Mother Knows Best (A Margie Peterson Mystery) (37 page)
Read Mother Knows Best (A Margie Peterson Mystery) Online
Authors: Karen MacInerney
A lanky man in jeans and a button-down shirt was unfolding himself from the front seat of the truck as I opened the back gate. Chuck surged ahead of me, barking and growling, then slinking to my ankle when I shushed him with a sharp word.
“Can I help you?” I asked the man. He was in his midforties, with work-worn boots and the roughened skin of a man who’d spent most of his life outdoors.
“You Lucy Resnick?” he asked.
“I am,” I said, putting down the bucket. Chuck growled again and put himself between us.
“Butch Simmons, Lone Star Exploration,” the man said, squinting at me.
“Nice to meet you,” I said, extending a hand. Chuck yipped, and I apologized.
“Good doggie,” the man said, reaching down to let the poodle sniff him. Usually, that was all the little dog needed to become comfortable, but something about the man upset him. He growled, backing away.
“I don’t know what’s gotten into him,” I said, scooping him up in my arms. “Can I help you with something?” I asked again, holding the squirming poodle tight.
“Mind if I take a few pictures? We’re surveying the property before we start the exploration process.”
“Exploration process?” I asked.
“Didn’t anyone tell you?”
“Tell me what?”
He turned his head and spit out a wad of snuff. I wrinkled my nose, revolted by the glob of brown goo on the caliche driveway. “We’re drillin’ for oil.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Photo © 2008 Kenneth Gall
Karen MacInerney is the housework-impaired author of fourteen books, including the Gray Whale Inn series, the Urban Werewolf trilogy, the Dewberry Farm Mysteries, and the Margie Peterson Mysteries. She lives in Austin, Texas, with two children, her husband, and a menagerie of animals.
For more information, visit
www.karenmacinerney.com
.
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