Amazing Gracie by Sherryl Woods Read Free Book Online Page B

hunch, though, that any actual deal would be a very long time coming. Aunt Delia was especially fond of fireworks, especially of the human variety.
    “She didn’t back down when you said no, did she?” his aunt pointed out.
    “True. She said she’d be back.”
    “Good. Next time, I want to meet her.”
    The very thought of such a meeting sent a chill through him. He shook his head. “I don’t think so.”
    “Why on earth not? It is my house she wants to buy, isn’t it?”
    “And we both know you’d give it away if you took a shine to the potential buyer. I won’t have you being cheated. If the time comes when you’ve given the matter some thought and you decide you want to sell, I’ll handle the negotiations.”
    “Then keep the lines of communication open with Gracie MacDougal. Something tells me she’ll pay top dollar,” she said, regarding him with a canny look. “If that’s all you’re interested in.”
    “We’ll talk about it when you’ve thought it over,” he repeated. “In the meantime, you stay the heck away from Ms. MacDougal.”
    She shook her head. “I don’t know, getting to know a stranger might relieve some of the boredom around here.”
    His aunt went to more luncheons and tea parties than the Queen of England, but Kevin played along.

    “I already told you I’d take you to the off-track betting place tomorrow,” he reminded her. “We’ll have lunch, watch a few races. You can throw some of your savings down the tube.”
    “Yes, and that will be real nice, but there’s a movie I’ve been wanting to see, too,” she mentioned oh-so-casually. “It’s playing in Fredericksburg.”
    For pure sneakiness, Aunt Delia could put the Daniels side of the family to shame. “And you think these two outings will relieve the tedium?” he asked.
    “It’ll be a start.”
    “Okay. What movie?” Kevin asked suspiciously. “Not another of those violent, blood and gore things. The last one had no plot.”
    “Of course it had a plot. It also had that hunky Jean-Claude van Damme in it. That alone was worth the price of admission.”
    Kevin sighed at the thought of his aunt having fantasies about an action-movie superstar. “I worry about you, you know that.”
    “Why? Just because I can appreciate a hunk when I see one?” She regarded him with another of those sly looks. “Bet that Gracie MacDougal can, too. I saw her looking at you, you know. Little wonder, given the way you dress.”
    Since they’d had the discussion about the way he dressed about a hundred times, he seized on her revelation about Gracie MacDougal.
    “She was checking me out?”
    “Ogling you, in fact. You let her catch another glimpse or two, you can probably drive up her offer on that house by another fifty thousand.”
    Kevin stared at her, astounded by her suggestion.“Why don’t I just sleep with her?” he grumbled. “Maybe then she’d fork over another hundred thousand.”
    Despite his facetious tone, Aunt Delia took him seriously. “Nope, I think building anticipation is a better approach. You’ll have her so muddle-headed, she won’t know what she’s doing. Once you’ve gone to bed with a person, nothing much is left to the imagination.”
    Kevin thought of Gracie MacDougal’s singleminded negotiations earlier. “I think you may be underestimating her, Aunt Delia. I doubt she’s distracted easily. She’s a tough cookie.”
    She feigned shock. “Don’t tell me you’re scared of her.”
    “Scared? Who said anything about being scared?”
    “Well, then, don’t let any grass grow under your feet. Get busy and reel her in, boy.”
    Kevin had a feeling they weren’t talking entirely about a real estate transaction now. “I’ll see Gracie MacDougal again in my own good time. In the meantime, you do some serious thinking about whether you’re really ready to sell that house to her or anybody else. We’ve had other offers in the past and you haven’t been interested. In fact, you chased