With Baited Breath by Lorraine Bartlett Page A

Tori pushed the mower aside and started working the weed whacker. By the time she finished with that, the others had just about finished raking and were only a step or two behind her. She found a stick to clear out the matted grass that clung to the bottom of the whacker.
    “What’s going to happen to all the brush?” Tori asked.
    “I’m gonna burn it,” Anissa said. “I’ll wait a few days for it to dry out, then I’ll plant some grass seed where it scorches the earth.”
    “Are you allowed to burn brush?” Kathy asked, aghast. It certainly wasn’t allowed where she lived.
    “Hell, I’m gonna burn my trash, too. It’s legal out here in the sticks.”
    “Yeah, and lots of people do it,” Tori agreed. “But Gramps has a garbage pickup.”
    They stood back to appraise their work.
    “I’m astounded,” Anissa said. “What a transformation. The house almost looks like how I remember it as a kid.” She turned to face her new friends. “I don’t know how to thank you.”
    “You just did,’ Tori said and laughed.
    “Uh-oh,” Kathy muttered. Tori and Anissa turned to follow her gaze. The woman from the house on the hill approached. A rigid smile covered her mouth, and Tori got the impression it was an expression she didn’t often sport.
    “Hello,” the woman called.
    “Hi,” Tori and Kathy said in unison. Anissa said nothing, but her back had stiffened.
    The woman offered her hand. “I’m Lucinda Bloomfield. Nice to meet you.”
    Tori made the introductions. “And this is Anissa Jackson.”
    Anissa still said nothing, but her expression in reaction to the woman’s greeting said ‘ I’ll bet .’
    “You ladies have been working hard. Going to put the house up for sale?” Lucinda asked hopefully.
    “No,” Anissa answered. She offered no other explanation, so Tori jumped in.
    “Anissa and I have similar plans to do a cosmetic refresh.”
    “Cannon,” Lucinda said thoughtfully. “You’re related to the people who own the Lotus Lodge?” She said the words with a hint of disapproval. No doubt, she considered the shabby and shuttered motel to be yet another eyesore at the foot of the road that led to her elegant mansion.
    “Yes.”
    “Will you be reopening the motel or demolishing it?” Lucinda asked. It sounded as though she’d prefer the latter.
    “I’d like to reopen it,” Tori bluffed. She’d actually talked herself out of the notion, but her seldom-seen ire had been tweaked.
    “The brewery fishing derby is just six weeks away. Surely you can’t get it ready for occupancy by then.”
    Tori shrugged. “I’m going to try. Anissa is a contractor. She’s going to help me.”
    Anissa cocked her head to one side but said nothing. This time her expression said, I am?
    “A contractor?” Lucinda repeated, as though in disbelief. She eyed Anissa critically.
    “Anything a man can do, I can do better,” Anissa said finally.
    Lucinda took in Anissa’s chiseled muscles. “I don’t doubt it.”
    “Why did you want to know if I was going to sell my father’s house?” Anissa asked, her voice sharp.
    Lucinda shrugged. “It’s in need of a lot of repair. I just thought…”
    “Wrong,” Anissa asserted. “My daddy said you badgered him to sell. Why?”
    “Badgered?” Lucinda repeated. “That’s an antagonistic word.”
    “That’s what he said. Why would you want this house?” Anissa repeated.
    “Not the house, the property. My grandparents bought the land where my home resides over seventy-five years ago. They weren’t interested in water access. I am.”
    “You gonna buy a party barge or something?” Anissa asked, her words sounding like a taunt.
    “I have a sailboat. It’s currently berthed at Parkland Marina. I’d rather not have to travel that distance when I want to sail her.”
    “Gee, that’s too bad,” Anissa said, not sounding a bit sorry.
    “Cannon’s is a lot closer,” Tori suggested, knowing full well that it was far too shabby, and with no