About That Man by Sherryl Woods Read Free Book Online

grumbled.
    â€œHe never does,” Bobby agreed. “Steak always comes with a price. Daddy inevitably has something up his sleeve.”
    King scowled at the pair of them. “Don’t smart-mouth me. Your sister’s in trouble and I want to know what you’re going to do to fix it.”
    â€œLast I heard, Daisy was a grown woman who knew her own mind,” Bobby said. “What’s she done that’s so all-fired wrong? She saw a kid who needed someone and she took him in. Isn’t that what you’ve always taught us? That we have an obligation to look out for other people?” He lowered his voice and intoned, “‘Spencers do their duty for the less fortunate.’”
    King frowned at the mockery, but decided to ignore it. “Not when she’s going to wind up getting her heart broken,” he countered.
    â€œI’ve warned her,” Tucker said. “She says she knows what she’s doing.”
    â€œAnd Anna-Louise has warned her, too,” Bobbypointed out, then grinned at his brother’s startled expression. “Daddy’s covering all the bases. I gather we’re the second string, which must mean Anna-Louise struck out.”
    The truth was, Anna-Louise hadn’t reported back to him yet, which galled King no end. He’d deal with her later. In the meantime, he needed someone else on the case.
    â€œSomebody’s got to look out for your sister.” He scowled at Tucker. “I don’t know why you didn’t take that boy out of there when you had the chance.”
    â€œYou wanted me to arrest him?”
    â€œHe was stealing her jewelry, wasn’t he? You told me that yourself.”
    â€œHe tried. He didn’t succeed. I doubt Daisy would have approved of my slapping handcuffs on him and hauling him off to jail. She’d have demanded to be in the cell right next to him, and she’d have had Anna-Louise’s husband down there snapping pictures for next week’s front page.”
    King didn’t doubt it. Richard Walton was a troublemaker, and a Yankee to boot. Actually, he was from Virginia, but he’d worked for one of the Washington papers, which was just as bad as being a Yankee by birth. Tucker was right. Walton would have stirred up a ruckus.
    â€œBesides,” Bobby said. “I don’t think we’re going to have to do anything. I hear Frances found the boy’s uncle. He’s due here today.”
    â€œThey’re over at the Inn as we speak. I saw Frances’s car there when I left the courthouse to come on out here,” Tucker added.
    â€œThis uncle, is he taking Tommy with him?” King asked, feeling hopeful for the first time in days.
    â€œNo word on that,” Bobby admitted.
    â€œWell, why the heck wouldn’t he?” King demanded. “The boy’s his responsibility. Dammit, Frances isn’t going soft, is she? Do I need to call and tell her how to do her job?”
    â€œI’d like to see you try,” Tucker muttered.
    â€œI heard that,” King said, scowling at his oldest son. “The day hasn’t come when I can’t take on the likes of Frances Jackson. One word to the Board of Supervisors and she’d be out on her tush.”
    â€œI think you’re underestimating the respect people around here have for her,” Tucker said. “And don’t forget, her ancestors are every bit as blue-blooded as ours.”
    King chafed at the reminder. It was a fact Frances liked to throw in his face every year when Founders’ Day rolled around. In fact, the blasted woman prided herself on being a thorn in his side. She had been ever since grade school, when she’d publicly trounced him in a spelling bee. His daddy had never let him forget that he’d been beaten by a girl.
    â€œI don’t want to talk about Frances,” King grumbled.
    His sons exchanged amused glances. The spelling bee incident was one of their