“You go.” I push Muriel in the back.
She locks her legs and doesn’t budge, but she does hiss at me over her shoulder. “No. You go.”
“Billy… you go on up,” I suggest.
“No way,” he says as he moves to the back of the crowd standing on the sidewalk in front of Mainer House.
“Sarah?” I ask.
Sarah stands there with a homemade peach pie in her hands, but she shakes her head in the negative.
“Della?” I ask, turning to the woman beside me.
“I wasn’t there on the day you all became jackasses,” she points out. “I’m just more of a welcome party.”
Della has a casserole in her hands, and it smells divine.
“Fine,” I grumble as I start toward the porch. I stomp up the steps and when I get to the top, I wait for my compatriots to gather round me.
I look over my shoulder to find them still standing on the sidewalk.
“Get up here,” I growl at them. “Or I’m going to use the keys I’ve collected to each of your houses and businesses and I’m going to do something you wish I wouldn’t.”
All of them scurry up the porch steps.
Taking a deep breath, I turn around and knock on the door.
It takes a moment, then I hear feet coming down the stairs. Lowe opens the door wearing a t-shirt and a pair of cut-off sweat pants, his hair sticking up all over the place. He looks clear and bright eyed, which means he didn’t just wake up, which means he wasn’t sleeping, which means he was in bed for other reasons.
Damn.
“Is Mely available?” I ask tentatively.
Lowe grins at me. “Yeah… she’s coming.”
And then there she is.
Tying a long robe at her waist, her hair also sticking up all over the place. The smile on her face indicates that—
Well, she looks happy.
Mely comes to the door and looks at the crowd. “Um… hey, all.”
Lowe’s arm comes around her waist, and he pulls her protectively into him. His smile is warm and welcoming to me though, so he knows we’re here to rectify things.
“Mely,” I begin after a soft cough. “We all hate that we upset you the other day. It’s not right, but it’s what happens in a small town. People talk because nothing interesting ever happens here. Normally, it’s harmless stuff, but in this instance, you and Lowe got hurt, and we sure are sorry. We hope you’re back to stay though, and we want you to be a part of Whynot. We want you to start gossiping with us, so to speak.”
My words must be the thing she needed to hear because she’s pulling me down for a hard hug as she murmurs, “Thank you, Floyd. That was lovely, and yes… I’m here to stay.”
“Good,” I tell her, all gruff and business like again. “I’ve added Mainer House to my nightly route. You’re safe, darlin’.”
“Aww… that’s sweet, Floyd,” she says.
“I’ll need a key to your house, though… just in case.”
“Not a chance,” she says firmly but with a polite smile.
I just nod and back away, so everyone else can have a few words.
One by one, they approach with apologies and food.
Invitations for coffee and bridge club.
Queries as to whether there will be a real wedding and if it will be an open bar.
You know… important stuff.
Eventually, everyone has their say, has put their gifts just inside the house, and then Lowe and Mely are backing away and shutting the door to get back to their honeymoon.
We all turn and amble down the steps.
“I’m thinking we’re going to hear a baby crying in about nine months’ time,” Billy posits.
“No way,” Della says. “They’ll want some time to themselves to get to know each other. Two years.”
“I’ll say eighteen months,” Muriel adds on. “Wanna start a pool?”
I shake my head at these people who just can’t seem to stay out of other people’s business.
“What do you think, Floyd?” Della asks.
“Put me down for twenty-two months,” I mutter as I hit the sidewalk and start walking back toward my store.
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Read on for an excerpt from
Barking Up the Wrong Tree
The Sex and Sweet Tea Series #3
SAWYER BENNETT WRITING AS
Juliette Poe