Page 54 of Will Bark for Pizza
“Beckett Campbell.”
“I’m Thelma.”
“I’m not Louise,” the second woman said.
I cracked a smile.
“Oh, good. You understood the reference.”
“That’s Lotti,” Thelma said, nodding at the woman in purple.
“And Dylann,” Thelma added about the woman adorned in necklaces, bracelets, and rings.
“My dad really wanted his oldest to be a boy,” Dylann said with a carefree shrug as I set the mashed potato pizza on the table. “He got me instead.”
“My dad never wanted me at all.” The comment slipped out unbidden. At least the women had the decency to laugh, even if the suspicious look in Thelma’seyes suggested she didn’t buy it as a joke. “You three lived here long?”
“Most of our lives, actually,” Lotti offered, helping herself to a slice of my pizza.
“Heard you were in the Army with the Mason boys,” Thelma said.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Oh, he’s a gentleman, too,” Lotti cooed, green eyes twinkling in adoration. Or maybe it was just the sunlight catching on one of Dylann’s many necklaces. “Just like the hero inForever Forbidden.”
“Is that a book?” I guessed.
“It’s our current book club pick,” Dylann explained. “Brand new release from Diana Davenport. Do you know her books?”
“Can’t say that I do.”
“Oh, you’re missing out!” Lotti said.
“Does he look like a man who reads vampire smut?” Thelma asked.
“It’s not smut,” Dylann said, giving me a little shoulder nudge. “It’s just really sexy.”
“Same thing,” Thelma said, rolling her eyes, looking very much like she’d like to have a cigarette.
The server returned with small plates, and a round of drinks for the ladies—a margarita on the rocks, a blended chocolate martini, and a Long Island iced tea. Though I’d never met any of these women, I’d be willing to bet my truck that book club was averyentertaining time.
“I haven’t read much lately,” I admitted, “but I’m always up for a good book recommendation.”
“Better get your ass down to the bookstore and grab acopy before it closes for good,” Thelma said. “Fucking shame, that is.”
“It wouldn’t be closing if Margene Miller wasn’t a colossal ass weasel,” Lotti said, surprising me. She seemed the most soft-spoken of the bunch. But judging by the grim expressions worn by all three women, they shared an equal animosity for this woman.
Despite my incessant curiosity, I shoved a bite of pizza into my mouth to prevent the questions from slipping out. I didn’t do the gossip thing, but something told me these women had more than secondhand rumors to share.
“I still think we should organize a manhunt,” Lotti said, her tone too gentle for the fierce suggestion.
“My passport expired,” Dylann said.
“We can sneak you across the border,” Thelma said, her confidence slightly alarming. “But we might have trouble sneaking you back in.”
“Frank would run out of clean underwear long before I figured out how to get back home,” Dylann said, shaking her head.
“We should hire one of those sexy PIs,” Lotti offered. “But only if he’s willing to come to a meeting and report his findings.”
