Barbecue and Bad News by Nancy Naigle Read Free Book Online

laughed. “I grew up here.”
    “And after living in Chicago, you still wanted to come back?” She knew what it was like to be a kid wanting to get out of a small town, but she’d never once looked back.
    “Actually, my mom got sick and I came back to take care of her, but I knew I was ready to come home. The city just wasn’t for me. Even under the stress of Mom being sick, I was happier here in Adams Grove than I’d been up there.” He eyed her carefully. “What do you do?”
    “You mean for work?”
    “Yeah. Evelyn is your boss. What do you do?”
    And just how was she supposed to answer that question without lying to the nice man? “I’m a writer.”
    “Well, then this just might be my lucky day. One of my clients owns the local newspaper. As luck would have it, the woman that covers the police blotter down at the paper, her grandniece, Anna, just went into labor. Early. Bee had to drop everything to get there. She’s a dear friend of the family. They could sure use your help. Won’t pay much. Paper goes out twice a week these days, so it won’t take too long either. It would be a huge help if you could cover it while you’re here.”
    Now what on God’s green earth would make him think any old writer could do a police blotter? For all he knew she could write advertising copy, or personal ads. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea. You know that my boss is the one paying for my stay. I’d have to clear it with my editor. Besides, I’ll only be here for a week—”
    “Any help you could give would be appreciated. It’ll ease the burden that she has to get right back home. At her age, she’s too old to be missing out on important family events. Consider it a good deed. They’re really good people. Jack and his sister have kept that paper going on a shoestring just to stay in business. They’re a cornerstone of this community.”
    How could she say no to that?
    He must’ve sensed her hesitation because he kept rambling on, selling her, as it were. “It’s interesting. The police blotter stuff. You’ll see all the cases come through . . .”
    Well, now that he put it that way, it could potentially work to her benefit. The police blotter? Seriously? It would help with the stories that Evelyn wanted her to write. It would be like getting paid to do research. And it was only for a week. She knew Evelyn wouldn’t care. It wasn’t like this little paper was any competition for GINN.
    She leveled a stare into Connor’s pleading blue eyes. All she really wanted was to chill out. She needed the break, and she needed to figure out what the heck she was going to do if Evelyn didn’t make good on her promise to take her off the Advice from Van column.
    “And it won’t take long,” he said.
    “Fine. I’ll do it. How much time could it take? Besides, how could I say no without sounding like an awful and uncaring person?”
    “My thoughts exactly,” Connor said.
    “Like I said, I’ll have to clear it with my editor, but I don’t think it will be a problem.”
    “Excellent. I’ll let them know you’ll stop by and chat with him first thing Monday morning. That work for you?” His eyes twinkled with satisfaction.
    He was probably a pretty good lawyer, because she’d just agreed to do something she’d had no intention of doing just moments ago. How had that happened? “Fine. Who do I talk to?”
    “Jack over at the County Gazette . Thanks for doing this. You really have no idea how big of a help it is.”
    “Good timing, I guess.” And she really did kind of look forward to seeing how the small-town paper worked. It would be interesting to compare it to the huge conglomerate of GetItNowNews.
    Connor moved toward the door. “Let me show you around, and then I’ll show you the apartment. I’ve got the key right here.”
    “Sounds like a plan.”
    “Follow me.” He led her through the old bank building’s main floor. The wooden teller stations still spanned the front room, and the