Kitten Kaboodle (Zoe Donovan Mystery Book 20) by Kathi Daley Read Free Book Online Page B

and Levi pulled into the drive at virtually the same time. I wasn’t sure if the timing of their arrival was a good thing or a bad one.
    “I didn’t realize it wasn’t going to be just us,” Ellie commented as she approached my car.
    “Yeah, me neither,” Levi chimed in.
    “Yeah, well, you know me, I’m the sneaky type.” I shrugged. “I have the mixings for margaritas if you want to help me with the rest of these bags.”
    Both of them grabbed a bag, but I could feel the tension. I asked Levi to mix up the frozen drinks while I put the groceries away and Ellie poured chips and salsa into clay bowls. We took everything out onto the deck overlooking the lake, where I hoped, after a drink or two or ten, my friends would lighten up and remember that they were friends. I wasn’t certain what had occurred to cause this rift. They’d seemed to be getting along just fine when Zak and I got home from Ireland in February.
    I realized my search for my family tree was as good a topic as any to break the ice, so I dug in with the little information I had.
    “I heard back from Clayton Longtree.”
    “Oh, what did he say?” Ellie asked after taking a sip of her drink.
    “He’s managed to trace the Donovans back seven generations, but we’re a long way from knowing if my ancestor might have been the daughter Catherine gave up.”
    When Zak and I had gone to Ireland for a murder mystery weekend, I’d discovered that the lady of the manor back in the sixteen hundreds secretly had given up her daughter to a couple she felt would treat the child with more equality than her male-centric husband. The daughter’s name was Amelia and the last name of the family she’d been given to was Donovan. At the time it had appeared that I could possibly be a direct descendent of Catherine Dunphy, and when I returned home I’d hired a man whose business was researching family trees to find out if my hunch was correct.
    “Would it matter if you were related?” Ellie asked. “Would you be eligible for some sort of an inheritance?”
    “No, it wouldn’t matter. I’m not after any money; I’m just curious. I felt a real connection to Catherine when I was in Ireland. A part of me hopes we’re related in some way.”
    “You felt a connection to a woman who’s been dead for hundreds of years?” Levi asked.
    “She felt a connection to her ghost,” Ellie explained. “If you’d been around more often you would have heard the story.”
    “Ouch.”
    “Okay, guys, let’s not argue,” I intervened. “The three of us are friends. Best friends. I know things have been tense between you since the breakup, but you were friends a lot longer than you were a couple. I’m really hoping for all our sakes that you both can put whatever is wrong behind you.”
    Neither Levi nor Ellie said anything.
    “Remember that time the three of us went camping and somehow managed to bring a whole bunch of stuff we didn’t need but totally forgot to bring any food?”
    “And Levi decided to live off the land by eating berries and tree bark, but all it did was make him sick and he ended up puking all night.” Ellie laughed. “I never knew one person could throw up quite that much.”
    “Let’s not forget the strawberry wine incident at Miller’s Pond,” Levi countered. “Talk about a puke fest.”
    “Hey, you’re the one who brought the wine in the first place,” Ellie reminded him playfully. “I was just a sweet young thing who had never had a drink until you corrupted me.”
    “Sweet young thing?” Levi countered.
    “I think Zoe has us both beat with her skinny-dipping adventure after drinking that spiked punch when we were seniors in high school.” Ellie laughed. “You were so shocked you fell off the side of the truck.”
    “I guess I had my own share of that punch.” Levi chuckled.
    I listened as Ellie and Levi tried to outdo each other with tales from the past. One of the best things about friendships that spanned a lifetime was