Marked Down for Murder (Good Buy Girls) Read Online Free

meaning?” Sam asked.
    “Me,” Maggie said. “I was lucky enough to be the recipient of Blair’s scorn. Clearly, she thinks I am not worthy of you. It was a good time.”
    “That’s . . . um . . . let me find the right word.” Sam paused. He scratched his head and said, “Insane.”
    “No argument here,” Ginger said. “But if I were you, Sam, I would watch your back, front or any other part you value, if you get my drift.”
    “Eep!” Sam let out a girly, high squeak and with a look of mock horror crossed his arms over his middle, which made Maggie and Ginger both laugh.
    “Don’t worry,” Maggie said. “I’ll protect your virtue.”
    Sam gave her a wicked wink, which made Maggie’s face get hot with embarrassment. Ginger glanced between them with a wide smile.
    “How I never knew that you two were a couple back in the day, I cannot imagine. You really are perfect for each other.”
    “That’s because someone let Summer Phillips mess with her head instead of asking me for the truth, thus causing our dramatic teenage breakup before we told anyone we were even together.” Sam gave Maggie a dark look.
    “I’m never going to live that down, am I?” Maggie asked.
    Sam and Ginger exchanged a look and then simultaneously said, “No.”
    In high school, when Sam and Maggie had just been getting together as a couple, Summer had her boyfriend of the moment put on Sam’s football jersey. Then she staged a half-naked, passionate encounter for Maggie to walk in on, which she did, causing Maggie to believe that Sam was cheating on her. It ruined Sam and Maggie’s relationship. He left for college, and they didn’t speak again for twenty-plus years.
    “Just don’t let your guard down around Summer or her mother again,” Ginger said as she pulled on her coat and headed to the door with a wave. “See ya, kids.”
    Maggie took the bag from the counter and led the way over to a sitting area in the corner of her shop. It sported a glass coffee table and several mismatched chairs, all of which were available for purchase. When she had opened her secondhand store, Maggie had decided that one way to update its look was to make everything in it for sale, causing her furniture to turn over as often as her clothes, which kept the store fresh.
    Maggie and Sam sat down on the love seat that was currently in residence, and Maggie unloaded the bag. Salads, bread and two cardboard containers with individual servings of lasagna were unpacked, and suddenly Blair and Summer’s visit seemed ridiculous. This was the magic of comfort food, and Mrs. Bellini made the best in town.
    “So do you think I should be concerned about Summer and her mother popping in for a visit?” Maggie asked.
    “Nah.” Sam dropped a kiss on her head and then leaned back to look at her with affection. “We’re rock solid. What harm could they possibly do to us?”

Chapter 3

    It did not take long for Sam’s optimistic outlook to take a sharp turn south.
    “How many times have you been called to Summer’s shop over the past three days?” Maggie asked. She and Sam were fixing dinner in her kitchen while Marshall Dillon roamed around the house.
    Maggie was glad to have Sam and Marshall there. Things had been awfully quiet since Laura had gone back to college, an event which had been followed shortly after by Sandy, Jake and Josh—her niece, her niece’s husband and their son—moving into their own house.
    They lived around the corner from Maggie’s now, and she had dibs on babysitting Josh, but still, her house felt like an empty shell with no squeals from the three-year-old to break the quiet. She hadn’t stepped on a toy in weeks, and there were no cracker crumbs on the furniture. It just seemed wrong, and she didn’t like it. Of course, Sam now spent most of his evenings with her, and a lot of his nights, too, so maybe it had all worked out for the best.
    “Five times. First they swore there was a burglar breaking in; next they