Black Creek Burning (The Black Creek Series, Book 1) by R.T. Wolfe Page B

his fault the other children
     were calling him names. Like any child was content with being teased. That woman needed to retire.
    As she drove home for the long weekend she thought of stopping by to see Nathan. Not
     to mention what Mrs. Whittier had said. She had her own ideas about how to handle
     that. She hadn't seen Nathan since she'd went over to give him the run-down on Andy's
     test scores and her plans for catching him up. That was a regular home visit, she
     convinced herself. She made plenty of home visits over the years.
    Nathan respected her request not to crowd her. Points for him. She saw plenty of his
     dog, however. Goldie made almost daily trips over to wrestle with Macey. So much for
     the child lock on the door. She had to admit she enjoyed working with him. He thrived
     on learning and not only could successfully maneuver the log whenever he came over
     but had all but mastered most of the routine commands. She decided on calling instead
     of stopping by. Safer.
    * * *
    "You're calling me," Nathan said.
    Smiling at his reaction, Brie held the phone between her ear and shoulder. "Yes. Don't
     you get phone calls, Reed?"
    "You're calling me from your house?" he asked as a question this time.
    She walked to her freezer and pulled out a bag of coffee beans. "I want to see if
     your cop friend found out anything."
    "You can run miles every morning, make my dog go crazy at the crack of dawn when you
     go by, but you can't walk over two fields and a creek to ask me?"
    "I didn't realize we were making your dog go crazy. I can run a different route. And
     I didn't know if you'd be home."
    "My dog's in your yard right now. I can see him. Don't run a different route."
    Still holding the coffee beans, she went to look out her back window. She could see
     Goldie tugging at a stick with Macey like they were joined at the head. And she could
     barely make out a figure in the glass doors leading to Nathan's kitchen. She smiled
     and bit her bottom lip.
    "You haven't put the child lock on your door yet." She paused a moment. "Are you staying
     away from me to respect my wishes or to make me want to see you again?"
    "Which answer gets you to go out with me tonight? I'll see if the cop can come along.
     We'll make it business."
    "Either answer works, but I can't tonight. I'm watching my sister's kids."
    "Tomorrow then."
    She thought a minute. What the hell was she doing? "Okay. I'll bring a friend, too.
     You know a pub called Mikey's?"
    "I know the place. I'll pick you up at eight."
    She thought again. "No. I'll meet you there."
    "We're both going to drive when you live close enough for me to see you standing in
     your kitchen?"
    "Absolutely."
    "Eight o'clock, then."
    * * *
    "Why don't you have a hill on your side of the creek?" Liz's daughter asked Brie.
     She sat back on her little heels on the floor in front of Brie's back window watching
     Duncan and Andy sled down their hill. Elbows resting on the chilly windowsill, her
     niece propped her chin in her hands.
    Brie walked over to her and sat down, looking out the window with her. They watched
     Nathan pulled Andy up onto his shoulders, carrying him back up their short hill that
     was worn from use. Duncan got a running start, then dove head first onto a red sled.
    "I guess my ground decided to be flat. Too many trees over here anyway." She mussed
     her niece's hair and stood up to answer the knock at the door.
    Without waiting for an answer, Clifford Piper's granddaughter walked in, closing the
     door behind her.
    "Amanda. I was just getting ready to call you." She hugged her longtime friend. Smiling,
     she shook her head as she thought of what Nathan had said about people walking into
     each other's homes in this neighborhood. "Hey, Rose." She squatted down to Amanda's
     five-year-old daughter and her shocking head of strawberry blonde hair.
    "Hi, Bwie." Rose waved her hand once like a windshield wiper.
    She looked at Rose face to face. "Where've you and your mom been