Spike meets the Clawson sisters in book three, when he goes with Gus to handle a little plumbing problem the ladies are having. In book four, not only are the Clawson sister back, but you’ll know the whole story–how they came to live in the elegant Victorian home in the middle of Bluesky. But it’s not just their story, it’s the story of how the town of Bluesky came to be.

Here is Spike’s encounter with the Clawson sisters from Red, While, and . . . Bloopers.

“I hope you don’t mind if we make a stop on the way home,” Gus said. “The Clawson sisters are having a little plumbing problem.”

“The Clawson sisters?”

“Rose, Violet, and Daisy,” Gus said with a grin. “Some people call them the Flower Girls .”

“I can see why. Their parents must love flowers.”

“Yes, they did. Rose was married, but her husband died several years ago. Now the three ladies live together. Violet and Daisy are what we used to call old maids.”

Gus pulled up in front of a gray Victorian-style house with a peaked roof and gingerbread trim. It had a huge porch that went across the front of the house and wrapped around to the side. Rose bushes grew along the white picket fence and beds of daisies, bachelor buttons, and zinnias lined the walkway.

“Wow!” Spike exclaimed. “I guess they really do like flowers!”

Violet Clawson answered the door. She was wearing a bright fuchsia dress with a strand of pearls around her neck. The flower motif continued inside the house—pink mums on the wallpaper, vases full of flowers on every table, and even flowered floor coverings. Her sisters quickly joined her in the living room. “Good afternoon, ladies,” Gus said. “This is my friend, Michael.”

“Thank you so much for coming.” Rose invited them in. “We are having a slight problem in the upstairs bathroom.”

“Daisy dropped her teeth in the toilet,” Violet whispered to Spike.

“I’ll be right back,” Gus said as Rose led him away up the stairs.

Spike stood near the door while Daisy fussed with the vase of flowers on the coffee table. She hadn’t said a word since Gus and Spike arrived.

“She won’t talk without her teeth,” Violet said in Spike’s ear. “She’s so vain!”

“Michael!” Gus yelled from the top of the stairs. “Can you go get the wrench from my truck? They’ve got a little leak up here.”

Spike was relieved to have an excuse to go outside. He climbed into the back of Gus’s truck and took a wrench from the toolbox. In the bed of the truck, he saw the whoopee cushion he had thrown there that morning.  Spike picked it up. It was almost too hot to handle after lying in the sun all day. Spike tucked it in his pocket and went back in the house with the wrench.

“I’ll take it to him,” Violet offered, taking the wrench from Spike’s hand.

Spike sat carefully in one of the fancy high-backed chairs. When Gus came down the stairs with Rose and Violet, Spike stood up quickly, not noticing the whoopee cushion fall from his pocket.

“Okay, ladies,” Gus said. “I think everything is fixed.”

“Thank you so much,” Rose walked with Gus and Spike toward the door.

“Oh, look!” Violet exclaimed. “Daisy, here’s your hot water bottle. It’s still nice and warm.”

Before Spike could say anything, Daisy sat down on the chair he had just vacated. “Pfffbt” came from the whoopee cushion.

“Oh!” Daisy exclaimed. “Excuse me!” Daisy stood up and then sat down again. “Pfffbt” came from the whoopee cushion again.

Gus and Spike hurried out the door. “I guess I should have left the whoopee cushion in the donation box,” Spike said as they got in Gus’s truck.

“Why do you say that? Those ladies are gonna have fun with that whoopee cushion for days.”

The Handy Helpers book series is available at Amazon