Boo (36 page)

“Bless you,” she heard from several people, including Wolfe and the mayor.

The sneeze brought Melb a newfound sense of freedom that she couldn’t immediately identify. She could breathe, for one thing. And had someone left the door open? There seemed to be a breeze in the house. Then with utter terror she realized she’d blown out her T-shirt’s side seams and now wore what looked like a knit poncho, flapping in the breeze of the nearby conversation. She gasped, jumped up, threw her
coat back on, and rushed down the hallway to the bathroom, tears of humiliation welling in her eyes.

She ran smack dab into Ainsley Parker, throwing her against the wall.

“Oh … sorry! So sorry!”

Ainsley called out after Melb. “Are you okay? What’s wrong?”

Melb could do nothing but burst into tears.

Ainsley shut the door to her bedroom and turned to Melb, who was sitting quietly on the end of her bed, sniffling.

“Melb, don’t worry. We’ll find you something to wear.”

She saw Melb’s eyes study her figure and then she shook her head. “I doubt that.”

“Listen, it was probably a very poorly made T-shirt. These days they never double-stitch a seam, and it shows, I tell you. It could’ve happened to anybody.”

Melb blotted her eyes with a tissue. “It was Garth’s dumb idea to wear matching T-shirts.”

Ainsley turned from sifting through the clothes in her closet. “Well, Garth can be demanding like that sometimes. You should stand your ground with him, don’t let him push you around. He thinks he always knows best, but he doesn’t.”

“You’ve known Garth for a long time.”

“Since we were children.” Ainsley moved hangers down the rack, trying to find anything that might work for Melb. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t say those things about Garth. I’m not trying to be rude. I know you really like him. And he really likes you.”

“Yeah, we’re a dream come true,” she heard Melb say, though her tone sounded flat.

“What made you two decide to date?”

She turned to find Melb chewing furiously at a fingernail. Melb glanced up, startled to find Ainsley looking at her. “Oh … well, there’s always two versions to a story, I guess.”

“But what made you fall for him?”

“I’ve always loved animals. So that was a start.”

“Oh.”

“How’s it coming over there in the closet?”

Ainsley pulled out a green cardigan, big and boxy, that she wore mostly around the house. It was one of her favorite sweaters. She hoped with all her might that it would work for Melb. All the poor woman needed was more humiliation.

“Try this. It should work. And it’s really warm, since I know you’re cold-natured.” She held it up for Melb to see.

“I was hoping for a tank top soaked in ice water, but this will do,” Melb said, standing. She looked at Ainsley. “I’m not cold-natured. I was just embarrassed about the T-shirt. I think I about had a heat stroke.”

Ainsley smiled and handed her the sweater. Melb closed the door to the bathroom, and when she came out, the sweater was on, fitting nicely.

“It looks great on you! Green is definitely your color.”

Melb turned to the nearby mirror. “Well, it does flatter my figure, I have to say.”

“Very much so.”

Melb turned back to her. “Thank you. I’ll get this back to you. And I’ll try not to drip gravy all over it.”

Ainsley reached for her shoulder. “Melb, are you sure everything’s okay? I mean, are you and Garth doing okay?”

Melb sniffled and said, “Couldn’t be happier.” And then she walked out.

“Look, I don’t know what to say. I did the best I could.”

“Are you trying to tell me that you talked to Boo for twenty minutes and came up with nothing better than ‘Thou shalt not steal’ to steer him away from the faith?”

“First of all,” said the mayor, “I was a little taken aback by how much Scripture he already knows.”

“So he outdid you, did he? Knew more than you did? Threw you for a loop? Why weren’t you prepared? You know how much is at stake here!” Missy Peeple leaned forward on her cane, staring at the mayor with harsh eyes.

“I was prepared!” The mayor removed a stack of note cards from his pocket. “See? All kinds of scriptures here. I’ve got envy. Judging others. Adultery. Murder. Just fitting them into a conversation was a little awkward, that’s all. I mean, ‘Thou shalt not murder’ doesn’t really fit in with, ‘Have you tried the eggnog yet?’ ”

Missy shook her head. “In this life you will have trouble.”

“What?”

“The Bible says that, you know. In fact, it’s a
promise.”

“Well that’s inspiring,” the mayor said blandly.

Missy sighed. “Just go. Get back in the game. You’re not doing any good standing over here with your note cards. Just remember, sir, that if you don’t succeed, a certain somebody’s going to be writing a certain book about a certain scandal that I’m certain you’d rather not see in print.” The mayor was annoying in his ineptness, but he still had gorgeous eyes. She smiled. “But I trust you won’t fail.”

Missy Peeple met Garth’s look from across the room. He was standing near the fireplace, staring at her.

“Excuse me for a moment, will you?” Miss Peeple said. But the mayor grabbed her arm.

“Not so fast, Missy,” he said. “You’re not going anywhere until I get a straight answer from you.”

Missy stared into his glaring eyes. “An answer to what, Mayor?”

“Why are you here with this Tennison fellow? Like he’s your date? What’s going on?”

Miss Peeple smiled. “Does it concern you, my dear?”

He frowned. “Only in that I think it’s a distraction to the task at hand.” He lowered his voice. “Do
I
have to remind
you
what is at stake here? My reputation at the very least.”

“I’m hardly distracted.”

“Oh? Then are you trying to tell me while you’re making ga-ga eyes over him, you’re remembering that Skary is at stake?”

“Everything is under control. Don’t you worry your pretty little self over that, sir.”

Mayor Wullisworth’s eyes showed surprise, and he stood up straighter, glancing around at the crowd. “I’m, um … I’m not worried. I just want to make sure you’re not distracted.”

She watched his gaze land on Alfred, who was standing next to the snack plates, dripping ranch dressing down the front of his shirt as he attempted to bite into a carrot. Missy cleared her throat. “He is quite a looker, wouldn’t you say? But Mayor, I’ve always been able to do more than one thing at a time. And I assure you, though the attraction is quite intense between the two of us, Alfred is here for other reasons as well. Remember, he’s got a stake in this too.”

She carefully edged over to Garth.

“Garth,” she said confidently, “if you stare at me with much more angst, you’re liable to have that handsome fellow over there on to you.”

“Don’t give me that song and dance,” Garth said with narrowed eyes. “I know what you’re up to. I know Mr. Tennison is Wolfe’s editor, and you two have as much chemistry between you as two pieces of white bread. Now I want to know what’s going on. Have you made any progress?”

“Progress is hard to measure, lad,” Miss Peeple said, “but if you must know, all is going as planned.”

“What’s up your sleeve? I want to know.”

“You don’t need details. It will just make you a liability. What you need to concentrate on is your assigned task. Have you or haven’t you?”

Garth glanced around her to make sure they weren’t in earshot of anyone. “Not yet. The timing hasn’t been quite right.”

“Well honey, the party’s not going to last all day. Get your act together.” She turned and saw Wolfe standing by himself near a shelf of books. He had been talking to Marlee Hampton, who was headed for the drink table for a refill. Ainsley was at the front door, greeting Oliver. “There’s your chance. What are you waiting for?”

“Fine. I’ll do it.”

But before Garth could even get around Miss Peeple, Ainsley entered the room and said, “All right everyone! It’s time to eat! Let’s gather in the dining room!”

The crowd quickly filed out behind Ainsley, and Garth sighed in frustration.

“Are you up for this or not?” Miss Peeple scowled at him.

“I know what I’m doing.”

“I hope so,” Miss Peeple said as she shuffled toward the dining room, “because if you don’t, Boo and Ainsley will most likely be sharing Thanksgiving dinner together again next year. And I feel certain you won’t be invited.”

W
OLFE FOLLOWED THE
group into the lavishly decorated dining room. Ainsley had outdone herself. The long table had an exquisite runner down the middle with fall-colored leaves arrayed delicately around several votive candles. The dimly lit room glowed with a warmth that was both familiar and awe-inspiring.

“Everyone has an assigned seat, just find your name,” Ainsley instructed, and so everyone obeyed, circling the table.

“It’s snowing!” someone announced, and the crowd turned to look out the bay window. Sure enough, large white snowflakes poured to the ground en masse.

“Well, they finally got it right!” Sheriff Parker said.

“I heard it’s only gonna be flurries,” said Oliver.

Wolfe moved to the window. He loved snow. It seemed to bring a peace down to earth straight from the heavens. But as he gazed out, he knew these were no small flurries. Already the snow had begun to accumulate, and the large flakes were falling fast. The clouds were dark blue, their bosoms bursting with moisture. He turned to find his seat.

On the other side of the table, he found his name, surprised to be sitting next to Garth Twyne.

“Hey, looks like we’re dinner partners,” Garth said with a seedy grin.

“Garth, what are you doing there?” Ainsley said suddenly from behind Wolfe.

“Sitting.”

“But I’m sure I didn’t seat you there,” she said, examining his name tag at the top of his plate. “I seated you by Melb.”

Wolfe looked up to find Melb across the table, two people down,
sitting between Mayor Wullisworth and Reverend Peck. She gave a polite wave.

“Well, listen, don’t go to any trouble. I’ll sit over here next to our resident celebrity. It’d be my pleasure.”

“I know I sat Wolfe by Reverend Peck. And you should sit by Melb,” Ainsley insisted.

“Trust me, we’ll get to spend
plenty
of time together later, right, my flaky little pastry?”

Melb blushed, nodded, and glanced at Wolfe.

Ainsley apologized. “I must’ve accidentally switched them when I was making room for Mr. Tennison.” She looked at Wolfe as she took her seat next to him on the other side. “Sorry,” she whispered.

“It’s fine,” he assured her.

Wolfe noticed an empty chair at the end of the table. “Your brother. Isn’t he coming?”

Ainsley laughed. “Don’t worry. He’s never early but rarely late.”

Sheriff Parker clinked his fork against his water glass. “Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to the Parker residence. Happy Thanksgiving!” The table erupted in quiet applause. “Some of you have been here before on Thanksgiving. Others are new. We welcome you all. First of all, as is tradition here every Thanksgiving, we go around the table before we eat and say something we’re thankful for. Now—”

Just then, as if a light and a string quartet had announced him, a tall blond man in his thirties with tanned skin and dazzling eyes walked through the door. Everyone at the table sensed his presence before he walked in, and when he did appear, there were gasps and cheering and clapping as if a prince had entered.

“Butch!”

Some stood, others just smiled happily. Wolfe studied the man as he greeted everyone warmly. He resembled Ainsley in many ways, as he did Sheriff Parker. The name “Butch” did him some justice, as he had a very athletic build, but his features and expressions also reflected intelligence, and the obvious charisma he carried pretty much rounded him out to be the perfect male, not to mention he was about the best looking man
Wolfe had ever seen. Wolfe swallowed three sips of water and watched as Butch finally made his way around the table to his father, whom he hugged warmly, and then to Ainsley. He messed up her hair and then hugged her, too.