by Josie Belle
When he pulled away, his gaze scorched. Maggie felt dizzy, and her ears were ringing, but she heard him perfectly when he said, “I care because the only guy you should be dating is me.”
Maggie gazed out into the dark alley, so much like the place where Sam had first kissed her. The fingers of her right hand were pressed against her lips as she remembered the impact of his kiss.
After all the years of teasing and sniping between them, she’d had no idea that she was in love with him. Until he’d kissed her, and then it was as if she were coming alive for the first time.
Maggie stepped back into the shop and pulled the door shut. Sam had been right to leave. Twenty-plus years had passed since that day. They were trying to be friends now. Some things were better left in the past, and that kiss was one of them.
The next morning, Maggie and Ginger met Tyler Fawkes at the shop. Together they loaded up his pickup truck, and he drove it over to Drew Constantine’s indoor storage facility on the edge of town.
“I really appreciate your help, Tyler,” Maggie said.
“Remember that when I come in looking for a new Sunday suit,” he said.
“I see a deep discount in your future,” Maggie assured him.
With a wave, he drove back to town, and Maggie and Ginger got into Maggie’s Volvo. Their first stop was the Madison estate, where Maggie planned to give the keys to Bianca.
They were halfway to town when Ginger’s phone began to sound. Ginger opened her purse and began to fish for her phone.
“I wonder if it’s Roger or the boys,” she said. “Probably someone wants to know what’s for dinner.”
“But it’s nine o’clock in the morning,” Maggie said.
“Uh-huh. I swear they like to get their taste buds prepared by the end of breakfast,” Ginger said. She pulled her phone out of the bag and studied the screen. “Huh.”
Maggie glanced at her. Ginger had a serious look on her face, so Maggie assumed it was not one of her boys.
“Hello?” Ginger said. She was quiet for a moment, listening. “What situation?”
Maggie hoped it wasn’t bad news.
“But that’s ridiculous,” Ginger said. “Maggie is with me, and we were just on our way over to the Madison estate.”
Maggie was watching the road, but her ears were fully engaged in Ginger’s conversation. Who was she talking to, and what did they mean about a situation?
“Now, you listen to me, Sam Collins, I don’t care what that evil woman says, I’m telling you we are on our way to the Madison estate to see Bianca.”
Maggie felt her eyes get wide. Sam? This could not be good.
“Well, why don’t you just meet us there, then?” Ginger asked. “Good. Fine. We’ll be there in five minutes.”
Ginger hit the end call button on her phone with an impatient jab of her finger. Then she turned to Maggie and said, “Can you believe that?”
“Given that I have no idea what you’re talking about, no, I really can’t believe it,” Maggie said. “Care to share?”
“Well, when you failed to appear at the estate when the rooster crowed, Courtney decided to call the sheriff on you and report that you had stolen her stepmother’s belongings.”
“You have got to be kidding me,” Maggie said. “She actually went through with that?”
“No, not kidding, and yes, she did.”
“Well, that’s ridiculous,” Maggie said. “Sam asked me to watch those things for Bianca. I hope he told Courtney that.”
Ginger was silent, and Maggie looked away from the road to glance at her. She was frowning.
“Ginger, what did Sam say?” Maggie asked. She had a feeling she was not going to like the answer.
“He said that he had to follow up on Ms. Madison’s report,” Ginger said. “Honestly, he did not sound like himself at all.”
“So, he’s meeting us at the Madison estate?” Maggie asked.
“Yes.”
“Oh, this should go well,” Maggie said. Her voice was tinged with sarcasm, and Ginger gave her a worried look.
“Do you think he’s going to be mad?” Ginger asked.
“That I went ahead and put Vera’s things in storage without telling him?” Maggie clarified. “No. Maybe.”
“Maybe definitely or maybe you don’t know?” Ginger asked.
“Maybe definitely,” Maggie said with a sigh. “Do you want me to drop you off at your office? There’s no need for both of us to get on the sheriff’s bad side.”
“Oh no. The Good Buy Girls do not split up in a crisis,” Ginger said. “Not even if there’s only one Coach handbag left on the sales rack, and we both want it.”
“Well, this isn’t exactly the sort of situation we can rectify by working out a schedule for handbag usage,” Maggie said. “This is more like I’m going to get my butt chewed out, and you shouldn’t have to suffer with me.”
“Handbags or butt chewing,” Ginger said with a wave of her hand, “it makes no difference to me. I’ve got your back.”
“Thanks,” Maggie said.
After yesterday’s awkwardness, she was relieved to have some buffer between her and Sam. She sincerely hoped he did not tease her about her date with Pete.
She wondered if she should tell Ginger about it now, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to hear any teasing from Ginger either. Besides, it was just dinner. She didn’t want to make a bigger deal out of it than it was.
“Maggie, are you listening to me?” Ginger asked.
“Huh? What?”
“Yeah, I didn’t think so,” Ginger said. “Here I am, talking away, and you’re not even giving me the requisite hmm.”
“I’m sorry,” Maggie said. “What did I miss?”
“Nothing much,” Ginger admitted. “I was just wondering if Courtney Madison and her considerable charms had gotten to Sam’s good sense.”
“You think?” Maggie asked. “Now that would certainly make things more difficult.”
She tried to ignore the flash of irritation she felt. It was ridiculous. What did she care if Sam was blinded by a head of dark brown hair and a pair of legs that went up to their owner’s neck?
They stopped in front of the house. While Maggie was gathering the papers to the storage facility and the key, a car pulled up behind them. It was Sam’s squad car.
The door to the front of the house opened, and out strode Courtney Madison, looking as if she owned the place. She was wearing black books that stopped over her knees with a micromini skirt above. The animal-print sweater that she wore plunged down low in the front and slipped off one shoulder with the perfect amount of seductive grace.
Maggie looked down at her Keds sneakers and jeans and her white T-shirt covered by an old plaid flannel shirt and felt like she should be looking for the servants’ entrance.
Courtney ran past Maggie and Ginger and peered into the back of Maggie’s Volvo wagon.
“Looking for something?” Maggie asked.
“Arrest her!” Courtney demanded. “I told her I wanted my things back by today, and she doesn’t have them. She is a thief!”
“I am not!” Maggie protested.
Another car pulled up and parked behind Maggie. Molly Spencer stepped out and she looked as if she was bracing for a nasty scene. Wise woman.
“You!” Courtney roared. “What are you doing here?”
“Thanks for coming, Molly,” Maggie said. “Did Max give you the papers?”
“Yes.” Molly patted her purse. “I have them right here.”
“She’s trespassing!” Courtney said to Sam. “I need you to arrest her, too. All of them, arrest all of them. They are thieves and trespassers, and they are on my property.”
“Stop it! Just stop it!”
They all glanced at the house to see who had yelled. It was Bianca. She stood in the open doorway. She was pale, and her hair was mussed, as if she’d just climbed out of bed. She adjusted her glasses with trembling fingers and stared back at everyone as if she’d alread
y run out of words.
“Shut up!” Courtney snapped at Bianca. “This is my house now. I’m just letting you live here.”
“That’s not true,” Bianca said, but her voice quavered and Maggie could tell she was frightened. Molly moved to stand beside her.
Maggie looked at Sam. Surely, he wasn’t going to just stand there while Courtney bullied Bianca. He looked back at her and pushed his hat back on his head as if he was completely flummoxed by all of this female ire in front of him.
“Do something,” she hissed.
“Fine,” he said. “Shall I arrest you for theft or Molly for trespassing or both?”
“That is not helpful,” Maggie said.
“Yes to both,” Courtney said.
“Bianca, are you all right?” Ginger asked. She went to stand beside her, and said, “You look like you’re about to fall down. Let’s get you inside.”
“Oh no you don’t.” Courtney moved to stand in front of Ginger. “You’re not coming into my house.”
Ginger rose up to her full height and glared at Courtney. “No, I’m not going into your house. I’m going into Bianca’s, now I suggest you move.”
It was quite clear that Ginger would go over Courtney if she had to. Sam hustled forward and stood beside Ginger.
“Why don’t we all calm down, go inside and talk this situation over?” he said.
With a scowl, Courtney moved aside to let everyone in. Ginger and Molly walked with Bianca, and Courtney hurried after them as if afraid they’d steal the silver while her back was turned. Maggie watched them go. What a disaster this was turning into, and it was only going to get messier.
“Are you coming, Maggie?” Sam asked from the doorway. “Or do you have a date?”
Chapter 17
“I knew it,” she snapped. She walked up the steps and stopped beside him. “I knew you were going to tease me about that.”
“About what?” he asked. He looked the picture of innocence as Maggie strode past him through the door.
“You know very well what,” she said. “About Pete asking me out just like you said he was going to. You were teasing me about it the day we found…”
Maggie’s voice broke off as she entered the parlor where the others were waiting. She had been about to say “the day we found Vera Madison’s body,” but thankfully she had gotten a latent blast of good sense and shut her mouth.
“Never mind,” she said, and went to sit on the other side of Ginger.
Sam looked at her as if he would have liked to continue their conversation, but Courtney sidled over to him and looped her arm through his.
“Thank you for being here to support me during this trying time,” she said. She gazed at him through what Maggie suspected were very long, very lush, very fake eyelashes.
Ginger made a strangled noise in her throat but didn’t say anything.
Maggie glanced over at Bianca, and asked, “Do you still want Molly to work for you?”
Bianca glanced nervously at her half sister but then sat up a little straighter, and said, “Yes. Yes, I do.”
“She can’t,” Courtney said. “I fired her.”
“Yeah, here’s the thing about that,” Maggie said. She gestured at Molly to open her handbag and take out the papers Max had drawn up. “Since Molly wasn’t in your employ, she wasn’t your employee to fire.”
“But this is my house,” Courtney said. “And I get to say who works in my house.”
“Not yet it isn’t,” Ginger said. “You have only filed a motion; you haven’t been granted the estate yet.”
Courtney let go of Sam and stomped her foot in consternation. “I won’t have her in my home.”
“Until it’s yours, you can’t fire her,” Maggie said. “Unless, of course, you’d like her to go ahead and file this wrongful termination lawsuit against you. That probably won’t help you when you try to prove that this estate is yours. Hmm, yeah, I’m thinking any judge who hears you started firing employees before you were the legal owner of the estate might see that as a tad grasping and greedy.”
Molly held up the paperwork, and Courtney clenched her teeth, looking like she was forcing back a few howls of outrage.
“Looks like you’re rehired, Molly,” Sam said. Maggie noted that he sounded pleased. “And I expect Courtney will do nothing to impede your work in the household.”
The warning in his voice was unmistakable. Courtney tossed her hair and dropped his arm.
“Do not go anywhere near my rooms,” Courtney ordered as Molly rose to go and see about her duties. “And if I’m in a room, you stay out of it. Understood?”
“With pleasure,” Molly said. “I’ll go see to the kitchen, Bianca, yes?”
Bianca smiled gratefully and nodded.
“Fine, you can have your precious Molly back, but I still want her incarcerated for stealing my things,” Courtney said and she pointed at Maggie.
“About that: This should clear that up.” Maggie opened her purse and pulled out a contract paper and a key. She handed them to Bianca.
“I don’t understand,” Bianca said.
“It’s the key to a storage unit out at Drew Constantine’s place,” Maggie said. “All of your belongings are out there.”
“What?” Courtney shrieked. “How dare you?”
“Actually, I had to,” Maggie said, trying to make her voice sound as innocent as possible. “You see, I’m painting my shop, and I didn’t want to risk any of the items getting damaged with paint splatters, so I moved them to a storage facility for you.”
“With your name on it, I suppose?” Courtney asked. Her chest was heaving as she fought to control her temper.
“No, not my name,” Maggie said.
Bianca was scanning the papers, but she only got a glance at them before Courtney stormed across the room and snatched them out of her hands.
“Her name? You put her name on it?” Courtney asked as she flung the papers back into Bianca’s lap.
“Well, I was holding the items for Bianca,” Maggie said. “So, it seemed appropriate.”
Courtney stared at Maggie as if she would happily choke her, and Maggie wondered if it was only Sam’s presence that kept her from doing so.
“Why, you b—” Courtney began but Sam cut her off by clearing his throat.
“This certainly clears things up, doesn’t it?” he asked. “How about I escort you two ladies out?”
He was slowly backing his way toward the door, and Maggie couldn’t blame him. Courtney looked positively volcanic. He waved his hand for Ginger and Maggie to join him, and they rose from their seats and followed.
Sensing she was about to be abandoned, Bianca got up, too, and said, “I think I’ll just go and check on Molly. You know, see how she’s settling in.”
Bianca shot down the hallway, clutching her papers and the key to the storage unit like a mouse with a coveted piece of cheese.
The rest of them beat it out the front door, not slowing down until they had reached their cars.
“Maggie,” Sam called over the roof of his car. “Nice power play.”
Maggie raised her eyebrows in surprise. “That’s not praise at my quick thinking and ingenuity, is it?”
“It is,” he said. “But I’ll want to discuss it with you at the station—”
The front door opened, and out stomped Courtney Madison, cutting off whatever Sam had been about to say.
“Later!” he added as he ducked into his car and fired up the engine.
Courtney turned and glowered at Maggie and Ginger, so they scurried into Maggie’s car and fell in behind Sam as he zipped down the driveway to the main road.
“Well, that went well, don’t you think?” Maggie asked.
Ginger blew out a breath and busted out with a relieved laugh that turned into a chuckle. Maggie started to laugh as well. They were still chuckling when Maggie pulled up in front of Ginger’s garage-turned-office and stopped.
“Are you going to stop at the station now
?” Ginger asked as she climbed out of the car.
“No, I’m going to stop by and visit Max first,” Maggie said. “I didn’t get to talk to him about Molly’s situation, and I want to make sure he understands what we’re dealing with.”
“Good plan,” Ginger said. “I have a feeling Courtney Madison could skewer Max on one of her spiky-heeled shoes if he doesn’t have his guard up.”
“Scary thought,” Maggie said with a shudder. She drove off with a wave. It was just past ten o’clock in the morning, and she knew that, with the Frosty Freeze closed for the summer, Max was making up his income by working as a pizza deliveryman for A Slice of Heaven, the local pizza joint in town.
Maggie drove around the green and parked across the street from the restaurant. She could see Max’s beat-up Ford Escort with the peeling maroon paint and mismatched tires; it was riding on a spare and was parked in the delivery-only parking spot.
The glass door chimed when Maggie pulled it open and stepped inside. The restaurant was empty, as it wasn’t quite lunchtime yet, but the smell of pizza in the brick oven made Maggie’s mouth begin to water.
Max was sitting at a table in the corner with a couple of crusts on a plate and beside an empty liter bottle of Mountain Dew.
He had three oversize books open, all of which featured paintings from Italian masters.
“Hi, Max,” she said when she entered. “How goes the dissertation?”
“Uh?” He looked up from his work, and his eyes looked fuzzy with the deep thoughts that were running through his brain. Maggie gave him a moment to center himself so he didn’t lose any pertinent information.
“Maxwell,” a woman called his name from the kitchen. “We have a delivery for you.”
“Coming, Mrs. Bellini,” he said. Then he turned to Maggie, and said, “So, did it work—the wrongful termination papers?”
“Oh yeah,” Maggie said. “Molly’s got her job back, at least until a judge rules on Courtney’s bid to take possession of the estate as Buzz Madison’s oldest child.”
“Good,” Max said.
“But I wanted to warn you about Courtney Madison,” she said. “She’s crafty. I wouldn’t put it past her to find out who you are and try to charm you.”
