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Mandy nodded. “Perfect.”
“I’ll look overdressed.”And desperate.What if Matt showed up in jeans and a polo shirt?
“You’ll look elegant,” Irene said firmly.
“It’s too short, too snug...and cut too low.”
Mandy reached for the dress and slid the plastic bag back over the hanger. “Even the manager thought it was great on you.”
“Given the slow business day she was having, she would have said that if I’d tried on the entry rug.”
Irene drew herself to her full height. “She’s my sister’s mother-in-law, and believe me, she’d never steer you wrong. She says it’s bad for business.”
Abashed, Jolie gave in. During her years away from Garrett Bluff, she’d forgotten the basic rule of thumb in a small town: assumeeveryoneis related to, or friends with, everyone else.
She made herself smile despite her misgivings. “Thanks for the advice, you two. And Irene, thanks for being willing to babysit Matt’s kids.”
A sharp knock sounded at the back door.
Irene stepped into the hallway and hurried to answer it. A murmur of voices rose, and in a moment she reappeared. “It’s your brother, Jolie. Are you free?”
“Send him on in.” Alarm slid through Jolie as she moved to the door of her office, her first thoughts on their dad’s condition. Was he worse? Had he collapsed?
Bobby sauntered toward her, his black hair rakishly tipped over his forehead and a devilish grin on his face. “Hey, sis, how’s it—” The words died on his lips.
Mandy, who’d darted toward the front room, came face-to-face with him at the door to Jolie’s office. She gasped, curved a protective hand over her belly.
Bobby’s gaze flashed between Jolie and Mandy, then down to Mandy’s swollen waist. He paled. “I—I was just stopping on my way over to the fairgrounds. I didn’t realize...”
“How real this pregnancy is?” Jolie asked calmly. “Mandy is working here until the baby comes, then she’s thinking aboutmoving away for college. Have you two had a chance to talk about this lately?”
Mandy whimpered and drew back, but Jolie caught her arm. “I think it’s time, don’t you? Let’s go into my office and get you two settled. And then I need to get to work.”
“I don’t want to talk,” Mandy said. “I don’t even want toseehim again. Ever.”
Jolie steered her firmly into the room. “Don’t let it go any longer, honey. You’ll feel better, and so will he.”
With the glazed look of someone heading for death row, Bobby followed them in and took a chair. Mandy perched on the edge of another one, ready to bolt.
“I tried talking to her twice,” Bobby said through his teeth. “She wouldn’t talk to me.”
Mandy’s expression changed from wariness to indignation. “You told your father that this baby wasn’t yours. I never evendatedanyone else, and you know it. I once thought I loved you, Bobby.”
Bobby shifted uncomfortably in his chair.
“Why did youlie?”
Shoving a hand through his hair, he slouched down in the chair and closed his eyes at the painful memory. “You don’t know my old man. That night, I had no idea that you were...were...”
“You can say it,” Mandy snapped. “I’ve had to, for months.Pregnant.”
“After your dad told mine about it, Dad called me into his office. He was in such a rage I didn’t even know what he was talking about at first. So of course I denied everything.” He shook his head slowly. “And later...well, it just seemed easier to leave it that way.”
“Easier?”Mandy choked back a sob.
“Why didn’t you tell me right away?”
“How could I? After your friend Danny got hurt in that accident last fall, you disappeared into the mountains. That’s when I first found out I was pregnant. And after you got home, you never called...you didn’t come over...”
