Diana Miller Fatal Trust (epub)

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.”Ben raised his eyebrows.“You’ve got a problem with puppies, bubble baths, and world peace? Those are Miss June’s favorite things.”Naturally he’d know.“I’ve got a problem pretending to be dumb enough to think a broken muffler could make a car crash.The apparent double-D requirement is also way beyond me.”“I didn’t say you had to be dumb, just not intellectual.” He winked.“As to the other, I’m willing to make allowances for blondes.Follow my truck.”# # #Ben drove his pickup down Main Street, Catherine’s rented Taurus trailing behind him, resisting the urge to floor it and try to lose her.Jesus, what had Grandfather gotten him into? From what little he’d said about his lawyer—and all he’d left unsaid—Ben had always pegged her as a clone of his ex-wife Olivia.But now that he was expected to work with her, he’d hoped he’d read between the wrong lines.No such luck.Catherine’s entrance into the garage had confirmed that, the way she’d tiptoed as if stepping on a year-old spot of oil would ruin her expensive shoes.And when it came to shooting condescending looks, Catherine had Olivia beat.He hadn’t realized he’d given her a once-over when he’d been trying to figure out whether she could carry off the girlfriend role, but at least he’d apologized.Not that she’d believed he’d meant it.She probably assumed a small-town mechanic like him spent his free time parked in his La-Z-Boy recliner in a room with deer and moose heads covering nearly every inch of wall space, chugging beer and watching reruns of the Miss Hooters pageant—at least when he wasn’t out killing yet another defenseless animal to add to his décor.Okay, so maybe he’d encouraged that impression, but her attitude had pissed him off.On the other hand, he could use her help.Ben’s gut twisted, and he gritted his teeth.This thing with Grandfather really sucked.Knowing his great-aunt or one of his cousins was responsible made it even harder to take.He owed Grandfather more than he could ever repay.He could put up with Catherine Barrington and this charade for a little while.CHAPTER 2Photographs of Nevermore didn’t do it justice.After driving eight hilly miles northwest from Lake Superior—the last two on a road cut through a thick forest of pines and birch trees—the massive house appeared, set on an island of grass in an ocean of trees.Built of rose-colored stone with enough gray overtones to eliminate any hint of warmth, it featured a black roof and trim, three circular towers, dozens of wrought iron stakes, and several gargoyles.Although it looked as if it had housed Nathaniel Hawthorne’s contemporaries, Max had built Nevermore himself more than forty years ago.He’d claimed the place had cost him a fortune—especially the ghosts he swore he’d bought to haunt it.After parking in the circular drive and popping the trunk, Catherine stepped out of her car.The relative silence, broken only by trees rustling and creaking in the slight breeze, provided an ominous sound track.She hugged herself against a chill that had little to do with a temperature at least ten degrees cooler than in Lakeview.“It looks like something out of a gothic novel,” she said.“It’s spooky even during the day.”“You should see it at night when the spotlights are on,” Ben said, referring to a half dozen lights scattered around the front lawn.“Grandfather claimed he had them installed to illuminate the driveway for late arrivals, but the way the light’s filtered, I guarantee his real motive was to make the place even eerier.” He walked over to the open trunk of Catherine’s car.“What are you doing?” she asked.“Getting your bags.” He grabbed the handle of her suitcase.“I can certainly carry my own bags.”“My girlfriend wouldn’t.”Catherine stepped away from the trunk.If he wanted to play Mr.Macho, fine.Her suitcase was so heavy she’d paid a surcharge at the airport.Ben pulled the bag out of the trunk without grunting, but immediately dropped it onto the ground and flexed and unflexed his fingers a couple of times.Then he reached back in for a stuffed garment bag.“How long are you planning on staying? Six months?”“Don’t tell me that’s all you need for two weeks,” Catherine said, her gaze on the navy gym bag slung over his shoulder.“I left some things here earlier,” he said.“If I need anything else, I can stop by my house, since I’ll be going into Lakeview every day to work.But everyone else will mostly stick around Nevermore, so you don’t have to worry about getting lonely.”“Whoopee.”Ben slipped the garment bag strap over his shoulder.“Your sarcasm is definitely warranted.”“What’s sarcasm?”He looked at her blankly.“What?”“I asked what sarcasm is,” Catherine said.“Don’t bother answering, because I’m just practicing.I assumed it was like ‘oxymoron,’ something one of your girlfriends wouldn’t understand.”“Actually, even though you don’t understand it, you shouldn’t care enough to ask the definition.”She almost smiled until his serious expression made her realize he wasn’t kidding.Ben closed the trunk, picked up her suitcase, and headed up the stone steps to the massive front door [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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