stretched arm, her watch glinting in the sunlight. With her right hand she tapped the watch face.
“People! Deadlines!” When she spotted me, she smiled and said, “What do you think?”
Nothing about me being hunkered in the back of the pickup. Oh, no, nothing unusual about that.
But I supposed she had a lot on her mind.
“I think it’s beautiful,” I said. “You did a great job.”
Her cheeks reddened with the praise and she smiled like a proud new mother. “Thanks,” she said, then became all business again by turning and tapping her watch and saying,
“People! People! Amy Sandruzzi will be home in twenty minutes. That means you too, Kit.”
I didn’t think I had to worry about Deanna having a crush on Kit anymore. Not with that tone.
“You better go,” I said to him.
He tugged on BeBe’s leash and actually got her to heel.
128
Heather Webber
I caught his eye. “No more BeBe, Kit.”
A dark eyebrow slashed upward. “Or what?”
I supposed he was trying for menacing, but I knew him too well. And the whole eyebrow thing looked more comical than dangerous. I bit my lip, but the laugh came out.
“What?” he asked, a frown pulling his thin lips downward.
“ ‘Or else,’ ” I mocked.
His jaw set. “It’s the hair, isn’t it? No one takes me seriously with this fuzz on my head.”
“It doesn’t help,” I said, raising my hand to wipe away the tears from my eyes, but then stopped because I remembered BeBe’s slobber. I used the neck of my T-shirt instead.
Offended, Kit spun and sauntered away, BeBe trying her best to get back to me the whole time.
I glanced at my watch, saw that if I wanted to stop by Greta’s house, I needed to get going. Riley was expecting me to pick him up soon. I climbed out of the pickup bed, took one last look at the Sandruzzi yard. It was in good hands.
I felt like a proud mama.
I parked my truck in front of the Grabinsky house and sat there for a minute.
The more involved I became with this whole mess, the more I regretted ever signing on to do the job.
Right then and there I made a commandment to not be so nosy where Kevin’s first wife was concerned.
It was none of my business.
Now that it was a commandment, I’d have to stick to it. I’d yet to find a loophole where commandments were concerned.
Lindsey and Bill’s explanation of why they hired me made sense on the surface . . .
But every time I repeated it, I kind of had that feeling I got after eating a whole roll of cookie dough.
129
All queasy, nothing sitting well.
“I don’t buy it.”
There, I said it. I didn’t believe Lindsey and Bill. Not one bit. There’s just no way, neighborly love or not, that someone would dole out that kind of money—and I charged a lot—for a gift. Especially since I knew Bill and Russ didn’t get along all that well.
Murder made much more sense.
“Eee!” I screamed when someone knocked on my passenger window. Turning, I found Meredith Adams, HOA VP, staring at me, arms folded, severely plucked eyebrows arched, sadistic smile gleaming.
Gritting my teeth, I powered down the window, then rubbed the spot on the top of my leg where it hit on the steering wheel when I’d jumped.
Bulging eyes narrowed. “There is no loitering allowed in this neighborhood.”
“Did you have a horrible childhood?”
The smile faded. Her lips pursed as though she’d just tried some of Ana’s cooking. “Move along or I will be forced to call the authorities.”
I was sure she’d love that. The rebellious part of me wanted to sit here all day long. But I had things to do, Riley to pick up, and a date with Bobby tonight.
Bobby. Sigh.
“I will, you know.”
“What? Leave your poor eyebrows alone next time?”
