Framed!. Robin Caroll

Чтение книги онлайн.

      Although he hadn’t known it at the time, Max Pershing had given his heart to Ava Renault years ago. Fifteen years ago, to be precise. Now he knew she still had it.

      Last month, fate had thrown the two of them together again when the Loomis governing body asked him to serve on the Mother’s Day pageant committee, representing the Pershing family. He’d had no choice—his mother would’ve been furious had he declined, so he accepted. Not knowing that his co-chair would be from the other prominent family in the small town—Ava Renault.

      Holding her in his arms just now had confirmed it. No other woman had ever made his heart leap as Ava did.

      She helped her mother into the car, gave him a final sad smile from across the cemetery, then disappeared behind the tinted glass. The Renault driver, Bosworth, shut the back door before slipping behind the steering wheel.

      Every muscle in his body tensed to run after her. To hold her again. To try to smooth some of the pain etched across her face.

      “Surprised to see you here.” Reverend Harmon offered his hand.

      Max shook hands with the man. “It’s a shame what happened with Dylan. Of course, I wanted to be here for the family.”

      Reverend Harmon’s bushy brows shot up. “The family, or Ava in particular?”

      Busted. “Well, it’s no secret there’s no love lost between my mother and Charla, that’s for sure.”

      “But between you and Ava?”

      Reverend Harmon knew their history—knew how they’d been falling in love back in high school, knew how Charla Renault had been unable to accept such an idea and had sent Ava away to boarding school, knew how Charla had brought Ava back to attend the local university when she’d learned Max had been accepted at Louisiana State University. Everyone who knew the story seemed as bewildered as Max over why, when he returned from college, Ava had avoided Max like the plague. Too much parental influence, or had her feelings toward Max changed?

      “That’s ancient history.”

      One of the cemetery workers approached. “Reverend Harmon, most everyone has left. Is it okay to lower the casket now?”

      The man’s demeanor changed in an instant. “Of course.” He nodded to Max. “I’m praying for you.”

      How was he supposed to respond to that? He didn’t want anyone to pray for him. He’d learned years ago that God wasn’t listening. He hadn’t listened to Max’s pleas to bring Ava home and then had turned a deaf ear to Max’s requests to save his cousin, Michael Pershing, from pancreatic cancer at such a young age. But Max couldn’t fault Harmon for his faith. Everyone knew Reverend Harmon was a good man, had a good heart.

      Max stood silently as the reverend said a final prayer over the casket containing Dylan Renault, then the casket was lowered into the grave. Max’s gut knotted.

      People weren’t supposed to die so young. And murdered! In Loomis. The third one in a month. Plus, Leah Farley was still missing, although the general consensus was that she was dead as well.

      The town fed on gossip and suppositions. FBI agents and investigators had barraged Loomis and set up base in the downtown area. Just two weeks ago, they’d focused on Dylan Renault as a suspect in Angelina Loring’s death. Now he’d been shot and killed. What was the city coming to?

      Max headed to his truck, his steps dragging as much as his heart. With everything going on, all the deaths and Dylan Renault’s cryptic dying words, the town hummed with rumors of what was happening. The fact that his and Ava’s mothers continued to feud just added to all the tension.

      And Ava Renault sat right in the dead center of it all.

      He parked outside his condo, the property his mother owned. At least her condo was across the complex from his. He had to agree with Charla Renault on one thing—his mother had made the complex quite a sight with its baby blue paint and gaudy design. He still couldn’t figure out if his mother really had such bad taste or if she’d done it on purpose just to annoy Charla. Their generations-old feud, fueled by competitive business deals and now the lonely older women with nothing to do but stir up trouble, was never-ending.

      Max unlocked the door, tossed his keys onto the buffet in the entry and headed to the kitchen.

      “How was the funeral?”

      Max startled and then faced his mother. “Why are you here?”

      She sat at the dinette table, sipping tea as if she belonged. But she didn’t. This was his home, not hers. Yet she’d never seemed to have gotten the message. “I wanted to know how the funeral went.”

      He opened the fridge and poured a glass of orange juice. “You don’t care. You hate Charla Renault.”

      “Well, of course I do. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to know who all turned out for the funeral. Anything interesting happen?”

      “Mom, I can’t believe you’d stoop so low. I’m not going to gossip about the funeral.” He shook his head.

      “Don’t make it sound like I’m some horrible person. Charla Renault would be just as curious if it were your funeral.” She sniffed and stood, taking her teacup to the sink and rinsing it out. “I wonder what the police are thinking now since Dylan was their prime suspect in that poor Angelina’s death.” She tsked.

      Max slugged down the rest of the orange juice. “That’s not a very nice attitude, and you know it.”

      “But it’s the truth.” She lifted her purse, sarcasm dripping in her words. “I’ve seen you with that Ava Renault several times in the last month or so. I recognize the look she’s giving you. She’s trying to get her claws into you again.”

      “We’re working together on the Mother of the Year pageant committee, that’s all.”

      Her СКАЧАТЬ