Murder at Lost Dog Lake (27 page)

“
Tell you what, little buddy. Because this is a really special
occasion to welcome your mother back, we will get two pizzas. One
for you and one for Thomas and you can both order exactly what you
want on it. How about that?”

“
Wow,” Brian shouted. “And can we have Crazy Bread as
well?”

“
As crazy as they can make it,” Wayne said, moving to the
phone.

“
Hey, Mom. How was your trip anyway?” Important things sorted
out, Brian remembered his manners. “We heard there was a really
huge storm up north.”

“
Like the worst in the whole history of the world,” Thomas
piped in, his eyes wide with the excitement of it all.

“
It was big all right,” I said, delighting in their love and
their joy. “The biggest ever.”

“
Dad said that people died.”

“
Well, yes. Someone did. Two people did. But that happens in
really big storms. Trees fall down and lightening hits the ground
and all that sort of thing.”

“
Dad was real glad that you were okay, Mom.” The room fell
silent.

Wayne
hung up the phone and scooped Brian into his big arms. “I have a
feeling that you might be seeing a lot more of your mom from now
on. What do you think of that big boy?”

Brian
squealed. “I think that’s great.”

I
swallowed again.

“
Can we go camping with you sometime, Mom?” Thomas
asked.

“
You bet. Maybe next year. Yes, next year we’ll all go. It’ll
be so much fun. We’ll camp and canoe and see moose and loons and if
we’re really lucky, even bears. And if we’re really, really lucky
we’ll hear wolves.”

Thomas
ran around the living room imitating a wolf and Brian grinned at
me.

“
I’d like that, Mom.”

The end

About the Author

Having
taken early retirement from her job as a systems analyst in the
high-pressure financial world, Vicki is settling down to the rural
life in bucolic, Prince Edward County, Ontario where she rarely
wears a watch.

Other Titles by Vicki Delany

The Constable Molly Smith Series:

Among
the Departed

Negative
Image

Winter
of Secrets

Valley
of the Lost

In the
Shadow of the Glacier

The Klondike Gold Rush Series:

Gold
Digger

Gold
Fever

Standalone Novels of Suspense:

Burden
of Memory

Scare
the Light Away

Find Vicki at
www.vickidelany.com

www.facebook.com/vicki.delany

twitter: @vickidelany