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Mrs. Dobson straightened on the overstuffed settee. "Anabell, I'm ashamed of you for spreading lies like that. Bonnie has her own room."
"But it's next to his, isn't it?"
"She's six years old," Megan said heatedly. "She gets frightened at night. She's recently lost her mother."
"Good riddance," Colleen said, then sniffed.
Megan started to stand up, but Mrs. Dobson placed a restraining hand on her arm. "Hush, child," she said softly. "Getting angry won't solve anything."
"Why are you here?" Megan asked in a whisper. "I thought you liked Justin."
"I do. Finding out what your sister has planned seemed the most sensible route.''
Mrs. Greeley was speaking again. "Whether or not the child has her own room isn't really the point, is it? That girl is a problem. A blemish on our town and a reminder of the kind of sin we're struggling to get rid of. If Sheriff Kincaid doesn't agree to the church's most generous offer—" she paused while Colleen smiled modestly "—then I say he should be fired."
"He has a contract," one of the widows reminded her.
"I'll have Winston check with our lawyer this week," Mrs. Greeley said.
"Sheriff Kincaid is a good man, and we're lucky to have him," Mrs. Dobson said.
Colleen arched her eyebrows. "What an interesting point of view. Are we to ignore the fact that seven years ago he was run out of town for beating a prostitute nearly to death?"
"He was cleared of that charge," Mrs. Dobson reminded her.
"Yes, she cleared him of it. If I remember correctly, I heard that she knew him intimately enough to be able to say it wasn't him in the dark. Curious, don't you think? That he's taken such an interest in that same woman's child."
Megan knew what she was implying. "Bonnie is only six. Justin's—" She swallowed hard as eight pair of eyes focused on her. She should have called him Sheriff Kincaid. Too late now. "Justin was gone over seven years," she continued. "Bonnie couldn't be his."
"Oh, but we only have the child's word on her age. It's likely her mother lied about it, to save her lover."
Several of the women nodded in agreement.
Megan shook off Mrs. Dobson's restraining hand. "You're all mad. Bonnie is just a little girl, like your own children. She's done nothing wrong. Justin has done what you were afraid to do." She pointed at her sister. "You don't know the meaning of Christian charity. You're heartless and cruel. I don't know you anymore."
"Watch yourself, Megan. Don't forget who I am."
"I know exactly who you are. Who all of you are. I'm ashamed I once thought of you as my friends." Megan made her way out of the maze of tables. She gathered her shawl and reticule from a table by the hallway. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Dobson. I know you're on Justin's side, but you're wrong if you think these women can be reasoned with."
Colleen stood up. "Megan, you're hysterical. Come back and sit down."
"I won't." She started toward the door.
Colleen came after her and followed her onto the porch. "You're acting a fool," her sister said, her voice low and angry. "Don't fight me on this, Megan, or I swear I will destroy you."
"I'm not afraid of you." She started down the stairs.
"You will be," Colleen called after her. "You will be."
Chapter Ten
JVlegan stonned into the sheriff's office, pushing open the door so hard it bounced off the wall. She shouldered past it and stomped toward Justin's desk. He looked up at her and raised his eyebrows. At the desk to his left, a young dark-haired man sat staring at her, his mouth partly open.
She barely spared him a glance. "I must speak with you, Sheriff Kincaid," she said through clenched teeth. Fury filled her.
"So I gathered." He jerked his head toward the door. "Take a walk, Thomas."
"Yes, sir." Thomas scrambled to his feet and crossed the room to the hooks by the door. He picked up his hat. "Ma'am," he said, then closed the door behind him.
Justin motioned to the empty chair in the center of the room. "Have a seat."
"Thank you." She sat down, then stood back up. "I can't sit. I'm too angry."
