Wicked Craving Read Online Free

Granny, ‘hi’ for me,” he shouted through the open window as he pulled out of the driveway. “I’ll come see her tomorrow.”
    â€œUh-huh.”
    Savannah watched, her arms folded over her chest, as he drove away.
    She was still mulling over the mystery of a dieting Dirk as she walked up the sidewalk to the quaint, Spanish-style house that had been her home for years.
    The stucco could use some fresh paint, and a couple of the red, clay roof tiles had been loosened during the spring storms, but she loved her home and usually felt a twinge of satisfaction every time she walked up the path to her front door.
    But today she didn’t notice the sun shining on the marigolds and nasturtiums in their beds or the bougainvillea that arched across her porch. Even her adrenaline rush from catching a bad guy was squelched.
    Although she was reluctant to admit it, she was basically a nosy person who liked to know what was going on with the people around her. And having someone in her inner circle behaving unpredictably was particularly irksome for her.
    And a non-eating Dirk was as unpredictable and irksome as it got.
    She opened the front door, walked inside, and tossed her purse and keys onto a piecrust table in the foyer. And after placing her gun on an upper closet shelf and hanging up her jacket, she walked into the living room.
    Instantly, she was greeted by her entourage…more of her inner circle.
    Two enormous black cats bounded off the windowsills and began to twine themselves around her ankles, rubbing their faces against her legs and purring.
    â€œHi, Cleopatra, Diamante,” she said, stroking first one silky head and then the other. “Did you miss Momma?”
    â€œHi! How did it go?” asked a beautiful, young blonde woman who was sitting at a rolltop desk on the other side of the room. “Did you catch him? Did he try to run away? Hey, you’ve got mud on your slacks. Did you have to tackle him, take him down? Was it fun?”
    Savannah smiled at her—as always, just enjoying the pure, golden sunlight that was her friend and assistant, Tammy Hart.
    â€œYes, sweet pea,” she said, scooping Cleopatra into her arms and nuzzling her, “to all of the above.”
    Long ago, Savannah had made a conscious decision to stop being envious of Tammy’s youth, her effervescence, her svelte figure and teeny-weeny hiney. After all, having such a bundle of positive energy in her life was a blessing. Savannah knew that it was Tammy who kept her young and infused with boundless joy.
    The kid’s size-zero butt—the decision not to envy that took daily reaffirming.
    â€œAnything new?” Savannah asked, setting Cleo on the floor and picking up Diamante. “Any messages?”
    â€œJust your granny. Her plane left a couple of hours late. She’s due to arrive at seven fifteen.”
    â€œTarnation. I was hoping I could get her back here in time for supper.”
    Tammy looked confused. “But you can make it back from LAX by eight thirty or nine if traffic’s good.”
    â€œGran has supper at four thirty and is in bed, reading her Bible and her True Informer by seven.”
    â€œOh, right.” Tammy looked down at the mud on Savannah’s slacks. “Did Stumpy run very far before you caught him?”
    Savannah smiled as she set Di onto the floor beside her sister. “No, not far at all. His shorts were around his ankles. You can’t exactly make tracks very fast that way.”
    Tammy was amazed. “They fell down?”
    â€œWith a little help.” Savannah thought of Norbert Weyerhauser in all his glory and shuddered. “I think I’ll go take a long, hot bubble bath. You know…wash the ‘Stumpiness’ off me.”
    As Savannah headed up the stairs, it occurred to her that maybe she should do a bit of extra housecleaning before her grandmother arrived. But the sheets on the bed in the guestroom were