Page 10 of Clara Knows Best

“Is he still liking all your Instagram posts?”

“I don’t know,” she lied, and winced a little.

“You’re not sharing your location on the internet, right?”

“Right,” she said quickly. “I don’t even post anything same-day. I have a huge backlog of scheduled posts.”

“Good,” the Colonel said briefly.

“Who’s DeWitt?” Uncle Jim asked with interest.

“DeWitt Petty,” his brother provided.

“Petty? I don’t know him. He bothering Clara?” The Colonel’s brother was a buoyant personality and appeared to be his foil in every way, with sandy hair, a quick smile and an irreverent sense of humor. But the two men were close and Clara suspected that beneath Jim’s jocular surface, they weren’t all that different.

“No,” she exclaimed, before anyone could form a posse. “No one’s bothering me.”

“What’d he do?”

“He didn’t do anything, and it’snot a big deal.”

“I can finish the dishes,” Aunt Liesl interceded mercifully. “You don’t need to hang around.”

“But you made dinner,” Clara objected.

“I’m doing the dishes,” the Colonel said with authority. “Go have fun, Clara. Liesl, sit down. Jim, coffeemaker.”

Clara exchanged a look with her sympathetic aunt, and made herself scarce.

4

It was unclear whether Col. Wilder had bought into theno big dealargument, but his wife’s efforts to reassure him were having the opposite effect on Jesse, whose uneasiness was growing.

“She said she would text her father if DeWitt Petty bothers her,” Dr. Wilder reminded everyone, pouring oil on troubled waters. “I don’t think we need to worry about her. Clara’s a smart, capable woman.”

“True enough,” Jim allowed.

Even the Colonel had to concede the point.

Jesse could see that they were ready to move on from the topic, but he wasn’t quite satisfied yet that this DeWitt Petty character posed no danger to an overconfident young fashionista. “What did happen with this guy? Out of curiosity.”

“He grabbed her arm and tried to make her leave with him,” Asher spoke up. “It started a fight at the bar. The bouncer and some other guys jumped on him, and someotherguys took his side. People talked about it for days.”

“Did he get arrested?” Jesse asked. “Isn’t that assault?”

“Clara didn’t press charges. He got pretty messed up in the fight. She said she will if it happens again, though.”

“Grace is right, either way,” Liesl interposed. “Clara can handle this. We can trust her to make good choices and keep herself safe.”

He’d always liked Liesl, in a general way. She was a hardworking ranch wife and a good mom who could be tender or tough as needed, and she’d been a friendly but not too affectionate aunt to a wary young foster kid.

Now, for the first time, he wondered if she was as loco as her husband.

“Clara?” He was unable to keep the incredulity from his voice. “We’re talking about the same person? Pretty Princess Clara can keep herself safe? The lady who was doing ninety today with a fully loaded flatbed? Some guy assaults her and she doesn’t press charges? It’sno big deal?”

There was a pause, as if no one else was brave enough to admit that he had a point.

“I wish Hart was here,” he said without thinking. “Team Clara needs a reality check. I’m disappointed in all of you.”

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