Haunting Danielle 27 The Ghost and the Mountain Man Bobbi Holmes (best pdf ebook reader for android .TXT) 📖

Carla stood up, careful not to step in any glass, and said, “I’ll go get the broom and dustpan.”

Cory remained frozen; he hadn’t moved since dropping the glass.

“Are you okay?” Bill asked his nephew.

“Ahh… yeah… I think so,” Cory muttered.

Thirty

“What are you doing this afternoon?” Joe asked Kelly as she pulled into the parking lot of the Frederickport police station to drop him off for work. His shift started in fifteen minutes.

Kelly brought her car to a stop but did not turn off the engine. Hands still firmly on the steering wheel, she glanced to Joe. “I was thinking about stopping over at my brother’s. I need to talk to him about Heather.”

Joe groaned. “What are you going to do?”

Looking back out the windshield, her hands still clutching the steering wheel, Kelly said, “I don’t like the idea of Heather watching Connor. That woman’s crazy and has no business being around small children. Even if she wasn’t nuts, they don’t need her. They have me.”

“Kelly, it’s not like you’re always free to watch Connor. And after we get married, we’ll be starting our own family.”

Kelly frowned and turned back to Joe. “We will?”

“Won’t we? I thought you wanted kids,” Joe asked.

“Yes, I want kids. But the way you said that, starting our family, it sounded like we’d be having kids right away.”

“We aren’t getting any younger,” Joe reminded her.

Kelly arched her brows. “Are you calling me old?”

“I’m just saying I want kids and thought you did too, and when we get married, there is no reason to wait. So we should start right away. I’d like to have a big family.”

Kelly narrowed her eyes and studied Joe. “How big?”

Joe shrugged. “I don’t know. I figured once we got married, you would go off birth control, and we’d let nature take its course.”

Kelly continued to stare at Joe. Finally, she said, “I don’t want to talk about this now. You should go to work.”

Joe let out a sigh, unfastened his seatbelt, leaned over, and kissed Kelly. After the kiss, he got out of the vehicle and slammed the door shut.

Kelly watched as Joe walked away. Abruptly she rolled down her window and shouted at him, “Give me a number!”

Joe stopped walking and turned to Kelly. “Number?”

“How many kids do you want? Give me a number.”

Joe stared at Kelly a moment and then said, “Six?”

Kelly didn’t respond; instead she rolled up her window and sped out of the parking lot.

As she pulled out into the street, Brian drove up, returning from his early lunch with Walt. Instead of going into the station, Joe waited for Brian on the sidewalk.

“Kelly’s getting a little lead-footed there,” Brian said when he reached Joe. “What’s the hurry?”

Joe let out a sigh. “I’m a bad person, Brian.” Joe turned to the entrance of the police station and started walking in that direction, Brian trailing after him.

“What are you talking about?” Brian asked.

“I just told Kelly I want six kids.”

Brian came to a stop and stared at Joe. “You want six kids?”

Joe stopped walking and turned to Brian. With a frown, he said, “Oh hell no. Two at most.”

“Then why did you tell Kelly you wanted six? No wonder she stormed out of here. Are you trying to get her to break off your engagement?”

“No. I don’t want to break off the engagement. Do you think she’s going to think that?” Joe glanced briefly to where Kelly had just driven off. A moment later he turned and started for the front door of the police station.

“Why would you tell her you wanted six kids?” Brian asked as he followed Joe.

Joe shrugged. “I love Kelly, but sometimes she gets too involved with people. And I just figured she needs to focus on her own life and stop trying to meddle in other people’s lives.”

“Is this about her trying to play matchmaker for me?” Brian asked.

“That and other things,” Joe said, now at the front door. He reached out and grabbed hold of the door’s handle and pulled it open.

“Well, you give her six babies, and she sure as hell isn’t going to have time to worry about anyone else,” Brian said with a snicker.

Lily was cleaning the kitchen after lunch, while Ian was in the nursery changing Connor’s diaper, when Kelly rang the doorbell. Sadie reached the door before Lily, her tail wagging.

“Hi, Kelly,” Lily greeted her a few moments later. “Just putting stuff away from lunch. You hungry? I have some tuna left.”

“Thanks,” Kelly said as she closed the front door behind her and followed Lily into the kitchen while giving Sadie some hello pats. “I already ate. Where’s Ian?”

“Changing Connor’s diaper,” Lily said as she returned to the kitchen counter to put the bread back in the breadbox.

“I need to talk to you,” Kelly announced, taking a seat at the breakfast bar. She sat up primly, folding her hands before her on the counter while she watched her sister-in-law.

“Sure, what’s up?” Lily asked as she closed the bread box and turned to face Kelly.

“You can’t let Heather watch Connor anymore,” Kelly blurted.

Lily frowned. “I can’t?”

“It’s not safe.”

“Is this about what happened at the museum?” Lily asked.

“You know about that?”

“Ian told me what you told him. So I suppose I know. At least, what you told him.”

“Then you understand why you can’t let her watch him anymore,” Kelly said.

Lily let out a sigh. “I wasn’t at the museum, and neither were you. Heather can be a little—quirky. Truth is, she and I had some issues when she first moved to Frederickport. But I’ve gotten to know her better. I consider her a friend. And she loves Connor, and he adores her. He’s perfectly safe with Heather.”

“How can you say that?” Kelly asked, her voice getting higher in pitch. “The woman is clearly unstable and prone to violent outbursts. What happens when Connor does something that makes her mad, like spills a glass