A Pour Way to Dye (Book 2 in the Soapmaking Mysteries) by Tim Myers Read Free Book Online

really
does belong to him?”
    “ It’s complicated,” Paulus
said. He slid a single under his plate, then grabbed the bill.
“Come on, we need to get back to Harper’s Landing.”
    “ That’s what I’ve been
saying all along,” I said.
    As he headed for the register up front, he
added, “We’re going to need some help dealing with this. Have you
called Kelly Sheer yet?”
    “ No, I wanted to talk to you
first,” I admitted.
    My grandfather snorted in disgust. “What are
waiting for, Ben? As soon as you drop me off at my car, give her a
call. You can’t waste another second. I’m afraid we’re going to
need her services on this one.”
    I was afraid of that too, given Paulus’s
serious demeanor.
    “ Kelly, we’ve got a
problem,” I said as soon as I dropped Paulus off at his car. I knew
I probably should have called Kate and Mom first about Paulus, but
I didn’t want to delay getting Kelly involved for another
second.
    “ Are you cancelling our
meeting at the Fair on the Square?” she asked. Was that hope in her
voice, or was it just my imagination? “It’s okay if you have to.
I’ll understand.”
    “ No, I wouldn’t miss that
for the world. I’m talking about the soap shop. I’m afraid we need
your legal expertise again.”
    “ What is it?” she
asked.
    I explained the fencing problem to her, and
after I was finished, she said, “Let me get one of my assistants to
research the title at the courthouse. I’ll let you know by five.
Listen Ben, I’ve got to go.”
    She hung up before I could even say good-bye.
Something was definitely up with Kelly. I had to wonder if her
daughter Annie was giving her a hard time about our date the next
day. She was just eleven and hopelessly in love with the idea that
her parents would someday get back together, and I didn’t fit into
her plans at all.
    I dialed the shop’s number, hoping that Mom
wouldn’t answer. No such luck.
    “ I found him,” I
said.
    “ Where was he, shacked up
with some trollop?” she asked. Man, was I ever glad I hadn’t called
in after meeting Lois and jumping to the wrong
conclusion.
    “ No, he’s looking into some
business opportunities.”
    “ Soap business?” my mother
asked coolly.
    “ No, actually it’s none of
our business at all,” I answered.
    She took that in, and I could tell she wanted
to dispute my response, but finally she said, “I’m assuming he’s
all right, so that’s what’s important. Did he shed any light on
Earnest Joy’s claim?”
    “ I couldn’t get much out of
him,” I admitted. “But he said we needed to call Kelly. I’m not at
all sure that means the news is good, are you?”
    Mom hesitated, then said, “Benjamin, I
honestly thought you would have called her first. Haven’t you at
least talked to her about the situation?”
    “ Of course I have,” I
protested, not admitting the exact time I’d called her. “She’s
looking into it.”
    “ And you need to as well,
Benjamin. This has to take priority over everything else. Don’t
worry; I’ll have Cindy teach your class this afternoon.”
    My youngest sibling had agreed only recently
to teach, but she had requested a few more training sessions under
my tutelage before she took over alone. I’d planned to help her
during my hand-milling class later that day, since it was a process
I loved to teach. “She can observe, but it’s my class,” I said.
    “ Son, I know how important
teaching is to you, but it’s vital you fix this fence problem
immediately.”
    I wasn’t about to back down. “I’ve got good
people on it, Mother. I’m teaching the class. As soon as I’m
finished, I’ll get right back to it, but this is important to me,
too.”
    Her sigh was clearly audible. “Fine, teach
away.”
    “ I will,” I said as I hung
up. I could have gotten Louisa or Kate to teach for me—they were
both good at it—but I enjoyed my classes, and I loved keeping my
hand in soap-making, even as an instructor. It wasn’t just