She hoped Charley hadn’t done anything too out of line. The time he’d planted those black tulips, June had paced the house and plotted revenge tactics for a week.
In the kitchen, Kristine stopped short. The kitchen table, the stove and the counters were covered with camouflage clothing. Sweatpants, sweatshirts and stocking caps. There was even a camouflage tent in the center of the room. June stood at the kitchen window, clutching a pair of gigantic binoculars and spying on Charley.
“Mom . . .” Kristine was baffled. “What the heck?”
Setting down the binoculars, June thumbed through some items on the counter, then thrust a pair of camouflage coveralls at Kristine. “Put these on. We’re going on a mission.”
“Hold on just a second.” Kristine dropped the coveralls onto the table. Their metal buttons clicked against the wood, then they swished onto the floor. “I’m not going anywhere until you tell me exactly what is going on.”
Who knew what type of crazy scheme June was hatching? Kristine was not about to do something that could get them both arrested the night before she was supposed to leave for Italy. In fact . . . maybe that was June’s plan. She would not put it past her mother to get them both locked up in a jail cell “for Kristine’s own good.”
“Mother,” she said. “I am going to Italy tomorrow. Whether you like it or not.”
“For heaven’s sake, stop being so self-centered.” June’s voice was sharp. “You love to travel. Go to Italy. See if I care.”
Kristine looked at her mother in surprise. “Then . . . what on earth is going on?”
“I am trying to stop a great tragedy.” June handed over the heavy binoculars. “Take a look.”
Baffled, Kristine walked over to the window. She turned the cold metal dials of the binoculars until the scene across the way blurred into view. Her mother’s friend Rose stood in Charley’s kitchen, radiant in a turquoise pantsuit. She fluttered around Charley like an exotic bird.
Something warm and hopeful flickered through Kristine’s chest. “Mom, do you have a crush on this man?”
When Kristine’s father died, June had been so devastated that she swore she’d never love anyone ever again. Whenever Kristine brought it up, June just laughed. “Why would I waste my time cooking and cleaning for some man?” she always said. But June’s obsession with Charley seemed a little beyond neighborly concern.
“Mom.” Kristine kept her voice gentle. “It’s been a long time. Dad would want you to be happy.”
“What are you talking about?” June’s arms flapped up and down. “You are missing the point entirely! This is a neighborhood matter. You see, Rose has wanted to live on this street for years.” Flouncing over to the table, June yanked on a pair of camouflage hunting pants. They were at least two sizes too big and she rolled up the cuffs. “I would not put it past her to marry Charley Montgomery just to get her hands on that house.”
“I see,” Kristine said. Peering out the window, she squawked, “Aack! They’re kissing.”
“What?” June dashed across that room so fast that she could have set a world record. She took the binoculars out of Kristine’s hands and trained them on the kitchen. After a long moment, she scowled. “That was not funny.”
“No. It was very telling.”
“You are getting the wrong idea,” June said, pulling a black cap over her head. “I simply want to know what is going on. I can stomach Rose in small doses but not as a neighbor. I would rather cash in my grave reservation today.”
Kristine laughed. “Well, don’t do that.” Reaching for the binoculars, she surveyed the situation. “No offense to Rose, but she has had a ridiculous amount of plastic surgery. I can’t imagine Charley would go for her.”
“Rose is a slut and Charley is a man.” June sniffed. “I can’t imagine that he wouldn’t.”
* * *
“Mother, come back here.” Kristine’s whisper was high pitched with worry. “I don’t like this!”
June rolled her eyes. She had successfully hung a rope ladder over the edge of Charley’s fence and was in the process of climbing over the wall and into his garden. There was no turning back now.
“Seriously,” Kristine insisted in a voice much too loud for a covert mission. “This is not safe.”
The only thing that could possibly make this unsafe would be if Kristine blew her cover. “Keep your eyes peeled,” June whispered. “If they look like they’re coming outside or even looking out the windows, just whistle.”
The night was