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It had the same faded elegance as the rest of the place, and the size made me believe it might have been a ballroom of some sort. I was so hungry I could have sworn I could smell chicken and ribs and even fresh, buttery corn.
“There’s a little get together to discuss saving the theater,” he responded. “But there’s barbecue, so stop with the dirty look.”
Raylen snickered, but I ignored him, trying to see the buffet set up on a long table at the front of the room. It was certain to be dry, rubbery, and tasteless, but I was stuck there unless I wanted to walk the eight miles back to the farmhouse. I doubted this place had taxi service.
To my surprise and delight, the chicken and sausages ended up being out of this world, honestly among the best barbecue I’d eaten, and we regularly did business with a company in Dallas. I ignored Silas’ smug look and enjoyed the food, trying to blend into the background while Raylen chatted with all the locals as if he’d been born there.
“Excuse me, oops, sorry.”
I flinched at the loud feedback screech from a microphone set up near the buffet, and saw a woman fiddling with it. Her cheeks were pink from embarrassment, and she smiled at everyone apologetically. Her long brown hair hung in glossy, tube curls that spilled over her shoulders, drawing my eyes to her impressive cleavage, accentuated by a bright yellow sweater. Her eyes swept the small crowd and, for a split second, I saw a hint of disappointment in her pretty face. This must be the friend who was in charge of this lost cause.
“Thank you all so much for coming out,” she gushed in a sing-songy voice. “I hope everyone enjoyed the show and will sign the petition to keep this place from getting torn down. We’re going to have matinees every weekend now, and we need your support more than ever so please show up. The Dante Theater is a true piece of Loblolly history, being the first theater to open in this area, way back in 1925, and the townspeople used to put on Shakespeare plays until they got a projector to show the very first talking film in 1928.” She paused to laugh, smiling at everyone like she was in a beauty pageant, and we were the judges. “Well, the film came out in 1927, but we’ve always been a little behind on new releases.”
When everyone laughed along, I tuned out her syrupy voice and concentrated on my potato salad. After her gung-ho speech, she seemed to make a beeline for Raylen and me.
“Oh my gosh, it’s so nice to see new faces,” she said. “I’m Luna. I guess I didn’t say that during my speech because I thought everyone here knew me. Thank you so much for coming tonight. How did you even find out about it?”
Raylen grinned at her, and I managed a smile. She really was very pretty in a cornfed kind of way, but her ray of sunshine antics didn’t play with me.
“We’re Silas’s business partners,” he said, shaking her offered hand. “I’m Raylen and this is Jax.”
Her eyes lit up, as if she’d been given three Christmases worth of presents in a row. “Silas’s partners, huh? I’ve heard so much about you. Did you enjoy the movie?”
“It was all right,” Raylen said with a shrug.
She turned to me, her smile still firmly planted despite his weak review. “How about you, Jax?”
“I did actually enjoy the movie,” I said. “I’m always glad to see one of my favorites on a big screen.”
Raylen laughed. “He can’t stand anything made in the last forty years.”
She searched my face in a way I found very discomfiting. “I love old movies too, and they just seem to go perfectly here.” When I didn’t have anything to say to that, she asked Raylen where we were staying.
“We’re staying out at the Farmhouse Resort, about ten minutes outside of town.”
“Of course. I know where it is, I love it out there. Well, It’s great that you came to visit Silas now that he’s back home. The Farmhouse is amazing, isn’t it?”
It kept going, but once again, I tuned her out. She was exhausting with her futile cheerleader demeanor. When she finally wandered off to assault someone else, Silas joined us again.
“What’s up with Miss Loblolly over there?” I asked.
He frowned, looking back at Luna. “You know, now that I recall, she really was Miss Loblolly back in high school.”
“Of course she was,” I said, shaking my head.
“She’s just a nice, enthusiastic person.” He shook his head right back at me for my bad attitude toward his friend.
“She’s like a chihuahua crossed with Shirley Temple on speed,” I grumbled. “She’s wasting her time on this venture, to boot.”
Raylen made a hissing noise, and I turned to see she was in hearing range. Her cheeks had two blazing red circles, indicating she’d definitely heard.
“Way to go, jackass,” Silas said under his breath.
I felt bad, but why should she care what I thought of her? With a shrug, I lowered my voice. “There’s just no way that’s her real personality. No one’s that sweet and chipper.”
“Not everyone’s like Tasha,” Raylen said.
“I know that,” I snapped.
