Lethal Lasagna by Rhonda Gibson Read Free Book Online Page A

a knowing twinkle in her eye, as she handed me the much-awaited receipt.
    I muttered the words, “You’re welcome.”
    I’d almost made it to the exit door when I heard a voice calling. “Hey, don’t forget me.”
    Teenagers lobbying the entrance laughed and pointed behind me.
    I turned and groaned.
    Brandon raced down the hallway, his jacket flying open behind him. I remembered he’d mentioned that he enjoyed jogging and wondered how he’d feel to have to jog all the way to my car? Before I could turn again to leave, he’d stopped several feet away from me. A gleam flickered in his shinning eyes. “What time should I pick you up?”
    “You don’t. It was an accident that I bid on you.”
    “Ohhhhh,” came the calls of the teenagers.
    What did they think this was? A sporting event? The way they had ohhhhed, you would think I just sucker punched the good professor. To escape the kids, I pushed the door open and became promptly blinded by sunshine.
    He followed close on my heels. “Accident or not, we have a date.”
    I stopped so fast he ran into me. The box of auction items and my purse flew from my arms and I lunged forward to catch them. They hit the sidewalk with a loud bang. His arms encircled my waist, and he pulled me to him fast and hard. The air left my lungs. How he’d managed to spin me around in the process of catching me, I’ll never know. I found myself looking up into his concerned eyes.
    The students had followed after us and were now whistling and making some grunting noises that sounded much like a dog’s bark. Heat hit my cheeks and neck. I attempted to pull out of his grasp.
    He refused to release me but asked in a low voice. “Are you okay?”
    Again I pushed against his chest. “No, I’m not okay. Let me go. Haven’t you embarrassed me enough for one day?”
    His arms slid to his side. For a brief moment, his eyes looked sadly into mine. Had I hurt his feelings? The laughs from the growing crowd pushed all those thoughts from my mind.
    “Here, Mrs. Parker.” One of the cheerleaders held my things out to me.
    I offered a quick thanks and then hurried to my car. Tears filled my eyes. How had I let this happen? With the box of things in my hands, I couldn’t get the door to the car open. Frustration built in me. I wanted to scream and cry at the same time.
    “Let me help.”
    His warm voice washed over me like honey on hot bread. How come he had that effect on me? I hated and loved it at the same time.
    He took the box from my arms and watched while I dug in my purse for the keys. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to embarrass you.”
    As I opened the car, I asked myself, what had he really done? The answer was clear. Nothing. I sighed, the weight of the world seemed to be on my shoulders. “I know, and I’m sorry, too.”
    I unlatched the back door where he deposited the box. Then he turned and left before I could thank him. I watched him jog back across the parking lot and dash inside the school.
    Feeling like a heel, I drove straight home. This day had been a disaster. I never should have gone to the auction. Correction, I never should have answered the phone.
    It wasn’t a total loss, I told myself when I got home and pulled out the box of won items. Megan was going to love her antique chest.
    Sprocket barked at me.
    “I’ll be right back.” I told him.
    Ten minutes later, I had changed clothes and put away Megan’s chest. I made my way outside—with his new teddy bear under my arm. I gave him the stuffed animal, which he sniffed at, and then quickly took to his dog house. A few seconds later, he returned, and I clipped Sprocket’s leash on him. We headed in the opposite direction this time.
    I like to shake things up. They say when you go a different way on your walk you notice more. Don’t ask me who “they” are; I read it in a magazine.
    I wondered what Mitzi would have said if I’d been able to tell her about today’s events. She probably would have laughed so