Page 589 of Cold Case, Warm Hearts

“Yes, I made it … everything’s fine. No, I haven’t changed my mind about coming here.”

A few minutes later she placed the phone on the receiver and ran her fingers through her long hair. She’d sold her aunt’s house and given up her life in Ft. Worth, including Adam, to come here. Was she crazy? Only time would tell.

Sydney walked out to the jeep and stopped. What was that smell? It was the scent of flowers, but Sydney couldn’t put her finger on which one. Then it hit her. Magnolias. Sydney retrieved her sleeping bag out of the back of her jeep. A soft southern drawl drifted from behind the bushes. “Come here kitty. Kitty, kitty, kitty. Oh! There you are.”

Standing on her tiptoes, Sydney caught a glimpse of a woman in her mid sixties entering the house next door. Was that the woman’s perfume she smelled? If so, she must’ve slathered on a whole bottle. The woman was wearing a white Hawaiian muu muu with a huge orange floral design. Not your typical southern attire, that’s for sure.Sydney shook her head and made a mental note to ask Tess about her neighbor.

4

“AND IF A STRANGER SOJOURN WITH THEE IN YOUR LAND, YE SHALL NOT VEX HIM.” —LEVITICUS 19:33

Sean looked at the resume lying on his desk and then pushed his secretary’s call button. “Barb, get me Jake Roberts on the phone. Now!”

Jake’s voice came over the line. “Hey buddy, what can I do for ya?”

“For starters, you can tell me why in the devil you went behind my back and hired a female safety consultant.”

There was a pause before Jake cleared his throat. “Now take it easy, Sean. Miss Lassiter came highly recommended, and her educational background and experience are perfect. She has a bachelor of science in business administration and a master’s in industrial safety and hygiene.”

“Yeah, I can see that. I’m looking at her resume right now. You know as well as I do that the words on this piece of paper don’t amount to a hill of beans. What were you thinking?”

“But she has experience. She’s even co-oped in a hardwood sawmill that’s very similar to ours.”

Sean blew out a breath. “Don’t I have enough to worry about with this OSHA inspection coming up? Now you’re giving me a woman to baby-sit?”

“Look man, I know you’re upset and I don’t blame you, but the bottom line is that she came highly recommended.”

“Oh yeah? By who?”

Silence filled the phone, and Sean heard Jake sigh. “You know I’m not at liberty to tell you everything.”

“Oh, I see. You’ll hang me out to dry, but you won’t tell me why.”

“All I can say is that the decision came through ownership.”

He paused. “Sounds like Miss Lassiter must have some friends in high places.”

“Yeah, looks that way.”

Sean grunted. “Well, that’s just great!”

“Look, this is beyond my control … and yours. I suggest you get used to the idea because the decision is final. And by the way, she’s reporting to work today.”

“Fine!” Sean slammed down the phone.

Barb stuck her head in the door. “Everything all right?”

“Oh, it’s par for the course.”

“You wanna talk about it?”

He clamped his lips shut. “No.”

His secretary stood tongue-tied for a moment. “Suit yourself,” she said.

He didn’t notice she’d left the room.

Barb tookthe gold compact out of her purse and powered her nose before expertly applying her burgundy wine lipstick. The lines around her eyes and lips were getting deeper. A regimented exercise program kept her body looking like a twenty-year-old, but all the exercise in the world couldn’t seem to restore thevitality she’d had in her younger years. She lifted her chin and patted the flesh under her neck, commanding it to firm up.

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