Letters From Al by Pieper, Kathleen (i am reading a book txt) 📗

guess you just can never tell about some people." Maddy replied glibly, sheer coincidence that her eyes came to rest on Alec McKay, chewing a soda straw and gazing back at her thoughtfully. "And to tell you the truth, I've thought the house might do well as a bed and breakfast inn. It's just a thought, but there's enough room."

"Well, you certainly have been thinking about things, haven't you? It's entirely up to you, but, I would advise you to move slowly. No one's lived in it for a while. It might need more renovation for a plan like that. In any case, we better get back to the office, Miss Morris."

Another big laugh came floating across the room from the deputy and his friends. So, while Maddy waited for Leland to pay the bill, she decided to beard the lion in his den and casually sauntered over. If she could handle Leland, she thought she could handle Alec.

"Thanks again for the orange juice. I feel invigorated, Deputy McKay." Clutching her purse under her arm, Maddy approached the table full of men. She looked at them, seeing an assortment of shapes and sizes.

"Good morning, gentlemen." A nod to them all caused a brief silence then suddenly the table erupted with warm greetings.

A bushy-bearded man with a GO BIG RED cap and deeply tanned complexion spoke first.

"Now Miss, you got to tell me why you'd sit over there with old Leland when you could have been at a table of good old boys like us?" He snapped suspenders that were pulled taut over an ample beer belly. "Our fearless lawman would have been right here to protect you or," and he winked, "we would have been here to protect you from him, since he's been paying more attention to your table than ours since you got here."

Maddy kept her sense of humor, glancing at Leland who waited impatiently to pay his bill behind several truckers.

"I just came over to thank the good deputy for the orange juice. A lot of oranges had to die to fill that glass." Laughter from all around the table filled the air. "It was, to say the least, a little more than I'm used to, but then," she walked behind the deputy's chair and trailed her finger over the back of it, demurely, "there's a lot of things around here that are more than I'm used to." The bearded man laughed gleefully, slapping Alec on the shoulder with a resounding thump.

"Now, a fellow could take that one of two ways, Miss Morris," Deputy McKay sat forward and rubbed his shoulder.

"I'm afraid you'll have to take it any way you want, deputy. I'm just a poor, little city girl, learning the ways of the country. And who are these handsome gentlemen?"

Alec reluctantly introduced everyone around the table of eight men. "I'm probably cutting my own throat introducing you to these bums," he said good naturedly. "When my back is turned some of them will be asking you for a date, Maddy."

"Well, since we’re just old school friends, that shouldn’t upset you."

"Yes, it's true. We went to school here together." Alec held up his hands, grinning impishly at her and finished with a bow.

"Hello. It's nice to meet everyone. Please, call me Maddy. Except you." All eyes fell on the deputy, "You can call me Miss Morris."

Everyone laughed as Alec had to accept the teasing but he finally shook his head and smiled, “We’ll talk about that later, Miss Morris.”

"Gee, deputy, a girl could take that one of two ways." Maddy arched her eyebrows and gave a challenging grin.

Leland had paid the bill and was now hurrying over to her so she said good by and joined the realtor at the door.

The rest of the morning was spent going over papers with Leland and Jack Drake who showed up after lunch. The actual will was brief and simple enough. Her great aunt had left everything she owned to Maddy. But Leland seemed determined to stretch things out as if it were more difficult. Jack Drake, the attorney didn't help much, arriving an hour late as Leland hemmed and hawed his way through endless paperwork.

Mr. Drake was older than she'd thought, tall, slim and white haired, in his late 60s, Maddy guessed. Leland was very pleased to see him and they acted like old friends. It was obvious he admired the Omaha attorney and never missed a chance to emphasize his own achievements to the older man. Together they appeared like a professional team. Mr. Drake's grip was firm, and he appeared impressed when Maddy didn't back down from his impervious stare when they were introduced.

Being left the house didn't surprise Maddy. Further discussion included Mr. Drake handing over a healthy checking account, a savings account and a rather ambiguous entry concerning ‘Miscellaneous Bonds’ that were all hers. Maddy was speechless for a moment before recovering enough to let her business sense take over.

"What are these Miscellaneous Bonds," she asked point blank. The men exchanged looks.

"That's what we're attempting to find out." Jack Drake started to pack his briefcase and Leland nodded in agreement. "I'm relatively certain the bonds are worthless, if it's the ones that I remember her telling me about."

"They are in the name of the C.G. Johnson Mining Company and we can't find the actual bonds anywhere. By that, I mean your aunt probably misplaced or threw the bonds away because they weren't worth anything. Leland and I briefly searched for them before you arrived but couldn't locate them. We didn't go through the house, just her desk in the library. Have you come across anything?"

"I didn't feel comfortable going through her personal things before the will was read." Maddy admitted.

"She had a safe deposit box but it only had the deed to the house and her will in it. So we're kind of left hanging." Jack Drake said and snapped his briefcase shut.

"If she thought they were worthless, and I'm sure she checked first, your