by Linda Reilly
“Thank you, Sherry,” Lara said.
Since Aunt Fran hadn’t eaten her mummy cookie, Sherry slipped it into a paper bag and handed it to her. “You’ll both come back tomorrow, right?”
“You bet,” Lara said.
Aunt Fran only smiled. “I’ll try.”
Lara helped her aunt off the stool. Just then, Brooke, the teenager, excused herself from the book club and dashed over to them.
“Hey, are you Lara?” she asked, beaming as if she’d spotted a rock star.
“I am, and I understand you’re Brooke.”
“Yup. Guilty as charged. Your hair is like, so gorgeous. Is that the natural color?”
Lara laughed and fingered a coppery strand. “It is,” she said, charmed by the girl’s bluntness. “I’m glad you like it, but I wouldn’t mind doing with fewer curls. By the way, I have something for you.” Lara handed her the napkin sketch.
Brooke pushed a strand of aqua hair behind one ear. “You drew this?” she asked, gawking at the napkin. “It looks just like me!”
“Lara is an artist,” Aunt Fran put in. Lara detected a hint of pride in her aunt’s voice.
“Can… I mean, may I keep it?”
“You sure can,” Lara smiled at her. “It was a pleasure meeting you, Brooke.”
“This is so cool!” She gave it back to Lara. “Would you bring it back to the house for me? If I put it in my backpack it’ll get wrinkled.”
“Um, yeah, sure,” Lara said, perplexed.
“Thanks!” And then to Aunt Fran, “See you in a few, Ms. C.”
Meet the Author
Photo by Harper Point Photography
Raised in a sleepy town in the Berkshires, Linda Reilly has spent the bulk of her career in the field of real estate closings and title examination. It wasn’t until 1995 that her first short mystery, “Out of Luck,” was accepted for publication by Woman’s World Magazine. Since then she’s had more than forty short stories published, including a sprinkling of romances. She is also the author of Some Enchanted Murder, and the Deep Fried Mystery series, featuring fry cook Talia Marby. Linda lives in New Hampshire with her husband, who affectionately calls her “Noseinabook.” Visit her on the web at lindasreilly.com.
