Bones of a Feather - Carolyn Haines [120]
“That’s not fair.”
She shrugged. “One thing about being dead—I don’t worry about fair no more. But I do worry about you, Sarah Booth. You don’t use the skills god gave you. Call that man. Make him long for you. Whisper those words that make him groan with desire. Then gloss over this whole mess and move on to some steamy phone sex.” She arched one eyebrow, and her lips, so red with lipstick, curved into a smile. “You think Tinkie is drinkin’ coffee, worryin’ about things?”
She had me there. Tinkie was far smarter than I was when it came to the opposite sex. “I don’t want to trick or manipulate Graf.”
“Oh, dear lord. You are dumber than a sack of rocks!” She threw up her hands.
“Hey!” Jitty was always bossy, but seldom belittling.
“Call that man. Make him feel how much you love him and want him and miss him. That’s not manipulation, that’s reality. Give him a taste of yours, Sarah Booth. You’re sittin’ out here in the dawn thinkin’ of him, wantin’ him to love you despite your hardheaded ways. Don’t lie to him about the sisters and don’t linger on the facts. Keep the focus on how you feel about him.”
Even as I resisted, I heard the wisdom in her words. “Will he forgive me?” I realized then how much I dreaded Graf’s reaction. What if he decided he couldn’t risk his heart? What if he felt I’d broken his trust?
Jitty did a brisk about face and strutted to the door of Dahlia House. “If my man were in Hollywood, I’d be on the first flight out there. I’d give my explanations with my hands moving over his wonderful, virile body.”
I stood up abruptly. Jitty—or Joan—was dead on. Tinkie would take care of the dogs and Lee would mind the horses if I took a weeklong trip to see my man. Once things were solid with Graf, I could focus on the rest of my life.
And my next case.
ALSO BY CAROLYN HAINES
SARAH BOOTH DELANEY MYSTERIES
Bone Appétit
Greedy Bones
Wishbones
Ham Bones
Bones to Pick
Hallowed Bones
Crossed Bones
Splintered Bones
Buried Bones
Them Bones
NOVELS
Revenant
Fever Moon
Penumbra
Judas Burning
Touched
Summer of the Redeemers
Summer of Fear
NONFICTION
My Mother’s Witness: The Peggy Morgan Story
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
BONES OF A FEATHER. Copyright © 2011 by Carolyn Haines. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
www.minotaurbooks.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Haines, Carolyn.
Bones of a feather : a Sarah Booth Delaney mystery / Carolyn Haines.—1st ed.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-0-312-59502-9
1. Delaney, Sarah Booth (Fictitious character)—Fiction. 2. Women private investigators—Mississippi—Fiction. 3. Heiresses—Mississippi—Fiction. 4. Kidnapping—Fiction. 5. Mississippi—Fiction. I. Title.
PS3558.A329B655 2011
813'.54—dc22
2011005105
First Edition: June 2011
eISBN 978-1-4299-7013-6
First Minotaur Books eBook Edition: June 2011