Total pages in book: 158
Estimated words: 145729 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 729(@200wpm)___ 583(@250wpm)___ 486(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 145729 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 729(@200wpm)___ 583(@250wpm)___ 486(@300wpm)
“I’m a total foodie.”
“You look like a model. I wasn’t certain you actually ate food.”
Molly pushed back her blond hair. “I can put away an entire large pizza when I’m having a pity party.”
Sonia made a face. “Girlfriend, any woman worth her salt can do that.”
“And a tub of ice cream.”
Sonia grinned at her. “Now that impresses me.” She left the money for her coffee and a tip for the waitress. Women had to stick together, especially those working their way through the world on their own.
“It should, I was making it up.”
Sonia found herself laughing, and it was the first time in a very long time. “I should have known. You have such a perfect figure.”
“Um, Sonia? This isn’t called a figure. I’m thin. You have a figure. I try, but I’ve never been able to put on weight easily. This sounds so stupid, and I never say it as a rule, but I just can’t eat calories fast enough without my body burning them up.”
“You try to put on weight?”
“All the time.”
Sonia laughed again. “That’s crazy. I’m always trying to lose. I guess we’re typical women, Molly. We want what we don’t have.”
3
Sonia drove up to the Tregre plantation house slowly. It was several miles up the road from hers, deeper into the swamp and bordering the river as well. There was a high wrought iron fence, very ornate, surrounding the front of the property. A booth sat between the side of the lane going in and the one leading out. It looked like a guard booth, but no one was in it.
She drove her truck through the open gates and nearly stopped dead in the middle of the road. Even from a distance, the house was one of beauty and elegance from an era gone by. She thought her home was gorgeous, but this one was even more so. Clearly both had been built by the same architect. He’d been brilliant, using cypress, which didn’t rot or get bug infestations as easily as most other woods. She could see that both the upper and lower stories of the house had long, wraparound balconies just as her home did.
Her truck moved slowly up the winding drive. The grounds were being manicured. There was activity everywhere around the outside of the house that she could see. Gardeners weeded flower beds and trimmed unruly bushes. Emerald leaves fluttered in the wind. The trees were thick and sturdy, trunks wide and branches curved, deliberately shaped. She slipped from her truck and took the path leading to the side of the house so she could peer into the side yard at the trees, making a mental note to tell the new owner about Molly’s expertise in the gardening and landscaping world.
This was a leopard’s paradise. Had Rafe Cordeau been a shifter? No, more than likely, the family that had owned the plantation all those years ago, when the trees had been planted and the branches forced to grow a certain way to create a highway flowing from tree to tree, had been shifters. Gatita would love this. Sonia was in the middle of creating just such a play yard for her leopard.
Feeling eyes on her, she took a careful look around and slowly lifted her chin so she could sniff the air. Her long hair and the hair on her body acted like a leopard’s whiskers, sending out sonar and receiving information back. Her hair allowed her to feel slight vibrations in the air currents as they changed. She also could detect, even in the dark, just how close she was to anything or anyone.
Her sense of smell was good and gave her the information that aside from the gardeners, there were three men close by. She couldn’t see them, and her eyesight was beyond excellent. She didn’t like that the men could hide their presence from her. It was unusual, and anything out of the ordinary bothered her. Still, she was moving around the house of a client – a man of wealth who had taken back kidnap victims from their assailants. He was a man who must have made enemies. If he had a few guards, who could blame him? There were so many different males around, it was difficult to sort out all the various scents. Several were familiar to her, but elusive as they all ran together.
Sonia moved back around to the front of the house, deliberately looking up at the structure, noting any signs of aging. The house had held up when so many others had rotted in the intensity of the humidity, heat, insect attacks and neglect. There were very few signs of insects or neglect. This house had been loved by those living in it. She liked that.
She went up the long, wide steps onto the porch. Like hers, this one was massive, covered and used by the occupants. She moved closer to one of the columns and touched the long rake mark made by a large cat. The mark was old. Even painting it would feel like taking away a piece of history. Most seeing that mark wouldn’t realize it was made by a leopard. Most probably wouldn’t notice it unless they were purchasing the house.