
    “Oh, dear.” Mom went white as a sheet and sank back against the counter. “Oh, dear, oh, dear…”
    Dad dropped heavily into his seat and muttered a miserable, “Sorry, pumpkin,” to me.
    “It’s okay, you held out longer than I expected,” I reassured him with a sigh. “For the record, though, Chintilly may be prettier and skinnier than me, but she is not younger.”
    I wasn’t privy to her precise age, but I’d guess she was closer to thirty-four than my own twenty-four.
    With one last, “Oh, dear,” Mom pulled herself together. She opened the fridge and brought out a pie dish topped with creamy peaks of meringue. Maybe she knew me better than I’d thought.
    And if you’re thinking I’ve surely lost my appetite by now, then you’re not and never have been a comfort eater.
    Mom served up the pie, waited until I’d savored my first bite, then she leant in across the table and clasped her hand over mine. “Are you absolutely sure Joe’s left you?”
    I flicked my eyes toward the ceiling. “I’m not making this up, Mom.”
    “I know, but could it just be a…a fling?” she said hopefully.
    “Would that make a difference?” I spluttered. “Are you suggesting I go back to him and pretend nothing happened? I can’t. Even if Joe wants me back, I could never stay with him after this.”
    “I suppose not.” Mom sat back and folded her hands on the table in front of her. “But you’re not considering divorce, are you?”
    “Of course not,” I snapped sarcastically. “If I ever meet someone and fall in love again, we’ll just live in sin happily ever after.”
    “Don’t use that tongue with your mother,” Dad admonished, taking an uncustomary firm stand. “And that’s enough, Marge. This is Maddie’s decision and we’ll support her no matter what she decides.”
    He was right.
    On both counts.
    This was hard on Mom. ‘People’ did not divorce, at least not on her side of the family. “I’m sorry for snapping. You’re not the one I’m mad at.”
    I loved my parents to bits, but they were best taken in small doses and preferably never at the same time as a crisis.
    On that note, I forced out a smile and was about to say my goodbyes when I remembered we hadn’t even touched on the topic of Hollow House yet.
    As much as I wanted to leave this conversation for another day, they were sure to notice when I left via the front door instead of up the stairs to my bedroom. If I couldn’t sneak in half a mile outside Silver Firs, there was no way in hell I’d be able to sneak out right beneath their noses.
    I pushed my plate across to Mom and sighed. “I’m going to need another slice of pie.”

 
     
     
    TWO
     
     
    I was up bright and early the next morning.
    It had occurred to me last night, just as I was