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Faris grabbed Tenealle, Evan picked up her shoes, Herb handed
her a pool towel to wrap around herself, and they walked back down
the long driveway to the street, where they d parked the car.
Come on, honey. Let s get you out of those wet things, said
Faris.
Oh yeah. Sounds like a very good plan, added Evan.
Men. One-track minds. Tenealle was still laughing.
My hand is hurting, said Evan, stopping in the middle of the
path.
What?
My hand, Evan repeated, swapping Tenealle s shoes into his
other hand to look at his sore hand carefully. My fingers are
burning.
Damn. Has one of my idiot cousins put itching powder in
everyone s shoes or something?
Not itching. Burning, said Evan, dropping her shoes and
running back up the driveway toward the house.
Tenealle bent down to pick up her shoes, but Faris stopped her.
Don t touch them. He squatted down and looked carefully inside
her shoes. He could see a very faint trace of powder or something on
the insides. He pulled off his T-shirt, wrapped her shoes in it, then
settled her in the car wrapped in her towel and put the shoes in the
trunk.
Are your feet hot? she asked.
Nope. He kicked off a shoe and looked inside it. Looks and
feels perfectly normal to me.
Just one of the younger cousins being silly then.
Well I don t know. Evan didn t hold your shoes for very long
before he felt his fingers burning.
Tempting Tenealle 49
I hope he s okay. Should we go back and check on him?
He s coming now, said Faris, watching in the rearview mirror.
Are you okay? they chorused as Evan got in the car.
Yeah, I just washed my hands thoroughly. We need to check
what s in her shoes, though. If it was meant as a joke, it s not very
funny.
There was a few moments silence as Faris turned the car around
and they headed for his and Evan s apartment.
I didn t want to seem like a moron there, but what exactly were
we celebrating?
It was a party for Emma. I thought I explained that. And you
bought her flowers, Tenealle replied, confused.
Yeah, we got that. But why? Why was Emma having a party?
asked Evan.
Oh. Because she s pretty much finished college. She just has a
couple of classes to finalize. Then she ll graduate.
So won t there be a party when she graduates? Faris was even
more puzzled now.
Of course she ll have a graduation party.
So why the party today? I don t get it.
Herb and Delores love throwing parties. Emma is excited by
almost being finished school. It seemed a good enough reason.
Faris and Evan looked at each other, eyebrows raised. Finally
Evan said, Your family is weird.
Absolutely! I thought you already knew that.
They all laughed. And Faris realized they did that a lot. With
Tenealle around, happiness was guaranteed, and lots of laughter was
part of the package.
But he would definitely get the powder in her shoes analyzed. One
of her cousins needed a slap upside the head, and he was just the man
to deliver it.
50 Berengaria Brown
Chapter Four
The final paperwork was signed, and the Domain was officially
Tenealle s. She summoned a horde of cousins, who helped her move
into her new home, oohed and aahed over it, told her how to fix it, ate
a ton of pizzas, then left.
By the end of the day, the pizza delivery boy was Tenealle s
newest best friend, her possessions were all where she wanted them,
her bedroom walls had been washed, sanded, filled, and painted with
two coats of sea green paint. Matching sea green drapes hung at the
sparkling clean windows, overlooking a courtyard garden that had
been pruned, weeded, swept, and the fountain had been scrubbed
clean and refilled.
Did your aunt have any trouble with cats getting the fish in her
fountain? Tenealle asked Evan.
No. As far as I know, the fish only ever died of natural causes. I
know you said you thought a cat might get out and get lost, but that
wall is very high and sheer, with no way to climb it, so I don t think
it s very likely. But then, if you have a cat of your own, you d need to
cover the fountain to protect your fish. If you decide to have fish,
was Evan s rather rambling reply.
I d rather have a little dog than a cat, but I will have fish in the
fountain. It s kind of crazy, but it s my kind of crazy. I like the idea,
she replied.
Faris had been waiting until they were alone, not just to test-drive
the new king-size bed the three of them had purchased together a
week ago, but also to tell her the results of the analysis on her shoes.
She d never mentioned her shoes, although she had to realize he d
Tempting Tenealle 51
never given them back to her. Plus, he and Evan had kept a close
watch on all the cousins today. The last thing they wanted was any
more strange powders in her bedding, clothes, or food. Fortunately the
cousins had worked in teams, with no one alone for more than a few
seconds, as groups of them had banded together to fetch, carry, clean,
paint, and garden.
But now, he didn t quite know how to broach the subject. Um,
honey, about your shoes&
Ah, I wondered when you d get around to talking about that. It
was just my imagination, wasn t it?
No, not quite.
Well, what then?
Drain cleaner, Faris and Evan said together. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl ocenkijessi.opx.pl
Faris grabbed Tenealle, Evan picked up her shoes, Herb handed
her a pool towel to wrap around herself, and they walked back down
the long driveway to the street, where they d parked the car.
Come on, honey. Let s get you out of those wet things, said
Faris.
Oh yeah. Sounds like a very good plan, added Evan.
Men. One-track minds. Tenealle was still laughing.
My hand is hurting, said Evan, stopping in the middle of the
path.
What?
My hand, Evan repeated, swapping Tenealle s shoes into his
other hand to look at his sore hand carefully. My fingers are
burning.
Damn. Has one of my idiot cousins put itching powder in
everyone s shoes or something?
Not itching. Burning, said Evan, dropping her shoes and
running back up the driveway toward the house.
Tenealle bent down to pick up her shoes, but Faris stopped her.
Don t touch them. He squatted down and looked carefully inside
her shoes. He could see a very faint trace of powder or something on
the insides. He pulled off his T-shirt, wrapped her shoes in it, then
settled her in the car wrapped in her towel and put the shoes in the
trunk.
Are your feet hot? she asked.
Nope. He kicked off a shoe and looked inside it. Looks and
feels perfectly normal to me.
Just one of the younger cousins being silly then.
Well I don t know. Evan didn t hold your shoes for very long
before he felt his fingers burning.
Tempting Tenealle 49
I hope he s okay. Should we go back and check on him?
He s coming now, said Faris, watching in the rearview mirror.
Are you okay? they chorused as Evan got in the car.
Yeah, I just washed my hands thoroughly. We need to check
what s in her shoes, though. If it was meant as a joke, it s not very
funny.
There was a few moments silence as Faris turned the car around
and they headed for his and Evan s apartment.
I didn t want to seem like a moron there, but what exactly were
we celebrating?
It was a party for Emma. I thought I explained that. And you
bought her flowers, Tenealle replied, confused.
Yeah, we got that. But why? Why was Emma having a party?
asked Evan.
Oh. Because she s pretty much finished college. She just has a
couple of classes to finalize. Then she ll graduate.
So won t there be a party when she graduates? Faris was even
more puzzled now.
Of course she ll have a graduation party.
So why the party today? I don t get it.
Herb and Delores love throwing parties. Emma is excited by
almost being finished school. It seemed a good enough reason.
Faris and Evan looked at each other, eyebrows raised. Finally
Evan said, Your family is weird.
Absolutely! I thought you already knew that.
They all laughed. And Faris realized they did that a lot. With
Tenealle around, happiness was guaranteed, and lots of laughter was
part of the package.
But he would definitely get the powder in her shoes analyzed. One
of her cousins needed a slap upside the head, and he was just the man
to deliver it.
50 Berengaria Brown
Chapter Four
The final paperwork was signed, and the Domain was officially
Tenealle s. She summoned a horde of cousins, who helped her move
into her new home, oohed and aahed over it, told her how to fix it, ate
a ton of pizzas, then left.
By the end of the day, the pizza delivery boy was Tenealle s
newest best friend, her possessions were all where she wanted them,
her bedroom walls had been washed, sanded, filled, and painted with
two coats of sea green paint. Matching sea green drapes hung at the
sparkling clean windows, overlooking a courtyard garden that had
been pruned, weeded, swept, and the fountain had been scrubbed
clean and refilled.
Did your aunt have any trouble with cats getting the fish in her
fountain? Tenealle asked Evan.
No. As far as I know, the fish only ever died of natural causes. I
know you said you thought a cat might get out and get lost, but that
wall is very high and sheer, with no way to climb it, so I don t think
it s very likely. But then, if you have a cat of your own, you d need to
cover the fountain to protect your fish. If you decide to have fish,
was Evan s rather rambling reply.
I d rather have a little dog than a cat, but I will have fish in the
fountain. It s kind of crazy, but it s my kind of crazy. I like the idea,
she replied.
Faris had been waiting until they were alone, not just to test-drive
the new king-size bed the three of them had purchased together a
week ago, but also to tell her the results of the analysis on her shoes.
She d never mentioned her shoes, although she had to realize he d
Tempting Tenealle 51
never given them back to her. Plus, he and Evan had kept a close
watch on all the cousins today. The last thing they wanted was any
more strange powders in her bedding, clothes, or food. Fortunately the
cousins had worked in teams, with no one alone for more than a few
seconds, as groups of them had banded together to fetch, carry, clean,
paint, and garden.
But now, he didn t quite know how to broach the subject. Um,
honey, about your shoes&
Ah, I wondered when you d get around to talking about that. It
was just my imagination, wasn t it?
No, not quite.
Well, what then?
Drain cleaner, Faris and Evan said together. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]