Dangerous Inheritance by Barbara Warren Read Free Book Online Page A

“All she wants is to learn the truth. I can’t see any harm in that. The way I see it, knowing the truth is always better than believing a lie.”
    “You go right on meddling if that’s what you’re determined to do, but don’t come running to me when you get in trouble. And if you help divide this town, you can forget about your job security. You got that?”
    “I got it.” Nick watched Sam stomp toward his car. Really ticked off. That wasn’t good. Maybe he should back off, forget about it, but his conscience wouldn’t let him. Even if the truth destroyed his memories of his father. He hoped it didn’t come to that, but from the way Sam was acting, Nick had a gut feeling there might be a surprise headed his way.

FIVE
    T he next morning, Macy unearthed a box of breakfast burritos from the bottom of the freezer and settled for one of those, washing it down with freshly made coffee, and then got ready for church.
    As she backed out of the driveway, she wondered if she’d see Nick. She straightened the car, irritated at the thought. Why would she care one way or another? After all, he was practically a stranger. Although, against her better judgment, she found herself thinking about him and depending on him much more than she should. She needed to back off where Nick Baldwin was concerned, not let him get in the way or distract her from her goal. Still she smiled, thinking it would be nice to see a familiar face.
    Macy found the church, a medium-size white stucco building. A tall steeple pointed toward the lacy clouds drifting over a bright blue sky. Inside, the sun glowed through stained-glass windows depicting scenes from the Bible. Macy walked the center aisle and took a seat about halfway down.
    Across the aisle from her an older woman with white hair and piercing hazel eyes smiled a welcome. Another woman, seated in front of Macy, whose face held enough wrinkles to belie the youthfulness of her bleached-blonde hair, turned and gave her a cold look before dismissing her with an audible sniff.
    All right. Not everyone would welcome her. Had she really expected them to? After all, she wasn’t here because she wanted to win friends and influence people. She was searching for information and she’d take what she could get, where she could find it, even if she had to fight for every morsel.
    Which wasn’t exactly the right attitude for attending church. Was she misusing a worship service for her own personal reasons? Maybe she needed to get her priorities straight.
    As she stood to leave after the closing hymn, a warning tingle rippled up her spine. The hair on her arms prickled as she felt an almost visible wave of hostility wash over her. Stunned, Macy grasped the back of the seat in front of her so tightly her knuckles whitened. Her eyes searched the congregation. No one seemed to be paying attention to her, and after a moment the sensation of being watched—of being hated—eased. She took a deep breath and released the back of the wooden pew.
    The blonde shoved past without a glance in her direction, but the older woman stopped to talk. “Macy? I’m Hilda Yates. I was a friend of your grandmother Lassiter.”
    Macy gripped her hand, grateful for any show of friendliness. “I’m so glad to meet you. I haven’t been in town very long, and I’m just starting to get acquainted.”
    People milled around, heading for the door, but Hilda ignored them, and Macy tried to do the same. But she couldn’t forget that someone had been staring at her earlier with a hatred so strong she actually sensed it.
    “Opal loved you very much.”
    Loved her? Seventeen years with no contact from the grandmother who supposedly loved her so much? She wasn’t that naive. “I’m sorry, but I never knew her.”
    Hilda’s expression changed in some subtle way. “That wasn’t your grandmother Lassiter’s fault. She tried but your grandmother Douglas blocked all her efforts.”
    A rush of heat flooded Macy’s face. She