Pane and Suffering by Cheryl Hollon Read Free Book Online

the phone against her heart and looked over to Jacob still holding Suzy. “Excuse me, Jacob. I need to take this call. If you need me, I’ll be in the classroom.”
    He nodded.
    Walking slowly out of the office, she replied, “It’s so good to hear from you.”
    â€œI’m so sorry I couldn’t come to the funeral. That stained glass conference was a breath of fresh air. Well, except for one dolt. Anyway, I’m completely inspired to try some new techniques. Luckily, the financial grant I just snagged covered the entire expense. Anyone who tells you that New Orleans has a recovered infrastructure hasn’t actually tried to use that infrastructure. It was miserable. Even worse, my cell phone went belly up after the second day so I had no coverage for the whole week.”
    â€œI miss you. It’s good to hear your cheery voice.”
    â€œBull. You miss our apartment and your glass studio. Hovel would be a better description, but it is ridiculously quiet around here without you and your Ken drama.”
    Savannah’s stomach sunk into a black pit at the thought of her ex-boyfriend. “I am not a drama queen. You know that.”
    â€œI know. I just couldn’t resist riling you. Sorry. I shouldn’t have done that. You already know I have no sense of social awareness. Anyway, I am truly sorry about your dad and the funeral and all that stuff. Really.”
    Savannah choked up. “Yes, I know.”
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œYes, you’re right as usual. I miss Seattle.” Savannah wandered around the classroom and perched on one of the student stools.
    â€œSo how is selling the business coming along?”
    Savannah sighed deeply. “Things have gotten complicated.”
    â€œWhat? How?”
    â€œDad’s long-time associate, Hugh Trevor, was found dead in the custom workshop this morning.”
    â€œOh no. Savannah, that’s horrible. That’s unspeakable. What can I do? Do you need me to come out there and—”
    â€œHold on.” Savannah took a long breath. “I’m okay for now. It’s a shock and I’m not sure if I’m thinking straight.”
    â€œYou? You’re the straightest-thinking person I know.”
    â€œApparently not when I lose my dad and Hugh in the space of a week.”
    â€œOh, right. Didn’t you leave a message that Hugh was going to stay on? At least during the ownership transition?”
    â€œYep. He wanted to keep on teaching so I was going to symbolically hand over Dad’s keys to him tonight after class. I really thought I would be on my way back sometime tomorrow.”
    â€œThat’s crap in a handbag.”
    Savannah shook her head and rolled her eyes. Only Ivy can get away with using phrases like that .
    â€œI’ve got a lot more to figure out now. How to sell the shop. How to teach this week’s workshop. How to . . .”— figure out if my dad was murdered— “Never mind. As you say, crap in a handbag. The list is getting longer.”
    â€œWell, if anyone can juggle all that without getting a hair out of place, it’s you. Hey, Ken was asking me today if I knew when you were coming back. Are you two in the falling-out or falling-in phase at the moment? It does get confusing.”
    â€œWe are most definitely in the falling-out phase and well planted into the never-getting-back-together- ever phase. Trust me. It’s over. We will have to act like real grown-ups and cooperate professionally since our exhibit opens in two weeks.”
    â€œJust because a guy looks good doesn’t mean he is good. Anyway, call him. He’ll want to know why you won’t be back this week to set up the show and I can’t lie. You know that. I’ll spill the beans in a New York minute.”
    â€œSorry, sorry. He shouldn’t be bugging you. I’ll send him an e-mail right away. Thanks for calling, Ivy.”
    â€œNow, I really mean