Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 76205 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 381(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 254(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76205 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 381(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 254(@300wpm)
Patty nodded. “Sure. Is that okay with you, Ennis?”
“Yeah, of course, love,” I said. “This beef is fantastic. Even better than at your wedding.”
“It’s filet,” Daphne said, “and Belinda broils it to perfection.”
“It’s truly amazing,” Lucy, Daphne’s mother, agreed. “I wish we could get this kind of beef in Denver.”
“I’ll send a full cooler home with you,” Daphne said. “And we’ll send you as much as you want after that.”
“My daughter, the beef queen!” Lucy laughed.
“Mistress of Steel Acres!” Patty raised her wineglass. “Did you ever think, Daph, when we met last fall, that you’d be here, with a gorgeous little boy, less than a year later?”
“God, no,” Daphne said, “but I wouldn’t change a thing.”
“You’re so lucky,” Patty gushed, tossing her fiery red hair over her shoulders.
God, she was beautiful. Already I’d fallen hard. But she might still be hung up on Sean Murphy…even though he was no competition at this point, having died at Brad and Daphne’s wedding.
Daphne jerked when the doorbell rang.
“I’ll get it!” Belinda called.
A few minutes passed as we all continued eating.
“Telegram for you, Miss Daphne.” Belinda strode in and handed Daphne a yellow envelope.
“A telegram?” Mazie, Brad’s mother, shook her head. “Do people still send telegrams?”
“My parents got one when I was a kid,” Lucy said. “That’s the last I remember.”
Daphne held the yellow envelope from Western Union. “It’s already open.”
“I thought they stopped sending these a few years ago,” Belinda said.
“Who delivered it?” Daphne asked.
“Just a kid. I didn’t recognize him.”
“Was he wearing anything that said Western Union on it?” Mazie asked.
“No. He looked about sixteen or so.”
Daphne pulled out a folded piece of paper. It was plain white.
“It should be yellow,” Lucy said, “to match the envelope.”
“You’re right, Lucy,” Mazie agreed. “I don’t think that’s a telegram at all. It’s a message using an old Western Union envelope.”
Daphne unfolded the paper.
Her face went pale, and her lips trembled. My heart nearly stopped. What did that paper say?
“Daphne, you’re white as a sheet,” Lucy said. “What is it?”
Her hands shook.
“Daphne?” Lucy said again.
“What is it, dear?” Mazie that time.
Finally, Patty grabbed the paper from her hand. She glanced at it, and her mouth dropped open. “Who sent this?” she finally said.
Daphne didn’t answer.
“What’s it say?” I asked, my skin going cold.
Patty handed it to me, and my flesh went colder.
Keep that baby close. Wouldn’t want anything to happen to him.
BRIANNA
I gulp. “Uncle Joe?”
Ennis nods. “That should have been my first clue to keep my eye on Patty and Daphne. Obviously your uncle was never harmed, but he was just an infant. Anyone who would threaten an infant…”
I feel sick. How much more has my family kept from all of us? Or do they even know this story?
“We were supposed to go back to Brad and Daphne’s place for dinner the next night,” Ennis goes on, “but that never happened.”
ENNIS
I wasn’t sure I should bother Daphne after the frightening message she received the previous evening, but I was getting worried. We were supposed to go back to Brad and Daphne’s for dinner, but Patty had gone out shopping, and she hadn’t returned yet. The last thing I wanted to do was worry Daphne further, but she was expecting us.
I dialed her and forced myself to sound cheerful. “Hey, love. Patty’s not back from shopping yet, so we may be late for dinner.”
“Wow. Is it dinnertime already?” she asked.
“We’re due at your place in a half hour, which means we need to leave now. She took off after lunch to shop.”
“Snow Creek isn’t that big.”
That thought had also crossed my mind. Snow Creek is tiny. How much shopping was there to do? An antique place, an old-style five-and-dime, a tattoo parlor, a vintage clothing store, a dress shop, and a shoe store. Patty could browse for hours, but this was getting ridiculous.
And given Sean Murphy’s recent demise and the eerie threat against baby Joe last night… Something was clawing at the back of my neck.
And I didn’t like it.
Again I forced cheer into my voice. “You know Patty. She’s got the shopping bug. I expected her back at the hotel by now.”
“I’ll tell Belinda you might be a little late,” she said. “Let me know when you’re on your way.”
“Will do. Thanks for understanding.”
“Patty dragged me out shopping a couple of days after I first met her. She’s a born shopper. See you soon.”
Time passed slowly. I watched the clock on our hotel room nightstand flip each minute. I paced the small room until I was certain I’d worn out the carpeting. A half hour passed. Then an hour.
I called Daphne again, and this time I couldn’t force cheer into my voice.
“She’s still not back, love. I’m going out to look for her.”
“Ennis, you don’t know the town. Let me come help you.”
“No!” I nearly shout. “You stay with the baby. If something happened to him, I’d never forgive myself. Please.”