CHAPTER
14
“Ah-hah!” she crowed in my ear. “I didn’t think so. Now listen, Tugg’s doctor was adamant that he avoid stress…”
“Gaawd damn it, Mary!” Tugg’s angry voice boomed from the background. “Who are you talking to?”
“It’s Kendall…”
“Hell’s bells, woman! I told you not to tell anybody!”
“You stubborn old donkey! Do you want to die of a stroke?” came her high-pitched retort. A clunking sound and then Tugg came on the line. “Don’t pay any attention to her, she’s exaggerating. I’m perfectly fine. You go ahead with your trip.”
My spirits plummeted lower. I’d thought the news about Walter was bad, but this was the proverbial icing on the cake. How could everything I’d planned to go so right be going so wrong? Again, my intuitive dad observed my crestfallen expression and
