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“We’re gettin’ there,” Shelby said.
Emma took command. It was remarkable how much authority a relatively small woman with baby-doll cheeks and a cheery cap of butterscotch curls could possess. “You mustn’t think no one understands your situation. I was once an outsider in Wynette myself, so I—”
“You still are,” Torie observed in a loud whisper.
Emma ignored her. “—so I’m not unsympathetic. I also know what it’s like to have the attentions of a man to whom you’re not attracted, although the Duke of Beddington was far more odious than Mr. Skipjack. Still, my unwelcome suitor didn’t hold the economic fate of this town in his hands. But I also didn’t try to use Ted to discourage him.”
“You kind of did,” Torie said. “But Ted was only twenty-two at the time, and Kenny saw through you.”
Emma’s wide mouth tightened at the corners, emphasizing her plump bottom lip. “Your presence has doubly complicated an already delicate situation, Meg. You obviously find Spence’s attentions objectionable, and we understand that.”
“I don’t.” Kayla adjusted the rimless Burberry sunglasses she’d pushed on top of her blond hair. “Do you have any idea how rich that man is? And he’s got great hair.”
“Unfortunately, your method of discouraging him involves Ted,” Emma went on, “which might have been acceptable if Sunny hadn’t appeared.”
Birdie tugged on the hem of the silky tomato red top she wore with a cotton skirt. “Anybody with two eyes can see how crazy Spence is about his daughter. You might be able to get away with rejecting him, but you can’t get away with throwing yourself at the man his baby girl is falling in love with.”
Torie nodded. “What Sunny wants, Sunny gets.”
“She’s not going to get Ted,” Meg said.
“Something Ted will make certain she doesn’t figure out until the ink on the land deal is dry,” Emma said briskly.
Meg had heard enough. “Here’s a scary thought. What if your sainted mayor decides to toss you all to the wolves and fend for himself?”
Zoey pointed a principal’s accusing finger toward her, a remarkably effective gesture for a woman who was only a year older than Meg herself. “This is a big joke to you, but it’s not a joke to the kids at my school who are jammed into overcrowded classrooms. Or the teachers trying to make do with outdated textbooks and no aides.”
“It sure isn’t a joke to me.” Kayla stole a surreptitious look at herself in the mirror. “I hate running a resale shop full of old-lady clothes, but right now there aren’t more than a handful of women in this town who can afford to buy the kind of fashion I was destined to sell.” Her eyes swept over Meg’s resale skirt.
“I’ve been wanting to open a tearoom and bookstore next to the inn ever since I took over the place,” Birdie said.
Shelby pushed her blond bob behind one ear, revealing small gold hoops. “I have a husband who barely sleeps at night for feeling guilty because his company can’t provide enough jobs to keep the town afloat.”
“Dex feels the same,” Torie said. “A town this size can’t survive on one industry.”
Meg spun on Emma. “What about you? What reason do you have for expecting me to prostitute myself with Spencer Skipjack?”
“If this town dies,” Emma said
quietly, “Kenny and I have enough money to do just fine. Most of our friends don’t.”
Torie tapped the toe of a studded leather T-strap sandal on the floor. “Between Spence, Sunny, and Ted, you’re making things too complicated, Meg. You need to leave Wynette. And unlike everybody else, I happen to like you a lot, so this isn’t personal.”
“I don’t dislike you,” Emma said.
“I do,” Birdie said.
“I don’t dislike you either,” said Shelby. “You have a very nice laugh.”
Kayla gestured toward the embellished skeleton-key necklace Meg had assembled a few hours earlier. “Zoey and I love your jewelry.”
Birdie puffed up like an angry parakeet. “How can y’all say anything nice to her? Have you forgotten about Lucy? Thanks to Meg, Ted got his heart broken.”
“He seems to have recovered,” Emma said, “so I’m prepared to overlook that.”
Shelby opened her purse, a pink and brown paisley Juicy clutch, and pulled out a folded piece of paper that Meg quickly realized was a check. “We know you’re short on cash, so we have a little something to help you get a fresh start somewhere else.”
For the first time since Meg had met her, Torie seemed embarrassed. “You can consider it a loan if it makes you uncomfortable.”
