Energized by Mary Behre Read Free Book Online Page B

house had been torn down. It was now a parking lot for a restaurant.
    Hannah stared at the old, two-story, Victorian-style building and something tickled her memory. Laughter and toy dolls at a tea party on a rickety porch came and went quickly like a dream.
    There was nothing decrepit about this building. It had clearly been part of the city revitalization project, along with every other building on the street, save the church. Only the church had remained ageless.
    The restaurant’s mauve walls and dark blue shutters gave it a charming old-world appearance. The front porch was freshly painted with sturdy steps that led to the grassy front yard. At the edge of the short yard, someone had hung a large wooden sign with an orange tabby cat wearing only gloves and boxing with its shadow.
    Now that had definitely
not
been there all those years ago.
    Hannah couldn’t suppress a grin at the whimsical feline drawing. It was a sign to keep fighting. Keep going. Exactly what she needed.
    A breeze kicked up, carrying with it the salty scent of ocean on the Tidewater air.
    Man, you really can smell the salt in the air, even five miles from the beach.
    The wind also carried the delicious smells of cilantro, bacon, and oregano carried from the restaurant’s open window. Her stomach rumbled. Okay, maybe she needed a bit of food too.
    A tall blond man wearing a garishly bright Hawaiian shirt plopped a Help Wanted sign in the front window of the Boxing Cat.
    Hannah couldn’t stifle the grin. Another sign that her trip to Tidewater was destined. They needed help and she needed a job for the summer.
    Perfect. Absolutely perfect.
    â€œMomma,” she whispered into the wind, “I’m home.”

CHAPTER 4

    â€œY OUR AURA IS off. Did you have another fight with your brother?”
    Hannah sat at the bistro table near the window, toying with the business card of the private detective. She wasn’t trying to eavesdrop on the pretty waitress and the man who had posted the Help Wanted sign. Not that she could help it. At three thirty in the afternoon, the place was virtually empty.
    Hannah had walked in as eight people, in boring business suits, shuffled out. Only four other people were in there and they sat around the corner in the next room. An empty place wasn’t uncommon in Fincastle, but in a city the size of Tidewater with more than a million residents, it seemed strange.
    So why weren’t more people here? The food was excellent as was the décor.
    Whoever had thought to use a Victorian-style house as a restaurant had been a genius. Instead of one large room, the first floor of the building was sectioned off into four eating areas and a kitchen. Glass French doors separated the rooms,making it simple to see all of the customers while still offering a bit of privacy.
    The Boxing Cat was as charming inside as it had been outside. Tiny bistro tables draped in antique-style lace tablecloths lined the front windows. The dishes and the cutlery were mismatched. The hodgepodge of pieces appeared intentional and added an old-world feel to the place. Against one of the Nantucket blue walls was a large hutch.
    The waitress, with caramel-colored skin, a short cap of curly black hair, and light brown eyes, hitched up her hip and half-stood, half-sat on a lower shelf. The blond man, who looked close to Hannah’s age, leaned on the hutch next to her. Neither paid her any attention.
    â€œYou know my brother. He’s always got a stick up his ass about something when it comes to me,” the man said. The smile on his lips didn’t quite reach his pale green eyes. “It’s nothing. You know I’m really grateful that you got us the catering job, right?” He folded his arms and pressed his thumb against his bottom lip as if contemplating what to say next.
    The woman arched one black brow. “Mm-hmm.”
    â€œYou were right about the bride too. She left a message. She’s added more