Happy Father's Day everyone! I was very close to my father and different versions of him appear in many of my Nancy Keene Mysteries. Here's a chapter from The Buried Treasure on Route 66 in which Nancy tries to persuade her father into letting her go on a trip on Route 66 in order to help an elderly woman find a missing will.
Chapter Nine: Buttering Up Dad
Nancy is waiting for her father’s flight to land at the airport in Phoenix. She has bought a lei at her favorite flower shop and is planning to say “Aloha” when she greets him. Finally, the 5:00 flight comes in from La Guardia. She waves at her father as he comes to her.
“Did the plane make a wrong turn and land in Honolulu?” he asks.
“Welcome home, Dad!” she says as she places the lei over his head. “It’s so good to see you, Dad! I missed you!!”
“Me, too, honey. Thanks for picking me up. It’s good to be home.”
“Why didn’t you let me drive you to the airport instead of having to call a taxi? You should’ve woken me up.”
“I figured that you needed your beauty rest after your previous night of 2:00 a.m. cooking.”
“Speaking of cooking, I’ve made your favorite meal for dinner.”
“Coq au Vin?”
“Bien sur, Monsieur.”
“I can’t wait to get home.”
When Mr. Keene arrives home, he is escorted into the dining room by his daughter, who pours him a glass of Moet & Chandon. “Care for some lobster bisque to start, Dad?”
“Oh, boy!” he says, as Nancy ladles out the soup from their best Villeroy and Boch tureen.
“What a welcome home! You’ve really outdone yourself this time!”
“Thanks, Dad.”
“Okay. So, what’s up? Why are you buttering me up like this? What’s on your mind?”
“Well, Dad. Since you’re asking, there is something, but let’s finish our meal together first. Tell me all about your trip.”
“Oh no, you don’t. Tell me right now what your latest scheme is.”
“Well, Dad. You know how I’ve been trying to help Mrs. Wood find that will I was telling you about?”
“Nancy! I told you to let it go. Stop being involved in that mess. Those stepsons mean business.”
“Well, it’s funny you should bring that up because I was thinking of getting her away from them for a while.”
“She’s not staying here.”
“Dad. That thought didn’t even cross my mind.”
“What thought did?”
“Well, I’ve been looking at all of the clues and everything points to the newer will being buried at the Blue Swallow Motel in New Mexico.”
“So you want me to hire some people to go there and start digging?”
“Dad! I can’t believe these thoughts coming out of your head. Being in New York has made you very cynical, all of a sudden.”
“Okay, Nancy, what’s your plan.”
“Let me pour you another glass of champagne and I’ll tell you all about it.”
****
After two hours of telling her Dad everything that’s been happening with Mrs. Wood, his heart starts to melt.
“Nancy, you’ve always had a way of wrapping me around your little finger. Okay. You may do it, but here are my rules,” her Dad says, putting his foot down. “You may go on your road trip with Mrs. Wood and Ned, but I’m going to be coming with the three of you. I’ve been worried about this whole situation with those two stepsons, and I want to stay as close to you as possible right now.”
“Oh, Dad. You can’t protect me forever. I’m an adult now,” she says, wrapping her arms around his neck.
“I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you, honey.”
“That won’t happen. We will have a long and happy life together, Dad. The best is yet to come.”
“Well, my dear. Once again, you certainly have lifted my spirits. I’m even starting to get excited about the thought of taking a road trip, too.”
“That’s the spirit, Dad!”
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