Undone (A Country Roads Novel) by Shannon Richard Read Free Book Online Page A

black dress that hit her just below the knee. The only reason she’d worn flats the day before was because her feet had still been killing her from her trek along the highway, and she might have been a little self-conscious after Brendan’s comment. But when she’d seen Tara’s four-inch heels the day before, she’d decided she wasn’t going to let anyone mess with her shoes. Some things were sacred, and Paige’s shoe choice was one of them.
    “Only harlots wear red shoes,” Verna said, pointing to Paige’s feet before she walked out of the kitchen.
    Paige wasn’t sure whether to laugh or scream. And who said “harlot” anymore?
    “Verna Wisenbacker is a real joy to work with,” Tara said. “She’s terrible to everyone except Missy.”
    “Who’s Missy?” Paige asked, taking a sip of her coffee.
    “The assistant funeral director.”
    “And what does Verna do?”
    “She’s in charge of the finances. If you ever need a new stapler, be prepared for a five-week waiting period, because she’ll make you fill out enough paperwork to keep you busy for that long. And I’m just giving you fair warning,” she said, pointing to the fridge. “Never, and I mean never, touch anything in there that’s Verna’s.”
    “Noted.”
    “Now onto happier things. These are from Café Lula,” she said, opening a box on the counter. “These are orange and these are strawberry,” she said, pointing to the different scones. “Both will be heaven in your mouth.”
    Yeah, Paige and Tara were going to be friends. Not only did Tara have a bit of a smart mouth, but she’d also provided Paige with caffeine and showed her where the sweets were.
    “Oh my gosh,” Paige moaned as she took a bite of the orange scone. “This is incredible.”
    “Just wait until you try their rhubarb and strawberry cobbler with fresh ice cream,” Tara said as she bit into her own scone, an extreme look of pleasure on her face.
    After finishing their treats, Paige followed Tara around the first floor, all the while clutching her cup of coffee. The viewing parlor was a large room directly to the left of the front door. About fifteen pews on either side of the aisle ran up to the front of the room. Each pew was covered in one long crimson seat cushion, flattened from decades of use. Heavy gold curtains hung from the floor-to-ceiling windows.
    The more Paige saw of the funeral home, the more she knew just how outdated it was. It could really be a beautiful building if they did a couple of things, like tear down that retched green-and-gold wallpaper, which had also made an appearance in the viewing room.
    “Down there is another hallway,” Tara said, pointing to a closed door. “There’s a room where the bodies are stored and then a cremation and embalming room where Juris works. The storage closets are down there too.”
    Embalming. Gross, gross, gross.
    “Juris?” Paige asked.
    “Juris is my husband,” Tara said, her face lighting up. “He does the embalming but he’s also a taxidermist. If you see a stuffed animal anywhere in this county, my Juris did that,” she said proudly.
    Paige’s mind immediately traveled back to the scary turkey at Skeeter’s Bait, Tackle, Guns, and Gas.
    “Wow,” Paige said, trying her hardest to sound enthusiastic, but it was difficult because for some reason she was imagining a corpse with its arms lovingly wrapped around a dead stuffed cat.
    “We met online,” Tara said, lowering her voice. “I’m from South Carolina originally, but I moved down here to be with Juris. I just knew that he was the one. You know, my soul mate,” she said with that same overjoyed expression.
    Paige had never had that look on her face when she’d been talking about Dylan. She’d never gotten that giddy little catch in her throat either. He’d never made her weak in the knees or made speaking difficult. And then suddenly Paige’s brain flashed to Brendan, who had done those things. He’d almost kissed her yesterday;