Funeral home owner and undertaker Dual Hood knows a good thing when he sees it, so when Charlie Soder applies for the job of embalmer, he snatches up the young man in a heartbeat. Charlie, fresh-faced and just out of college, also knows a good thing when he sees it, and immediately sets his sights on his new sexy boss.<br><br>It doesn’t take long for sparks to fly and romance to blossom. But Dual worries what folks in his small Mississippi town will say, and whether his family-owned business will suffer if word goes round about his new love interest. He isn’t at all certain he has the courage to do the right thing and grab love before it slips through his fingers.

The Undertaker's Secret

Were it just me, I would have no problem falling in love with Charlie Soder. I could even see us getting married and carrying on the family business together, and growing old together under this roof. But it wasn’t just me. It was my livelihood. It was my mother’s livelihood. It was the livelihood of our employees. It was our place in the community, our status, our standing. All of that would be put at risk.


I bit at my lip. Look at you,I thought. Haven’t even gone on a date and you’re already thinking about marriage and dribbling into adult diapers together!


For all I knew, Charlie Soder could be some grifter trying to get his hooks in me. Maybe it was the funeral home he wanted, and not necessarily the owner.


Charlie brought a cup of coffee from the kitchen and placed it carefully on my desk.


“Just trying to catch up on these files,” I replied, not wanting to tell him my real thoughts. “Thanks for the coffee.”


Chapter 7