Page 26 of The Belle and the Biker

My heart swells in my chest. Small-town people are such good folks. She and I barely knew each other when I was growing up, but I can tell from her blazing eyes that she's ready to rack her shotgun and blow a hole through someone for me.

"Well, for now, I'm fine at Aunt Hepzibah's. She has a security system and half a dozen employees living on the property. You can't tell anyone, though, okay?"

She makes a motion of zipping her lip and throwing away a key.

I pay for all my outfits, and just as I do, the seam on my dress makes a tearing sound; my hip has burst through the fabric.

"Oh, Lord. I'm going to change into one of my new outfits," I tell her.

I grab one of the bags from the counter and head into the dressing room. I pick a flared cotton skirt with daffodils and a complimentary yellow twin-set. I'll monogram it tonight.

Wearing my new finery, I come strutting out into the store, twirl around proudly—and then stop dead. Mae Abernathy, Daisy's grandmother, and my aunt's mortal enemy is standing in the middle of the store with her granddaughter Callie. Callie is Daisy's sister, although she and Daisy are about as alike as sweet tea and beer. Callie's always been the responsible one. Daisy's always running around coming up with hair-brained schemes and getting herself into the most ridiculous predicaments.

Mae's sporting a shiner just like Aunt Hepzibah's. She catches sight of me and arches an eyebrow. "Well, well. New York must have run out of street corners," she says to Callie. They've been a lot slower to forget and forgive than Daisy was.

"You're not wrong, but you could be a little less crude." Callie primly adjusts her hairband. "Since this is Savannah, I'd say only 10 percent less. If you two fight, I'm not posting your bail." And she stalks off with a flip of her hair.

I smile at Mae, who's wearing a floral dress with colors so bright they make my eyes water. "Well, hello, Mae. Goodness, you're so talented. Who knew you could make a dress out of a couch?"

Mae snorts. "Reasonably good. I give it a six out of ten."

I reach into my purse and pull my datebook out from underneath Tiddlywink's tiny butt. "All right. When's the court date?"

"Court date?" Her face wrinkles up in worry, and she glances nervously across the store at Callie. She lowers her voice. "What court date? What have you heard?"

Good old Mae.

"The court date for you and Aunt Hepzibah? You're pressing charges for assault?"

"What in the Sam Hill are you talking about? We both agreed not to press charges." She smiles, flashing her brilliant white dentures. "It's way more fun to ruin her life outside the courtroom."

Aunt Hepzibah lied to get me to leave New York. I don't know if I should be mad or appreciative.

"Oh, I just assumed." I shrug.

Mae snorts. "You used to be a better liar."

"And you used to ride to kindergarten on a dinosaur and read a bible autographed by Moses."

"Now that was some serious weak sauce there." Mae mimes a yawn. "You're losing your touch. How is that old whore Hepzibah, by the way? Eye healing up nicely?"

"Better than yours," I lie.

"Doubt it. Perhaps she'll think twice about making moves on my man."

"Temporarily setting aside our family feud, why are you even bothering with Beauford Spillwell? Is he really worth your time?"

"Barely," she acknowledges, patting her white candy-floss hair. "But if Hepzibah wants him, she can't have him. And when you get to my age, there's not a lot of eligible single men this side of the grave."

Tiddlywinks sticks her head out of the purse and lets out one of her weird random yips.

"Don't say it. Do not ask what she is. She is obviously a dog. And frankly, she has feelings," I say, preparing to be offended on Tiddlywinks's behalf.

Mae thrusts her face closer, squinting. Tiddlywinks shrinks away. Smart girl. "Is it your dog?"

"Yes, I found her next to a garbage can in New York, and I was going to put her up for adoption, but the animal shelter wanted to murder her." I shudder at the memory.

"Huh." She looks at me thoughtfully. "If you'd adopt something as ugly as that, maybe there is something to this turning over a new leaf thing that Daisy keeps yapping about. But I got my eye on you, missy."

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