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    Under the Weather: The Jamie Keller Mystery Series, #5
    Under the Weather: The Jamie Keller Mystery Series, #5
    Under the Weather: The Jamie Keller Mystery Series, #5
    Ebook117 pages1 hour

    Under the Weather: The Jamie Keller Mystery Series, #5

    By EN McNamara

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    About this ebook

    Catch up with the Kellers!

    The good news is Jamie has finally gotten her long awaited driver's permit. The bad news is father-figure and beloved family friend, Mr. Sousa has cancer.

    Brother Jake is in the dumps because his girlfriend, Becky, dumped him, while sister, Jenny, is walking on the clouds of new love.

    A mysterious donor is helping needy families in town and everyone is speculating over as to who the anonymous benefactor could be.

    Return to Promise, Oregon for the latest in The Jamie Keller Mystery Series. Download today to enjoy another great story.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherEN McNamara
    Release dateJul 1, 2015
    ISBN9781513015835
    Under the Weather: The Jamie Keller Mystery Series, #5
    Author

    EN McNamara

    EN McNamara runs a small lavender farm in wesrern Oregon. She spends much of her time in the care and feeding of the twenty-six mouths on the farm including, horses, dogs, cats, goats and many chickens. 

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      Book preview

      Under the Weather - EN McNamara

      Chapter One

      In one of our many discussions on figuring-out-the-world, Mrs. Sousa declared that anger is never justified. When I countered that some anger was most certainly justified, she insisted that grievances block our relationship with the Almighty, hence our happiness. She expounded that people really only get angry when their ego is threatened, and that we humans become very competitive when we come from the place of ego and that very competitiveness can conjure up anger. The good news, she said, is that we have options. We can, if we choose, sit with the Soul, where we naturally offer blessings, and feel the presence, power, and peace of God.

      Mrs. Sousa’s argument came off reasonable - until the next time Jenny pissed me off.

      I FLEW DOWN THE HILL with wings on my feet. Today was the day I was to take my long-awaited driver’s permit test, but first I had a mission to complete. The plate of peanut butter cookies almost met dirt for one horrifying moment, when my cat Isaiah nearly tripped me up, but I, so joyous and in the mood to run, gave him a swift reprimand with my foot, cradled the plate more firmly and continued my jog down to the Sousa’s. My older sister, Jenny had borrowed a jar of peanut butter, from our neighbors, earlier that morning, so, as was the custom, the favor was returned with a plate of cookies. Jenny insisted I provide foot transport, which some days I might have balked, but on that very afternoon, my older sister Jenny had generously agreed (with Mom‘s prodding) to drive me to Rosemead so I could take the test. Running to the Sousa’s was not a problem anyway. They were two of my favorite people in the world, plus the exercise could only help to burn off the five cookies I’d already eaten, along with the few I might be offered at the Sousas - not to mention the spoonful of dough, or two, that I’d managed to sneak while Jenny wasn‘t looking.

      The long-ago and far-away conversation replayed its-self in my mind when I stopped to open the Sousa’s, sometimes difficult, gate latch. It was then I heard the argument.

      You see, I’d known the Sousas for nearly two years and in all that time I’d never heard either of them speak a harsh word to anyone, let alone each other. Our anger is never justified? I wondered what Mrs. Sousa would have to say about that today. It was shocking to hear her dressing down Mr. Sousa and I wondered what he‘d done to deserve the stern lecture. For a few seconds I stood transfixed, part of me wanting to hear more (because I couldn’t quite make out what they were saying), and the other part wanting to run in the opposite direction. Isaiah looked up at me with kitty-cat curiosity, as I pondered what next to do. Just when I’d come to the conclusion it might be better to come back another time, Leonard came out from under the porch and began barking at the cat. Startled, I dropped the plate of cookies which the Golden Retriever then pounced on.

      I was still yelling at him and trying to salvage a few cookies by the time Mrs. Sousa came to the door. What’s going on out here? Jamie, are you alright?

      Yeah, I’m ok, I assured her, but your cookies are in Leonard’s stomach.

      Oh no! Leonard, it’s always something with you these days. Bad boy! Mrs. Sousa firmly directed Leonard to his under the porch hide-out, Go lay down!

      Leonard sloped off guiltily - he’d left not a crumb. Mrs. Sousa and I chuckled as Isaiah, who had watched the scene with great interest, offered up a huge cat yawn and leisurely plopped down beside him. Isaiah’s expression dripped with distain.

      Mrs. Sousa shook her head in exasperation. I don’t know what’s gotten into that dog. He used to be so well behaved.

      What was that all about, Leonard? You’ve known me for years. What

      provoked you to bark at me in such a way?"

      Don’t take it personally, Grey Cat. It’s an old dog trick. They often drop

      food if you startle, or better yet, trip them."

      "Ha, Yellow Dog. Get your facts straight. The trip and devour trick was

      discovered centuries ago, by cats!"

      It’s really not his fault, I said. When he barked I got startled and dropped the plate - he was just being a dog. I’m really sorry about your cookies, though. They were really good.

      I bet they were. Ah, not to lament, Mrs. Sousa said with a dry little laugh They’ll look better on Leonard than they will on me.

      I smiled. Not because the joke was so funny, but because Mrs. Sousa was feeling good enough to tell it. If she wanted to sweep whatever she and Mr. Sousa had been fighting over under-the-rug, I was more than happy to comply.

      Well, today is the day! I said, deciding a subject change might be helpful, (plus, I was soo excited).

      I was actually surprised to see you, Mrs. Sousa said, I figured you’d be in Rosemead.

      You mean to go take my permit test?

      Well, of course.

      How did you know I was taking my test today? I asked.

      Because you’ve been talking about it since September, Mrs. Sousa laughed, of last year.

      Well, she had me there. I laughed along with her.

      Are you all studied up for the test? she asked.

      Yeah I think so. Everyone says it’s pretty easy.

      I bid Mrs. Sousa good-bye and headed home, still vaguely wondering what the argument could have been about. Oh well, I guessed all married couples had their differences from time to time. It brought me back to the feeling I’d had when my own parents fought. It hadn’t happened often, but the few times it had, I was left with a terrible insecurity. Oh, how I missed my dad. He’d been killed in Iraq by a road-side bomb over two years ago, and not a day went by that I didn’t think of him. Even memories of he and my mom fighting left me feeling nostalgic.

      As I walked back up the hill toward home, the sky threatened rain. Nothing new there. It had been raining on and off for over two months, but no one was complaining. People were just relieved the drought was over. Everyone rejoiced when the ponds and rivers filled and the forest and pastures were restored to their fifty shades of green. Perhaps, best of all: fire danger was down to nothing.

      Chapter Two

      By the time Jenny and I headed out to Rosemead the rain was coming down hard. The silver Saturn’s windshield wipers were working overtime and the inclement weather forced Jenny to drive with extra care, which was a good thing. We spoke little on the drive which allowed me to glance through the driver’s manual. I’d not really had time to study, but had little concern over the test - heck, I’d just about single handedly driven across country without incident - I knew how to drive, for sure.

      The Department of Motor Vehicle’s parking lot was chock-full and it took Jenny four tries to successfully park the car. Through all I managed to keep my mouth shut. She was truly the worst driver I had ever seen - only six more months till I’d be sixteen. Then, I planned to replace Jenny behind the wheel, and this world would be a much safer place.

      The DMV smelled like a duck pond. Blasting hot air met us

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