“I wanted to remind you that I have a fund-raising meeting this afternoon. We’ve got about a week to go before the big event, and there are too many details to wrap up.”
More lost time and revenue. “Angie, remind me why I let you give away so many billable hours?”
Angie chuckled. “Because you like me and because your heart is not as black as the world might think.”
A hint of a smile tipped the edge of her lips. “Don’t bet on it. I’m evil to the bone.”
“You’ve a core of marshmallow. But don’t worry, I won’t tell.”
“You’re fired if you do.”
“Hey, have you gotten your costume yet?”
Horns blared as a car screeched to a halt at the intersection down the block. The driver yelled obscenities and Charlotte’s gaze tracked the direction of the driver’s raging fist. Sooner hurried across the street, her short red skirt, black sweater, leggings, and long dark boots hugging every inch of her frame. Dark hair flowed behind her as she glanced toward the driver and gave him the finger.
The driver studied Sooner a long moment then shook his head.
Charlotte cringed. “My what?”
“Costume. You need to wear a costume to this event.”
Sooner reached the corner and shouldered her way through a group of tourists. “You never told me I had to wear a costume.”
“I did. Twice. But I suspect, like now, you were half listening. Where are you anyway?”
Charlotte turned from Sooner and refocused her attention on Angie. “It’s a long story. I’ll fill you in later.”
“I meant to ask you about Grady Tate. He was the one profiled in the paper on Sunday. He runs that carnival.”
Tension slithered up her back and coiled around her throat. “He is the one.”
“Think he’d help us out with the Halloween event? Maybe send us a couple of clowns or something?”
“Angie, don’t ask Grady for any favors. When he gives a little, he takes a lot.”
“I’m a big girl. I think I could handle him.”
Sooner spotted Charlotte and raised her hand in greeting. She moved with a confidence few girls her age possessed. Charlotte certainly hadn’t had that kind of panache at eighteen. She’d woven the threads of her confidence together by studying other women she admired. “Believe me, you can’t. You play by the rules. Grady does not. Do us both a favor and stay away from him.”
“One day you’re going to tell me why.”
“Not likely.” They said their good-byes and Charlotte hung up just as Sooner reached her. “You’re late.”
“Ten minutes. I know. We had a last-minute meeting at the carnival. Grady was giving a big speech about putting on great shows this week.”
“He still does that?”
“He’s obsessed with creating a magical illusion at the carnival.” She brushed a strand of hair from her face, giving Charlotte a glimpse of a star tattoo on the underside of her wrist.
“It’s why he’s been in business so long.”
Sooner rested a fist on her narrow hip. “Sounds like you’re defending the guy.”
“Not in the least. But I learned a lot from him. When it came to running a business, he is smart and he knows how to work a crowd.”
“He’s a pain in the ass. He is driving me crazy.” Sooner huffed as if that was something done by a grown-up, exasperated woman. However, the sound reminded Charlotte more of a girl pretending to be a woman.
A question that had been festering since yesterday begged to be asked. “Was Grady good to you growing up?”
“He was okay, I guess.”
“What does that mean?”
“He didn’t beat me or anything. But he was a hard ass about dating and me having any kind of freedom.”
“He said you were homeschooled.”
“If you can call it that. I knew more than the teachers.”
Two men approached Sooner from behind and cast appreciative glances at her backside. Charlotte’s gaze narrowed as she glared at them. They spotted Charlotte and both had the good sense to look away.
Sooner chuckled. “Were you just doing the maiden aunt thing for me?”
Charlotte frowned. “Not at all.”
Her denial amused Sooner. “Oh, but you so were. You scared those dudes shitless.”
“I did not.” She had and took a perverse pleasure from it. “Ready to have a look at your new space?”
“Yes. I really want to show it to someone who can tell me if I’m full of shit or not.”
“You don’t need to curse.”
Sooner laughed. “Why? They’re just words.”
“They leave a lasting impression. Ask yourself if you want statements taken seriously or dismissed.”
Sooner laughed. “So who died and left you in charge of me?”
“Nobody. Just friendly advice.” She could have critiqued the girl’s outfit as well. Tone it down. You don’t need to grab attention all the time. But she’d said enough. Sooner was right, no one had died and left her in charge of anyone. “Let’s see the space?”
“Yes.” Sooner crossed the sidewalk to the front door of Ageless. The sound of New Age music mingling with the scents of incense greeted them. With even greater confidence, Sooner called out, “Mark!”
Charlotte glanced around the shop and with a critical eye assessed walls covered with shelves stocked with crystals, books, incense, and any other talisman or superstitious gizmo anyone would want to own. Charlotte lifted a “magical” crystal on the checkout counter and inspected it. Lovely the way it caught the light, but the stone was about as magical as a strip of asphalt or a brick.
“Mark!” Sooner glanced at her. “He must be in the back. I’ll find him.”
Charlotte set the crystal down and pi
cked up an angel pendant much like the one Mariah wore. She held the angel up to the light and watched as the afternoon sun made the fake gold sparkle.
Her mind tripped back to when Mariah and she were in their mid-teens. Sooner was just weeks away from birth.
“So who gave you that?” Grace stood at the stove and opened a can of tomato soup, which she poured into a stainless steel pot.
Mariah fingered the angel necklace. “It’s just a present.”
“I can see that. But from who?”
“You are so nosy.”
Grace set the stove on warm and, grabbing a wooden spoon, slowly stirred the soup. “Maybe I have to be to learn anything from you. Lately, you’ve got too many secrets.”
That coaxed a smile. “Mama always said a woman needed secrets if she was gonna keep her man interested.”
“You think that’s working so well for you?”
Mariah stuck up her nose. “It ain’t like you’re a virgin.”
“It was just the one time.”
Mariah laughed. “You’ll get wrinkles and look old before your time if you keep frowning.” She pushed up out of the chair and stretched. “I can’t wait to have this kid out so we can get on with our lives.”
“You don’t mean that, do you?” She wasn’t anxious for the child’s birth.
“I sure do. I want us to run around like we used to.”
Grace dropped her gaze to the soup, which had started to simmer. They’d been a team since day one. But not so much anymore. “I don’t think we’ll ever get back to where we were.”
“The baby won’t change things.”
“The baby changes it all.”
“Charlotte,” Sooner called out. “I’d like you to meet Mark Rogers. He owns Ageless.”
Charlotte set down the angel and looked toward the sound of Sooner’s voice. She found the young woman standing next to a reed-thin guy who was a few inches taller than Sooner. He wore a black T-shirt, faded jeans, white high-top tennis shoes, and long hair tied at the nape of his neck. An endless menagerie of tattoos formed sleeves up and down each arm, and on the side of his neck was the image of devil’s horns. His left earlobe sported ten stud earrings.