Hearts at Home by Lori Copeland Read Free Book Online

while, given that Captain Stroble’s on vacation. We’ll probably have to send Olympia back to the morgue until the machine can be brought over.”
    Annie clapped her hand over her mouth, mortified by the thought of her aunt lying in a refrigerated drawer while they tried to track down a backhoe to break through the frozen ground. Olympia would roll over in her grave . . . if they ever managed to get her into one.
    â€œAunt Olympia, as you know, was very . . . refined.” Annie gave the doctor a careful smile, certain he could read between the lines. “She would want everything to be handled in just the right way. The right flowers, the right music, the perfect mix of ceremony and sentiment—”
    â€œShe wrote a letter with her wishes, and left it with her will.” Caleb scratched his head. “Seems to me she wanted the boys’ choir from that Episcopal church in Wells to sing at her funeral.”
    â€œWhatever she wanted, we’ll have to get.” Annie lifted her chin, determined to take charge of the ceremony and her own emotions. “We’ll announce her passing tomorrow at church, and then—”
    She clutched at the doctor’s arm as a sudden thought struck her. “Good grief, Dr. Marc, could my tomatoes have killed her? You said they made her sick, and that happened only a couple of weeks ago. If they weakened her immune system or something—”
    â€œAnnie.” The doctor placed his hand over hers. “Don’t do this. It’s normal to blame ourselves when something like this happens, but none of this was your fault. Olympia had a history of high blood pressure and elevated cholesterol. I’m almost certain an autopsy would show that her heart simply gave out. It was her time.”
    â€œThe Lord called her.” A smile lit Caleb’s face as he crossed his arms. “She was happy to go home. You should have seen her face when she knelt before the throne.”
    Annie frowned. The old butler had to be delirious with grief. The bond between him and Olympia had been deep and strong.
    â€œYou go on to bed now.” Dr. Marc spoke in a firm and final voice. “Caleb and I will take care of Olympia tonight. You need to get your rest.”
    Nodding slowly, Annie pulled her hand free of Dr. Marc’s grasp, then stood and walked toward the door, patting Caleb’s shoulder as she passed.
    The men were probably right in saying she shouldn’t feel guilty. But if she’d gone up to bed with Olympia, or if she’d flown upstairs when she heard that thump—would Olympia be alive now?
    â€œThank you,” she called, turning to glance at the two men in her aunt’s bedroom. “Thank you for . . . everything.”
    She pressed her lips together to stifle a sob, then moved toward her old bedroom, knowing she wouldn’t sleep.

Chapter Two
    Y awning, Edith Wickam shuffled to the kitchen stove in her housecoat and slippers. The plastic thermometer affixed to the outside of the kitchen window registered a relatively pleasant eighteen degrees, but temperatures would probably reach the low thirties by afternoon. They’d have a nice day for church services once the sun came up.
    Sounds of Winslow’s gargling trickled from the newly remodeled bathroom, followed by the soft hum of an electric Gillette.
    Ambling from the stove to the refrigerator for butter and cream, Edith set Jimmy Dean sausage to sizzling in a skillet, then dropped a couple of frozen waffles into the toaster. She slid the pitcher of maple syrup into the microwave and punched a minute and thirty seconds, then tightened the rope sash on her housecoat as the oven hummed.
    Goodness—why wasn’t her robe closing? A full half inch of her nightgown peeked from beneath the edges of her robe—a half inch of nightgown she had never noticed before. Had her robe decided to shrink after five years? Didn’t seem likely, but still. . .