Bailed Out (The Anna Albertini Files #2) - Rebecca Zanetti Page 0,21

into the driveway of a white duplex with beige trim on one side and bright pink on the other. I stepped out of my car and headed for the pink side, my body feeling like it had been through my Uncle Sean’s woodchipper.

Georgiana opened the door on my first knock, took one look at me, and yanked me against her very ample bosom. “What happened?”

That fast, I went from tough to full on tears. She drew me inside to the sofa and patted my hand as I told her the entire story. “I know that girl power matters, and we should stick together, but Jolene was always such a…witch,” I hiccupped. “I was ten years old when Aiden rescued me from that kidnapping, and he was sixteen, but he let me hang out with him for two years as one of the gang.” I’d felt cool and safe as his friend.

“Go on,” Georgiana said, rubbing my leg. She was very tall and rather round and looked festive in a flowered dress with bright blue sandals.

“Jolene was a year younger than him, and she slept with Donna’s prom date the night of the junior prom,” I said, trying not to wail it.

“What a bitch,” Georgiana agreed, her brown eyes narrowed. “What happened after that?”

I sucked in air and wiped my face off. “Then she started dating Aiden, and while he was nice, she was just mean to me. Acted like it was a pain to have a ten-year-old around.” Which, frankly, it probably was. But Aiden was always kind, and so were his friends. “Seeing her at his place today…”

Georgiana sighed. “We should put off our trip and take this wench out.”

Humor bubbled up through my heartbreak, and I leaned over to hug her. “That’s kind of you, but you deserve a vacation, and I have another murder to solve.” Before she could offer to help, I held up a hand. “I’ll call you if I need backup. For now, tell me which plants to water and how much. I’ll be careful.”

Georgiana brushed back her dark hair that normally was streaked liberally with gray. Today the highlights were a bright pink.

I gulped, really taking her in. “Did you let Thelma do your hair?” There was no doubt the pint-sized Thelma was a little creative. Or a lot creative, actually.

“Yes.” Georgiana blushed and patted her head. “It’s wild vacation hair.” She sighed. “Let’s bury ourselves in a pound of brownies as I go over the directions. I find that chocolate always helps a broken heart.”

Chocolate could help anything.

She went to grab a huge dish of brownies with homemade chocolate syrup, and I dug in as if I could ease all pain with sugar. Frankly, it helped. We went through the litany of different plants and flowers I’d need to water while they were gone, and I tried to explain that I’d do my best not to kill them, but I wasn’t good with plants. Double checking that the outside flowers had gotten enough water from the automatic sprinklers was my best chance at success.

Finally, she wound down. “Let’s have more brownies.”

I didn’t have the energy to fight the idea, and besides, it wasn’t like anybody would see me naked any time soon. So we dove into the brownies again, and it was getting dark by the time we finished. Her hug was comforting as she let me go, walking me to my car.

“Have a great time,” I said, feeling better after letting it all out. And eating copious amounts of chocolate.

She smiled. “We will. Forget that Aiden Devlin. You should be with a nice Italian boy, anyway.” Of course, Georgiana was a Lambertini, so she might be a little biased.

“Maybe.” I waved to her as I drove away, wondering where I could find the same indoor replacement plants if I accidentally killed some of theirs. The ladies were so kind, and I didn’t want them coming home to dead plants.

I sighed, heading home, feeling much better. Kind of like I was floating. As I reached Tamarack Lake, her words kept drumming inside my head. A nice Italian boy would be a good thing, at least for half of my family. It wasn’t a terrible idea, and once Tessa had told me that the best way to get over a man was to find another one. That thought totally made sense right now. So I skipped the turnoff toward my cottage and kept driving around the lake, stopping at the luxurious Blueridge Condos