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

Off to my left, carpeted stairs led up to the second floor. Piccolo met me at the top, stared as if he wanted something, if not food then attention.


“Hey, Pik,” I said, pausing to scratch behind his ears and listen to him purr. He suffered me for about six seconds before trotting off.


The stillness was absolute. I had grown up with “keep it down” drilled into my head; Gracie and I had not been allowed to forget that we lived in a funeral home, and folks were grieving, and didn’t want to hear kids shouting and carrying on. Over the years, I had grown used to the quiet.


Charlie, I discovered, was not in the kitchen. Had he gone back to the apartment? The thought left me feeling disappointed. After my performance today in the car, why would he hang around? Who could blame him?


Chapter 11