The Wedding Audition by Catherine Mann, Joanne Rock Read Free Book Online

“That sounds wonderful.” Then, lowering her voice to a whisper again, she ducked closer. “The walls have ears here, even though they all need hearing aids.”
    “Um…” Annamae had no idea what to make of this woman. Was Hazel Mae delusional? Suffering early dementia?
    “No one knows we’re related,” Hazel Mae insisted. “I suggest we keep it that way and if I were you, young lady, I would maintain a low profile. That means staying away from the gas station, the diner, and the retirement home.” She ticked them off on manicured fingers. “And that dye job isn’t fooling anyone. I’d go dark brunette. Dye the brows too.” Her eyes tracked over Annamae’s features. “Although I like the blonde.”
    “Thank you. That is, I appreciate the suggestions, but I came here hoping to ask you some questions about…” She bit her lip. “My father. My biological dad.”
    Hazel Mae’s eyes went wide. She turned to look over her shoulder again, then glared at Annamae.
    “Honey, you might not mind having your life story plastered all over the Internet, but I have skeletons that are very comfortable in their closets, thank you very much.” She grabbed a paper off the coffee table behind Annamae and jammed it in her hand. “That’s a flyer for the retirement home’s community garden project. It’s a total flop and no one ever shows up to hoe tomatoes but me. Meet me near the marigold bed by the fountain tomorrow morning and we’ll talk there.”
    Before Annamae could argue, Hazel had an arm around her shoulders, steering her toward the door and down the hallway past Bobbi’s desk.
    “You are an angel to consider volunteering your time to bring attention to the aging veteran community. I think the local VA hospital is the best place to start, but I’m so glad we got to visit.” Hazel must have done theater at some point, or else she was used to dialing up her volume for hard-of-hearing friends because her voice boomed loud enough for the whole first floor to hear.
    “Of course.” Annamae smiled, too well-schooled in peacekeeping to defy her grandmother and insist on answers to her questions.
    Besides, if the meeting in the marigolds panned out, she could quiz her then.
    “Thank you, darlin’. And good luck to you!” Hazel opened the front door with one hand and gently shoved Annamae toward the threshold where Bagel was already barking.
    Thanking the dog sitter, she made tracks toward her VW Bug. She couldn’t wait until tomorrow. But first, she would find her way back through those apple orchard fortress gates one way or another.
    *
    Wynn needed better technology if he wanted to survive three more weeks in Beulah, especially if he was going to let Annamae Jessup back on the property. He’d wrestled with the idea ever since he’d let her leave the first time, but he kept coming back to the fear that he’d put her in danger. He had no idea how close his enemies were. He’d like to think no one had a clue where he’d disappeared after he left Miami, but he was positive that the Dimitri family would have allocated considerable resources to find him.
    He wouldn’t let an innocent get caught in that crossfire again.
    If he acted fast, he might be able to get her settled into the carriage house by nightfall. But only if she promised to lay low for a few weeks.
    Otherwise… he didn’t want to think about the otherwise. He did not want to get witness protection services involved in the three-ring circus of securing a television personality.
    Now Wynn walked the perimeter of the eight-foot fence that some paranoid farmer had once used to encompass his prize apple trees and wondered how long he could count on the electric wiring to keep out unwanted company.
    The beeper on his hip chimed while he secured a loose nail on a post along the back of the property. There’d been a gate on this side of the fence at one point, but Wynn had welded it shut before moving onto the grounds. Trip wires and alarms were