Read Sookie 08 From Dead To Worse for Free Online

I caught myself wondering if Reverend Collins paid his taxes quarterly. But after a while, I figured he was talking about the laws we break all the time without feeling guilty—like the speed limit, or sticking a letter in with some presents in a box you're mailing at the post office, without paying the extra postage.
    I smiled at Reverend Collins on my way out of the church. He always looks a little troubled when he sees me.
    I said hello to Maxine Fortenberry and her husband, Ed, as I reached the parking lot. Maxine was large and formidable, and Ed was so shy and quiet he was almost invisible. Their son, Hoyt, was my brother Jason's best friend. Hoyt was standing behind his mother. He was wearing a nice suit, and his hair had been trimmed. Interesting signs.
    "Sugar, you give me a hug!" Maxine said, and of course I did. Maxine had been a good friend to my grandmother, though she was more the age my dad would have been. I smiled at Ed and gave Hoyt a little wave.
    "You're looking nice," I told him, and he smiled. I didn't think I'd ever seen Hoyt smile like that, and I glanced at Maxine. She was grinning.
    "Hoyt, he's dating that Holly you work with," Maxine said. "She's got a little one, and that's a thing to think about, but he's always liked kids."
    "I didn't know," I said. I really had been out of it lately. "That's just great, Hoyt. Holly's a real nice girl."
    I wasn't sure I would have put it quite that way if I'd had time to think, so maybe it was lucky I didn't. There were some big positives about Holly (devoted to her son, Cody; loyal to her friends; a competent worker). She'd been divorced for several years, so Hoyt wasn't a rebound. I wondered if Holly had told Hoyt she was a Wiccan. Nope, she hadn't, or Maxine wouldn't be smiling so broadly.
    "We're meeting her for lunch at the Sizzler," she said, referring to the steakhouse up by the interstate. "Holly's not much of a churchgoer, but we're working on getting her to come with us and bring Cody. We better get moving if we're gonna be on time."
    "Way to go, Hoyt," I said, patting his arm as he went by me. He gave me a pleased look.
    Everyone was getting married or falling in love. I was happy for them. Happy, happy, happy. I pasted a smile on my face and went to Piggly Wiggly. I fished Amelia's list out of my purse. It was pretty long, but I was sure there'd be additions by now. I called her on my cell phone, and she had already thought of three more items to add, so I was some little while in the store.
    My arms were weighed down with plastic bags as I struggled up the steps to the back porch. Amelia shot out to the car to grab the other bags. "Where have you been?" she asked, as if she'd been standing by the door tapping her toe.
    I looked at my watch. "I got out of church and went to the store," I said defensively. "It's only one."
    Amelia passed me again, heavily laden. She shook her head in exasperation as she went by, making a noise that could only be described as "Urrrrrrgh."
    The rest of the afternoon was like that, as though Amelia were getting ready for the date of her life.
    I'm not a bad cook, but Amelia would let me do only the most menial chores in fixing the dinner. I got to chop onions and tomatoes. Oh, yeah, she let me wash the preparation dishes. I'd always wondered if she could do the dishes like the fairy godmothers in
Sleeping Beauty
, but she just snorted when I brought it up.
    The house was spanky clean, and though I tried not to mind, I noticed that Amelia had even given the floor of my bedroom a once-over. As a rule, we didn't go into each other's space.
    "Sorry I went in your room," Amelia said suddenly, and I jumped—me, the telepath. Amelia had beaten me at my own game. "It was one of those crazy impulses I get. I was vacuuming, and I just thought I'd get your floor, too. And before I thought about it, I was done. I put your slippers up under your bed."
    "Okay," I said, trying to sound neutral.
    "Hey, I
am
sorry."
    I nodded and went