Blue Clouds by Patricia Rice Read Free Book Online Page A

“I swear, in high school, she had half the football team breathing down her neck, and you know what she did with them? Set them to decorating the gym for the prom. And she went to the dance with the class nerd.”
    â€œHe owns his own software company now,” Pippa offered with a shrug. “And except for the receding hairline, he’s quite handsome. He started working out in college while the football team filled up on beer and got paunchy. I’m not entirely stupid when it comes to men.”
    â€œIf you’re not stupid, why didn’t you marry him?” Meg demanded, pursuing one of her favorite topics.
    Pippa grinned and wiped the ketchup off her fingers with a paper napkin. “He didn’t ask me. He wasn’t stupid either.”
    Meg laughed but Lisa merely looked bored.
    â€œWell, I’ll leave you two to catch up on old times. If you do decide to accept Mr. Wyatt’s offer, Phillippa, I hope you’ll do everything in your power to make him see reason. If he’d only come into town and talk with us, we might make some progress around here.”
    Pippa smiled automatically and waved farewell. Like, sure, an ant could move a mountain. She’d do well to avoid being crushed by runaway boulders.
    As soon as Lisa departed, Meg’s expression changed to a worried frown. “I don’t like this, Pippa. If you must take the job, at least stay in town. With that much money, you could buy a car and rent an apartment.”
    Pippa couldn’t explain why she felt safer in a madman’s fortress than in the openness of her friend’s community. Billy had stolen something from her she couldn’t get back so readily—security.
    â€œI like it out there,” she answered carelessly, scraping up the last French fry. Both Meg and Lisa, in their California health- consciousness, had been appalled by her choice of meal. She hadn’t explained she’d needed the familiarity of comfort foods right now. Once she adapted to this odd new world, she’d learn their ways.
    Meg nodded slowly. “It’s hilly and reminds you of home, maybe. That’s why I was so glad I could see the mountains in the distance. But that’s not sufficient reason for risking your life.”
    Pippa grinned and considered the ice cream selection. “I doubt if I’m risking my life. If he hasn’t killed his insane driver by now, I’ll survive.”
    â€œDoug? Doug’s not insane. Frightening, maybe, but not insane. I think he was in the National Football League until his drinking interfered with his career. Don’t let Lisa scare you about Doug. He’s the most harmless person out there. If the shopkeepers are intimidated by him, it’s because he’s big and black. We grow bigots out here as well as anywhere.”
    Pippa instructed the waitress on the amount of fudge syrup and nuts she wanted on her mocha sundae, then returned her attention to Meg. “Black? Football player? That’s not the driver I met. Maybe Wyatt has killed someone, after all. The driver I met was a grinning dwarf maniac.”
    Meg sat back in her chair and relaxed, lifting her mineral water in salute. “Durwood lives, then. I’d wondered. He used to be our gardener, but he wouldn’t take a word of instruction. George would tell him to plant roses in the left corner of the backyard, and Durwood would line the driveway with them. I’d ask him to remove those horrible yuccas, and he’d stick them in between the roses and plant peppers in their place. Peppers! We could have supplied half the valley with them. I’m not certain he even speaks English.”
    A drunken football player, a maniac gardener, and a Nazi nanny. Quite a household, Pippa mused as she dug into her sundae. Could it be any worse than working with the administrative vultures at home? She’d certainly get paid more here, and have fewer bosses to work around. She