Licensed for Trouble by Susan May Warren Read Free Book Online

doing great.” PJ flicked her gaze to Connie as she spoke, moving her hand over to her sister’s arm.
    Connie’s eyes glistened. “I’m sorry I threw you out.”
    PJ lifted a shoulder, her words webbed in the knot in her throat.
    â€œI miss you.”
    PJ nodded. “Ditto. But it had to happen sometime. You have to start your own life.”
    Connie palmed the file. “And you, yours. Although I have to say, I’m not thrilled about the chinchilla you gave Davy. Did you know it screams? and spits?”
    PJ grinned. “Just wanted to leave my mark, Connie. Be grateful you didn’t get two. I think Dally has more she’s trying to get rid of.”
    â€œNo thank you. I don’t need any more reminders of your crazy past mysteries. In fact, maybe you need some company. It’s an awfully big house to be alone in.”
    Alone?
    Connie must have read her face. “Or . . . not alone?”
    PJ considered her a moment. Then, “Okay, I admit, men confuse me.”
    â€œBoone?”
    â€œJeremy. He kissed me.”
    Connie set down her tea. “Really. You’re just full of big news today, aren’t you?”
    PJ dragged her finger through the condensation from her glass, drawing a circle on the granite. “Something happened Sunday. He’s going all protective on me. He’s pulling a Boone.”
    â€œSpeaking of, did you see him at the festival?”
    â€œYes. We talked. Or rather, he snarled. We have a long way to go before we’re friends.”
    Connie got up and set her glass in the sink. “I have to admit, it’s hard to imagine a world without you and Boone together. It’s always been that way in my head.”
    PJ’s too. In her mind, sometimes she still saw herself on the back of Boone’s motorcycle, arms wrapped around his waist, heading into the sunset. And it didn’t feel quite right to clip him out of the photo and put Jeremy in his place. The cutout lines didn’t quite match up.
    â€œI’m hoping we can be friends.”
    â€œFriends. Let’s see. Friends. Like, him telling you about his dates? You calling him up after kissing Jeremy? That kind of friends?”
    â€œFunny, Connie. But yes, maybe we can get past what we were to something new.”
    Connie shook her head. “That would nice, but he’s been waiting for you for a long time. It’s not going to be easy for either of you.”
    â€œI hope so. Boone’s been my best friend . . . well, at least he knows me better than almost anyone. I can’t imagine not being friends with him.” Even as she said it, the words ground into her heart.
    Connie touched PJ’s arm, her hand warm. “I can’t imagine it either. A PJ Sugar world without Boone.”
    PJ stared out the window as the gardener covered the remains of the once-beautiful garden with a dark mulch of dirt and leaves and clippings, leaving behind only the memory of the summer glory.

Chapter Four
    If a gal had inherited a house, it wouldn’t hurt to look around the place, would it?
    PJ tapped her brakes as she drove up to the mushroom house on the hill, past the ivy-laced stone walls. The house overlooked the glistening waters of Lake Minnetonka, and the afternoon sun poured over the rolling thatched roof, throwing thick fairy-tale shadows into the overgrown yard. The place could have been read aloud into existence straight from the storybook pages, the ones with witches and goblins and ogres prowling through dark forests.
    Maybe she should just keep driving. Maybe, in fact, she should turn the car around and head over to her mother’s house. After all, Elizabeth Sugar had bypassed two more calls—if indeed she was at the house and was simply playing hard to get.
    But the Vic clearly wanted to check out its new digs. It coasted to a stop just beyond the gate, in a pocket of overgrown weeds on the other side of the road, next to the