Lily Sprayberry Realtor Box Set

by Carolyn Ridder Aspenson

  The corner of his mouth twitched, and I nearly melted right there. “So, go on.”

  “Okay, so this client is an old friend.” I tapped the side of my leg, and Bo heeled to me. I wanted to do my happy dance, but per the trainer, I acted like it was no big deal. “And she’s back in town to help sell her parent’s house, so she’s decided to go ahead and take my decluttering class even though we’ve finished the job on her parents place already.”

  “That’s odd. Did you not do a good job on the place?”

  I nudged him with my shoulder. “Of course I did. That’s not why she’s taking it. She was scheduled in it anyway, but I think she’s taking it because of the other people registered. I’m pretty sure she wants to make a statement.”

  “Who is it?”

  “Someone that’s going to make my life miserable and cause a ton of conflict in the class just by showing up.”

  I could almost see his brain working. Dylan also grew up in Bramblett County, and he knew everyone I knew, so it took him less than a minute to figure it out.

  He laughed. “You’ve got to be kidding me? Savannah Emmerson?”

  I nodded. “Belle set this up. I think she does this stuff to me on purpose.”

  “Belle. Of course she does.” He laughed harder. “That’s hilarious. It’s going to be a train wreck. I can’t believe you’re going through with it.”

  “What other option do I have?”

  “You could tell her not to come.”

  “That wouldn’t be very nice. Besides, she’s offered to use her parent’s house as an example for the class, and it looks great. Belle and I are even using it in our company portfolio. What am I supposed to do, say thanks for letting us use your folks home for our stuff, but hey, you’re not welcome to the class because you’re a floozy and pretty much everyone in the class hates you?”

  “Maybe if you chose better words?”

  I bowed my head and moaned. “This is going to be a disaster.”

  Savannah, Caroline, Heather, Belle, and I all hung out in the same social circle growing up, and in college, the five of us joined the same sorority at the University of Georgia. Things were great for a short time there, but Savannah ripped the group to shreds when she slept with Heather’s boyfriend, Austin Emmerson, our sophomore year at UGA. Rumor had it she also slept with Caroline’s boyfriend, now husband, but that was never confirmed. Savannah eventually married Austin and moved to Atlanta. In the process of a divorce, she came back to Bramblett County under the guise of helping her parents get their house organized and sold while they headed north to their retirement home in Maine. That’s when she hired me and when Belle decided to sign her up for the decluttering class.

  “Do you want me to send a deputy to make sure no fights break out?” The mouth twitch thing happened again.

  “Don’t joke. I might seriously need that.”

  We walked with Bo schlepping along in between us stopping every few seconds to smell or examine something interesting on the ground. “Makes sense now.”

  “What?”

  “I ran into Austin Emmerson last night at Willy’s.”

  “Really? Did he say anything?”

  “About what?”

  “The divorce.”

  “Sort of. He said something about a fight they’d had, how she’d screwed him out of a lot of money, but that’s about it. I figured he was just blowing off steam.”

  “She hasn’t really said much to me. You know how rumors spread around here, she probably wants to keep it on the downlow.”

  “Especially about her.”

  We made it back to the parking lot where he’d parked his black, four-door sheriff’s car next to my car. “My poor car.”

  “What? Your car is great,” he said.

  “Next to your monstrosity it looks like one of those little Matchbox cars.” I rubbed the roof. “I feel bad for it.”

  “I’m the sheriff. I need a big, manly car. Image is everything.”

  I laughed. “If that’s true, then I’m a dainty little southern gal.”

  He kissed my forehead. “And that’s what I love best about you.”

  I blushed. His expression was sincere, while I’d been kidding. I’d not really thought of myself as dainty, so it surprised me to think he did. “Thank you for taking Bo to doggy daycare today. I appreciate it.” I hugged and kissed my puppy goodbye.

  “Anything to win points with the mutt.” He kissed my forehead again as Bo jumped into the back of his vehicle. “And you, of course.”

  I hadn’t told him yet, but he’d already won back most of the points he’d lost years ago. “Okay, I’m off to get ready to referee this class. Stopping at the office and then getting some treats at Millie’s first. Hopefully, that’ll ease the shock when Savannah walks in.”

  “Good luck.”

  “Thanks, I’m going to need it.” I blew him a kiss as he pulled away.

  * * *

  I’d pre-ordered a variety of baked goods and two jugs of sweet tea from Millie’s, so they’d be ready for pick up when I stopped by. The county library where we’d decided to hold the decluttering class was just hop away from the bakery café, which was just another hop away from my office, but since I had all of the materials for the class along with the food and drinks, I still needed to drive. I loaded the yummy baked goods into my car and headed the block to the library.

  The library was in desperate need of an update. I loved the smell and feel of old libraries. Their walls filled from floor to ceiling with shelves of books. I could wander the sectioned areas, run my fingertips across the spines of old hardcovers and paperbacks, breathe in the smell of the ink and paper.

  The Bramblett County library lacked the character of an old library, the kind writers flocked to for research and readers went to just soak in the environment, to be one with the written word. It was just mechanical, necessary even, and felt old and dingy. The incandescent lighting gave the white walls a yellowish hue, though I suspected they were that way also because they needed a fresh coat of paint. The bookshelves weren’t the dark, antique kind one might find in a big city library, but rather the kind from a retro 70s library, created by some art deco designer with an addiction to maple wood. And the place didn’t smell like old books. It smelled like burnt coffee. Every time I walked in, I was immediately disappointed. I knew what awaited me inside, but nonetheless, I expected something different, and every time, I ended up disappointed.

  The head librarian, Ellie Jean Pruitt, who’d also been my high school librarian, greeted me at the front desk. “Well, hey there, Miss Lilybit. I got the conference room all set up for you.” She walked from behind the desk and picked up one of my bags. “Let me help you with that. Follow me, and I’ll show you where you’re going to be for the next few days.”

  “Thank you so much.”

  Ellie Jean had a daughter named Faith. She was my age, so Ellie Jean had to have been around my parent’s age, but you wouldn’t know it by looking at her. She fit the typical librarian stereotype. Old lady glasses with little points on the sides, her graying hair pulled into a tight bun and a floral print dress that fit her like a potato sack. It hit her larger than normal chest and hung down, without any shape, to her knees. She’d been married once, but her husband left town when their daughter was two and never returned. I couldn’t help but think it was because of the potato sack dresses, but I kept that thought to myself.

  Like my momma always said, “if you can’t say something nice, shut your pie hole”. Granted, she said that in the privacy of our home, and mostly to my brothers, but her words stuck with me, too.

  “You’re going to be in this room here.” She opened the door to a plain but bright room, at least bright in comparison to the rest of the place. The back wall was actually the side of the building and lined with windows, allowing in nice natural light.

  I glanced down at the chairs. The red cushions had faded from the sun. “If you keep the blinds closed when no one’s using the r
oom, the color on the cushions won’t fade as quickly.”

  “Oh dear.” She pulled out a chair and gasped. “They really are faded, aren’t they? I’ll have to talk to the board about replacing them.”

  Belle showed up a few minutes after I finished setting up the conference room. That wasn’t unusual for her. I wasn’t always prompt—one of my annoying bad habits—but Belle rarely arrived on time. I made a point of telling her events began thirty minutes early when I needed her there on time. The decluttering class set-up though, I could handle on my own. Besides, she organized the class, so I couldn’t fudge the start time without her catching on.

  She plopped into a chair and fanned herself, her long black hair pulled into a clip instead of styled to the hilt as usual. I eyed her up and down, and she caught on quickly. “Do not start with me. I barely slept a wink last night.”

  “If you’re going to hoot with the owls, you’d better be able to soar with the eagles the next day.”

  “Honey, this gal did no hooting last night. I had a sinus headache the size of Killamon-whatever it’s called. What in heaven’s name is up with this weather anyway? My poor nose can’t figure out if it should be clear or clogged.”

  “It’s horrible, I’ll give you that.”

  She rubbed her temples. “Stop talking so loud.” She glanced at me with her blood shot eyes. “Do you have sinus medicine or anything I can take? My head is pounding.”

  I laughed. “You sure are a hot mess.” I pointed to the other side of the room where I’d set my bag. “I think I’ve got something in there.”

  She dragged herself to my bag. “Hey, I forgot to tell you who I saw over at the old First Baptist Church yesterday.”

  “Who?”

  “William Abernathy.”

  “Really? That’s odd.”

  “What’s even more odd is he was walking out of it with Heather Barrington.”

  “That’s interesting.”

  “Yeah, why?” She tossed the pills into her mouth and swallowed them down with a swig of her coffee.

  “Because I saw him this morning with Heather, too. Except he took off when I got close, and when I asked Heather if it was him, she said it wasn’t.”

  “Hmm. Wonder what that means?”

  “It means this class is going to be interesting, that’s for sure.”

  “Well, we already knew that, considering who’s going to be in it.”

  “Yes, I just hope they don’t wind up killing each other.”

  * * *

  The girl’s arrived one by one, ready to hit the ground running. Caroline, then Heather, and the two older women who’d signed up for the class, Bonnie Bass, and Henrietta Harvey. I had to drag Heather away from poor Ellie Jean Pruitt. She’d latched onto her in the main foyer of the library and started in on her about the dismal state of the library and how she was into reds and the reds would so brighten the look of the place.

  “Heather, class will be starting any minute, and Ms. Pruitt here has a library to run.”

  “Oh, honey, I know that, but it’s so dark and dingy, and my reds would add such a pop of color, don’t you think?”

  “I have to run over to the Abernathy house in a bit anyway, and I need to get some things done before I leave. I need to pick up something Mr. Abernathy left with his wife for a library board meeting,” Ellie Jean said.

  I practically yanked her away from poor Ellie Jean and into the conference room. The woman smiled at me as I waved and closed the door behind us.

  “You don’t have to be so rude,” Heather said.

  “We have a time line to follow, Heather, that’s all.”

  Finally, after we’d all settled in and class started, Savannah made her grand entrance. And grand it was, plus totally intentional.

  “I’m sorry I’m late,” she said, bursting into the conference room as if everyone knew she’d be there.

  Both Heather and Caroline gasped. Belle snickered, her headache apparently better.

  “You better not leave now,” I whispered to Belle.

  A big grin stretched across her face. “And miss this little catawampus? No way, baby.”

  “You have the face of an angel and the soul of a sinner.”

  “My momma says that, too.”

  “Where do you think I got it?”

  Heather pushed her chair back from the conference room table. “Lily Sprayberry, what were you thinking, inviting this…this hussy into here like this?” She shot out of her seat and marched to the door. “If she’s here, I…I just can’t be a part of this. You know what she did to me.”

  I whispered out of the corner of my mouth to Belle. “Soul of a sinner for sure.” I cut Heather off before she left. “Heather, wait.”

  “Oh, for heaven’s sake, don’t pitch a fit because of me,” Savannah said. “You think I need a class like this? Sweetie, I live in Buckhead. I have people that declutter and organize for me. I don’t need to do it myself.”

  Except she just spent the last two weeks doing it at her parent’s house, so that didn’t really make sense, unless it was because her parents were paying for it and not her rich husband or in-laws.

  I breathed a sigh of relief knowing she was leaving, but Belle’s eyes about popped out of her head in utter disappointment. “What do you mean? You’re signed up for the class.”

  She wiggled her designer purse and flung it over her shoulder. “Why would I waste my time drinking cheap sweat tea with—” She waved her hand across the room. “With women that hate me? If I’m going to do that, I’ll just do it in town with my fake friends there. At least there I’ll get a good cup of espresso.”

  Ouch. Millie’s tea was by far the best in the south, and she definitely didn’t deserve the criticism from Savannah, whose personality had gone well passed snooty to self-righteous in a hot minute.

  “We’d love you to stay,” Belle said, and I thought she actually meant it.

  “Over my dead body, or better yet, hers,” Heather said. “I cannot even consider staying if that hussy stays.”

  Savannah straightened her shoulders. “Why, I have a mind to—”

  Heather pushed up her sleeves. “It’s about time we do.”

  I jumped between them and stretched out my arms, locking my elbows just in case. “Come on already. We’re adults. Let’s act like it.”

  “I’m with Heather,” Caroline said. “If Savannah thinks she can just waltz in here and act like she didn’t try to sleep with my husband, well then—”

  “He wasn’t your husband at the time,” Savannah said.

  “I should have brought a bag of microwave popcorn,” Henrietta said.

  Bonnie dug in her purse. “I might have some in here somewhere.” She picked out a bag of crackers, two packs of gum, a makeup bag, her wallet, and then finally huffed and said, “Oh, heavens,” and dumped the bag’s contents onto the table. After pushing the items around and not finding the popcorn bag, she sighed. “Nope, none.”

  “That’s too bad. This cat fight deserves a good bag of microwave popcorn,” Henrietta said.

  We’d all watched Bonnie, surprised and bemused by her search for a bag of popcorn in her purse, and when she shoved the items on the table back into her bag, it brought us all back to reality.

  Caroline stood and pointed her finger at Savannah. “Oh, darling, he’s my husband now, and I’m warning you, you lay one gel nail on my man and you won’t live to regret it.”

  Belle coughed.

  “Is everything all right?” Ellie Jean Pruitt asked. She’d been moving the empty chairs away from the table to give us all some extra room when Savannah walked in.

  “We’re fine, Mrs. Pruitt.” I turned to Savannah. “Maybe it’s best you don’t take the class.”

  “I never really planned on it. I just wanted to see how my two long lost friends would react when they saw me. But, of course, you can still show my parent’s home tomorrow. I’ll be there to let you in and then I’ll leave so they don’t pitch another hissy fi
t.” She plucked a treat from the tray on the table, took a bite, made a scrunched up face and then set the treat back on the tray. “Oh, and Heather, you can have your sweet Austin back. I’m divorcing him. You’ll love my sloppy seconds.” She smiled at me, and as she walked out, said, “See you tomorrow, lovies. Ta ta.”

  Heather hollered after her. “He was my sloppy seconds first.”

  “That went well,” Belle said and took a sip of her tea.

  “That…that, well, I just can’t use the kind of words I want because I’m a lady, but let me tell you, she’s about as welcome in this town as an outhouse breeze,” Caroline said.

  That was probably one of the worst insults one could give a southern woman, and I thanked the Lord above Savannah wasn’t there to hear it.

  I stood staring at the other clients in the room. Bonnie and Henrietta gave each other a knowing glance. Ellie Jean fussed with the chairs, and Caroline and Heather shot daggers at me. I tapped my pencil on the conference room table, both to get everyone’s attention and to focus my thoughts on how to start the class. “So, there are four key elements to decluttering and staging a home.” I figured it was best to pretend nothing had happened and just move forward.

  “That little hussy makes me so mad I could spit nails,” Heather said.

  “And to think she just walks in here like she never slept with our men,” Caroline added.

  “She didn’t just sleep with my man, Caroline. She married him.”

  “Well, at least you found out before you married him. Imagine how that could have turned out,” Caroline added.

  “I couldn’t marry him because he dumped me for her.”

  “Exactly. Look at me. I’ll never know if my William slept with her for sure or not. He won’t say, and now I’m married to him without knowing the truth.” She fell into her seat and fanned her face with the packet full of papers I’d provided. “And heaven help her, if she even goes near my William, she won’t see the light of day.”

  If the rest of my week went like the first fifteen minutes of class, heaven help me. “Ladies, how about we focus on why we’re here instead of digging up the past?”