Kilt Dead by Kaitlyn Dunnett Read Free Book Online

the family business for full-time custom furnituremaking, his father’s was to retire from Ruskin Construction
and run The Spruces. Forty years ago, as a young man,
Joe Ruskin had worked at the hotel and fallen in love with
the place.
    Finished with one drawer, Dan put it aside to dry and
reached for the second. He inhaled the familiar, calming
smells of his workshop. Underlying the sawdust, the linseed oil, and the turpentine was the cedar with which he’d
paneled the walls.
    “I’m worried about my mother, Dan,” Ned said.
“What say you get your old man to let her out of the partnership?”
    “That’s between the two of them,” Dan told him. “Last
I heard, Margaret was enthusiastic about being part of the
rebirth of Moosetookalook.”
    “She’s getting on in years. She doesn’t always know
what’s best for her”
    Dan snorted. “Margaret hasn’t even hit sixty yet. She’s
a long way from being too senile to manage her own affairs.”
    “I’m not so sure about that. Why do you think she
jumped at the chance to have all her expenses paid on a
trip to Scotland? She couldn’t afford the annual buying
trip on her own this year. The hotel is a big draw on her
cash reserves”
    Leaving less for you to wheedle out of her, Dan
thought in disgust. “Give it up, Ned. I’m not sticking my
nose in.”
    This time he succeeded in ignoring his unwelcome
visitor until the other man went away. Dan put Ned out of
his mind, but he wasn’t as successful at forgetting Ned’s cousin. He’d been thinking about Liss MacCrimmon, on
and off, ever since he’d seen her get out of her car the previous day.

    She was putting in long hours at the fairgrounds. She’d
be tired when she got home. A good neighbor would do
something about that. Pizza, he decided. That was nice
and casual and easy to come by. Louie Graziano’s tiny
restaurant was just a block away and he delivered.
    That settled, Dan went back to work. From about sixthirty on, he’d keep an eye out for Liss’s car. As soon as
she returned, he’d go over and offer to treat her to takeout.
    By the time Liss closed the booth at six, she was glad
to see the day end. It had been exhilarating, but she was
ready for a break.
    With Sherri’s help, she unrolled the sides of the
awning to form a tent, tying them together and anchoring
them to the ground. It was only after she’d sent Sherri
home that she realized that wasn’t enough protection. Although the canvas would keep rain out, it wouldn’t be
much of a deterrent to theft. Security guards patrolled the
grounds at night, but they couldn’t keep an eye on everything. Reluctant to take chances with Aunt Margaret’s
merchandise, Liss packed up the more valuable items and
loaded them into her car to take back to Moosetookalook.
    The thunderstorm that had been threatening all day hit
when she was halfway home, forcing her to pull over to
the side of the road and wait it out. With all the delays, it
was nearly nightfall when she pulled up in front of the
shop.
    Liss slung the strap of her shoulder bag across her chest
for ease of carrying, collected the cash box and the small
cooler that had held her lunch, and got out of the car. She
debated whether her aunt’s stock would be safe locked in the trunk overnight and decided that thieves were unlikely
to know it was there.

    The streetlamps had come on, although it wasn’t yet
full dark. By their light, even before she made her way
across the wide front porch to the store entrance, Liss
could distinguish the huge, colorful sign directing customers to the Carrabassett County Fairgrounds for the
Western Maine Highland Games. A smaller placard informed potential buyers that the store would be closed
until Tuesday at ten. In this part of Maine, even in tourist
season, most businesses that stayed open on Saturdays
took Mondays off.
    Liss’s stomach growled as she let herself into the shop.
She’d finally given in and