The Rosaries (Crossroads Series) by Sandra Carrington-Smith Read Free Book Online Page A

new medicine to control your cholesterol level. He told me to ask you to stop by tomorrow or the day after.”
    Jim snorted jokingly. “Did you tell him that my level of cholesterol is down to below zero since you are the family chef now?”
    Belinda laughed. Jim still couldn’t swallow the fact that he was no longer allowed to rule the kitchen and fix his own famous southern breakfasts. “Go on, complain if it makes you feel better…you should be happy I’m looking out for your health.” She walked up to the recliner and stamped a loud kiss on Jim’s forehead.
    “I’m very happy. We’ll both live to be a hundred. We’ll be a couple of old farts and live happily ever after.”
    “Yep, that’s my goal.”
    “Say, Belinda, did you hear anything about the paintings that burned down? Gossip had it, today, that most of the works belonged to Natalie Sanders.”
    Belinda looked at Jim in surprise.
    “Angela Sanders’ daughter? I didn’t know she’s a painter.”
    Jim pulled off his reading glasses and put down the crossword puzzle he was holding in his hand. “I didn’t either, until Mrs. Stewart, the librarian, told me Natalie is Mrs. Wilson’s protégé, but art was one of her favorite subjects even when she was a little tyke this high, so I’m not too surprised.”
    “That’s quite amazing that Angela’s daughter would be so creative and spontaneous. Angela never struck me as the artist type.”
    “Actually, if you ask me, I don’t find it too strange. Kids always end up doing what their parents loathe, especially if they are fought tooth and nail on it. The Sanders never accepted Natalie for the person she really is and they both downright rejected her when it became apparent she didn’t fit the social mold.”
    “Jim! You can’t be serious…that bad? I’ve met Angela several times, but to my knowledge I have never met Mr. Sanders, although I have always heard he is a nice if slightly whipped man.”
    “Oh yes. He definitely fits the description - he won’t do anything to displease his wife. From what I’ve heard he is a much different man around her than he is when she is not there. Quite a shark in the courtroom, they say, but a goldfish at home, eagerly awaiting the flakes she dispenses to him on occasion. You should have seen how they always treated that poor kid. I don’t even know why they adopted her.”
    “Well, I think Angela Sanders believed that she could take a poor, unfortunate little girl and turn her around to become a grand southern dame. When that didn’t happen, the power struggle began.”
    “You missed your call as a teacher or therapist, Belinda.” Jim smiled affectionately.
    “I went through intensive basic training as a mother.”
    Belinda got up to go prepare some tea. Somehow, those little rituals always made her feel better. Right now she really needed the comfort of a good cup. As she stood by the kitchen sink to fill the tea kettle with water, she noticed a shadow darting on the deck outside the kitchen window. Afraid to alarm Jim, she didn’t say anything but her heart leaped. She got a bit closer to the pane and looked out but saw nothing unusual – maybe it was just nerves. She turned the burner on high and pretended to look for a book. Her hands were still shaking, and she tried to stay occupied so that Jim wouldn’t notice how jumpy she was.
     
     
    Natalie was running, clutching a velvet pouch in her hand. The house was large, the walls were visibly impregnated with age, yet the scenery looked strange and unfamiliar. There were paintings on display, but it didn’t look like any gallery she had seen so far, and it was dark despite the light coming in through the tall windows. She couldn’t see who was chasing her, but knew, somehow, that she couldn’t fight that power alone. She ran outside and saw a young woman standing by one of the lights on a street she had never seen before; she silently pleaded with the woman for help, but the stranger only