Page 654 of Cold Case, Warm Hearts

“Is that your brother?”

Hazel stopped mid bite, her mouth full. “Harvey? No, Harvey’s my husband.”

“Oh, does Harvey live nearby?”

“Yeah, he lives here.”

Sydney’s eyes grew wide. She’d never seen anyone else and had been so sure that Hazel lived alone. She chose her next words carefully. “Where’s Harvey now? Is he working out of town?”

Hazel laughed. “Harvey?”

Sydney nodded.

“Nope, he’ll be home in a few minutes. He just went to the store.”

Sydney was at a loss for words. How could she have missed him? She looked around the room, her eyes scouring it for any sign of a male presence.

Hazel took a bite of her cookie. “I can’t wait for you to meet Harvey. He’s so funny. He keeps me laughing all the time.”

The doorbell rang.

“There’s Harvey now.” Hazel jumped up like a kid on Christmas morning and ran to the door. “Oh, it’s just you.” Her shoulders slumped and she walked back and plopped down on her recliner. She looked at Sydney. “It’s just Louellen.”

Louellen? Sydney looked toward the door. Was Hazel talking about the same Louellen from the mill?

Louellen looked as surprised to see Sydney as Sydney was to see her. She was immaculately dressed in a tan cardigan sweater and matching tailored slacks. Her salt and pepper hair was pulled up in a neat French twist.

“I thought you were Harvey,” Hazel said.

Louellen ignored the comment and directed her attention to Sydney. “I didn’t realize that you knew my sister.”

Sister? Louellen was Hazel’s sister? The two were as different as night and day. Tess Lambert had told her that Hazel’s brother had worked at the mill at one time. She must’ve meant Hazel’s sister. “I’m Hazel’s next door neighbor.”

“Where’s Harvey? He should’ve been back ten minutes ago.” Hazel’s arms were crossed tightly over her chest, and her face was drawn in a frown with her lips forming a pout. “He knows I need my Mayfield milk. I don’t like those other kinds. Just Mayfield with my cheerios.”

Louellen’s eyes darted to Sydney. She looked embarrassed. She walked over and sat on the arm of the chair next to Hazel. Her voice became soothing and she stroked Hazel’s silver hair and patted her back. “Sis, I just brought you a gallon of milk yesterday.”

Hazel’s bottom lip jutted out. “It wasn’t Mayfield. I gave it to Dixie, and she wouldn’t even drink it so I poured it down the sink. Anyway, it doesn’t matter. Harvey went to get some more.”

Sydney could tell how uncomfortable her presence was making Louellen. She felt like an intruder and knew it was time to leave. She stood. “I need to be going.”

“But you haven’t met Harvey yet!”

“Sis, Sydney can meet Harvey some other time.”

“That’s a good idea,” Sydney said, making her way to the door.

Louellen followed her. “Thank you for visiting Hazel.”

Sydney reachedfor a pack of orange herbal tea, hoping it would do the trick to calm her nerves. Her visit with Hazel was not at all what she’d expected. A hot blanket of shame covered her when she thought about all the times she’d resented Hazel for watching her. Seeing Louellen had been a shock too. Never in a million years would she have connected the two sisters. Even after seeing them together, it was still hard to believe.

The knocking at her front door sent her rushing to open it. “Louellen, is everything all right?”

“Yes, I just want to talk to you a minute about Hazel.” Louellen looked past Sydney and through the open door. “Do you mind if I come in?”

Sydney ran her fingers through her hair. “No, not at all. Please, have a seat. Here, let me move these clothes out of the way.” She grabbed an armful of clean clothes that still needed to be folded. “I’m going to put these in the bedroom. I’ll be right back. Can I get you a cup of herbal tea?”

“No, I can’t stay long.”Louellen was fidgeting with her hands and started talking before Sydney had a chance to sit down. “I just want to explain about Hazel.”

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