Too Dead To Dance (24 page)

“If you think that’s
something, try messing with my kids,” I said.

“Apology accepted?” He
asked.

“Apology accepted,” I
replied.

By now we were almost
nose-to-nose. We were both smiling and I think my grin was probably
as silly as his was.

Jerry started up the truck
and eased out of the parking place. We crossed the river and headed
across town to my townhouse.

“I’ll pick you up about
eight, okay?” Jerry asked.

“Tonight?” I quickly
computed how long I had to get ready.

“Yes, tonight. Do you have
another date?”

“No. No. Of course not.
Eight is fine. I’ll be ready.” I hope that was true. What was I
going to wear? Did I have time to go shopping? It was three
o’clock, no time to shop. I needed a facial.

I looked out the window
just in time to see my favorite house, the Queen Anne with the
whipped cream trim. “Stop!” I yelled, grabbing Decker’s arm. He hit
the brakes and we both careened forward.

“What?” He
yelled.

“Look at that house,” I
said.

“What about it? Is it on
fire or something?”

“No, not the big yellow
house. The little blue one next to it.”

“Yeah, what about it? I
looks just like the big house only smaller.”

“Yes. It’s perfect. And
it’s for sale,” I said, pointing to a River Valley Realtors sign in
the front yard.

“Okay.” Decker said,
shaking his head and motioning with his hand that I should say
more.

“I’ve been thinking about
moving out of the townhouse I live in. I need a place of my own. A
real house, one with character. I think I may have found it.” I dug
in my purse for my cell phone and punched in the number on the
sign.

The lovely little cottage
was almost unnoticeable next to the huge Victorian, partly because
it had been painted a dull slate blue. That was easily fixed. It
looked like it was in good condition, even the roof looked
new.

I called Megan on her cell
and told her about the little house I had discovered.

“I’ll check it out,
Jennifer and get back to you. We should be able to see it tomorrow.
It’s not my listing so I want to check out what the asking price is
and find out anything else that might be helpful.”

I turned to Decker. “Do you
like to paint?”

“No, but I could learn to
like it.” He picked up my hand and stroked it softly.

“Let’s go peek in the
windows. I can’t wait to see the inside.”

“Hey, I’m a cop. Do you
want to get arrested as a peeping Tom?”

“Don’t be silly,” I chided.
“No one’s living there. We can sneak a quick look.”

I jumped out of the truck
and Decker followed. I grabbed his hand and pulled him along behind
me as I went from window to window all around the house.

The rooms were small, but
not tiny. We peeked into each of the many windows. The turret
provided the bedroom with a cozy niche, perfect for a comfy reading
chair. There was even a one-car garage behind the house. It used
the same driveway as the bigger house next door.

When we reached the back of
the house, Jerry grabbed me up into his arms. He leaned down and
brushed his lips across mine, then lingered there for a long soft
kiss.

When we finally broke away,
I felt dizzy. Then I peeked in a back window and saw a dining area
at the back of the living room.

“Oh, my sideboard would fit
in there. And there’s room for the mirror, too.”

“What’s a sideboard?” Jerry
asked.

“It’s a beautiful piece of
furniture that I’m going to put a down payment on
tomorrow.”

“That’s nice,” he said,
putting his arm around me. “You do that.” He nuzzled his lips
against the back of my neck.

When Jerry finally pulled
into my driveway, he asked, “Where would you like to go for dinner
tonight?”

I looked into his gorgeous
brown eyes and said, “Do you like Surf and Turf?”

MEGAN”S FAST AND
EASY

ESPRESSO BROWNIES

Megan isn’t exactly the
domestic type. But she likes to putz around the kitchen. Try this
somewhat homemade recipe and see for yourself.

Start with your favorite
Brownie mix. Follow the instructions on package, substituting ¼ cup
of espresso instead of the water.

After pouring brownie mix
into the pan, sprinkle 2 - 3 Tbsp. crushed espresso beans over the
top. Megan says you don’t have to buy a whole package of espresso
beans. She uses chocolate covered espresso beans.

Bake as indicated on the
package.

Frosting.

Use ½ can of your favorite
cake of frosting. Add a shot of coffee liqueur and mix. Spread over
cooled brownies.

TRUDY’S DOILY PATTERN

Size
: 8 ½” diameter.

Materials
: Yarn Needle; Size 10 Crochet Cotton, 75 yds.

Crochet Hook: Size Steel #4
(2.00 mm) or size needed to obtain gauge.

Gauge: Rnd 1 = 1”
across.

Abbreviations

Rnd 1
: Ch 8, sl st in first ch to form ring; ch 3 (counts as first
dc now and throughout), 23 dc in ring; join with sl st to first dc.
(24 dc)

Rnd 2
: Ch 6 (counts as dc, ch 3), (skip next st, dc in next st, ch
3) around; join with sl st to first dc. (12 dc)

Rnd 3
: Ch 3, (5 dc in ch-3 sp, dc in next dc) around; join with sl
st to first dc. (72 dc)

Rnd 4
: Ch 3, 2 dc in same st as joining, (ch 5, skip 5 dc, 3 dc in
next 3 dc) around; join with sl st to first dc. (36 dc)

Rnd 5
: (Sl st, ch 1, sc) in next dc, (9 dc in next ch-5 sp, skip
next dc, sc in next dc) around; join with sl st to first sc. (108
dc)

Rnd 6
: Ch 6, (skip 2 sts, dc in next st, ch 3) around; join with sl
st to first dc. (40 dc)

Rnd 7
: Sl st in next ch-3 sp, ch 3, 4 dc in same sp, (ch 3, skip
ch-3 sp, 5 dc in next ch-3 sp) around, ch 3; join with sl st to
first dc. (100 dc)

Rnd 8
: Sl st in next dc, (sl st, ch 3, 2 dc) in next dc, (ch 6, 3
dc in center dc of next 5-dc group) around, ch 6; join with sl st
to first dc. (60 dc)

Rnd 9
: (Sl st, ch 1, sc) in next dc, (11 dc in ch-6 sp, sc in
center dc of next 3-dc group) around; join with sl st to first sc.
(220 dc)

Rnd 10
: Rep Rnd 6. (80 dc) Finish off and weave in ends.

Pattern courtesy of Maggie
Weldon.

Maggie’s Crochet
www.MaggiesCrochet.com

PO Box 2227 Kernersville,
NC 27285,

Toll Free (US Orders Only):
1-888-454-2101 / Outside US: 1-336-992-0054

D
iane Morlan
was born in
Aurora, Illinois in 1943. Diane likes to brag that she has had a
library card since she was in Kindergarten. When she was fifteen
years old, her family moved to Minneapolis. Since then she has
considered both Illinois and Minnesota her home state. In 1977,
Diane earned a B.A. in Social Work at Minnesota State University
Moorhead. After working in that field for eight years, she returned
to graduate school at the University of Minnesota where she earned
an MSW. She worked as a psychotherapist at a community mental
health center and a clinical social worker at a psychiatric
hospital. Diane has also managed a group home for developmentally
disabled adults. Moving away from the seriousness of social work,
Diane worked for more than ten years managing a group of
saleswomen, selling lingerie at home parties.

Like many people, Diane's
dream was to write a novel someday. Currently she is semi-retired,
works part-time at Kishwaukee College Library, and lives in
Sycamore, IL. In 2007, Diane took a creative writing fiction
course. One of the stories produced for that class won second prize
and was published in the 2008
Kameilian
Literary and Arts
Magazine.

Diane has three children
and six grandchildren. When not writing, she enjoys crocheting and
visiting her friends in Minnesota. TOO DEAD TO DANCE is her first
novel.

Please visit Diane’s
website,
www.DianeMorlan.com
, for
news and information on Jennifer Penny mysteries. Become a Facebook
fan of Diane Morlan, Author
.

www.cozycatpress.com