Page 52 of Ten Big Ones (Stephanie Plum 10)

'What are you doing for the rest of the day?' Lula wanted to know.

I took Connie's paper and turned to real estate. 'I'm looking for an apartment for Valerie. She's not showing a lot of motivation to vacate mine, so I thought I'd help her out.'

'I thought you were all settled in with Morelli,' Lula said. 'Uh oh, is there trouble in paradise?'

I started circling rentals. 'No trouble. I just want my own space back.'

I was concentrating on the paper, not looking up, not wanting to see Lula's and Connie's reactions.

I finished circling, folded the paper, and put it in my shoulder bag. `I'm taking the back end of your paper,' I said to Connie. 'And there's no trouble.'

'Hunh,' Lula said. She leaned forward and sniffed. 'Damned if you don't smell good. You smell just like Ranger.'

'Must be the truck,' I said.

I'd barely gotten out the door when my cell phone rang.

'It's your mother,' my mother said. As if I wouldn't know her voice. 'Everybody's here, and we were wondering if you could stop by for just a second to take a look at some dress colors. We picked out a gown, but we need to make sure it's okay with you.'

'Everybody?'

'Valerie and the wedding planner.'

'The wedding planner? You mean Sally?'

'I never realized he knew so much about fabric and accessorizing,' my mother said.

Grandma Mazur was at the door, waiting for me, when I parked behind the big yellow school bus, in front of my parents' house.

'Now that's a truck,' she said, eyeballing Ranger's Ford. 'I wouldn't mind having a truck like that. I bet it's got leather seats and everything.' She leaned forward and sniffed. 'And don't you smell good. What is that, a new perfume?'

It's soap. And it won't go away.'

'It smells sort of... sexy.'

Tell me about it. I was in love with myself.

'They're all in the kitchen,' Grandma said. 'If you want to sit you have to bring a chair from the dining room.'

'Not necessary,' I told her. I can't stay long.'

My mother, Valerie, and Sally were having coffee at the kitchen table. There were some fabric samples, next to the coffee cake, and Valerie had a couple pages torn from a magazine in front of her.

'Sit,' my mother said. 'Bring a chair.'

'Can't. Got things to do.'

Sally handed one of the pages to me. This is a picture of the bridesmaids' dresses. Your dress will be the same, but a different color. I'm still thinking pumpkin.'

'Sure,' I said. 'Pumpkin would be terrific.' Anything would be okay at this point. I didn't want to be a party pooper, but I had other things on my mind.

'What things do you have to do?' Grandma wanted to know.

'Bounty hunter things.'

My mother made the sign of the cross.

'You should see Stephanie's new truck,' Grandma Mazur said. 'It looks like a truck the devil himself would drive.'

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