“Does that mean she goes with her friends, and I’m safe for that day?” he asked.
Cricket shook her head. “Not really. The Belles that don’t have anything else on their calendars and their spouses and kids all go, so she might rope you into going with them. Mary Lou, that’s her mother, would be happy to have her daughter settled. I’ve heard that Anna Grace has had a long-time affair with a teacher in Sweetwater when she’s not trying to find a husband that would make Mary Lou happy.”
“That’s crazy!” Bryce had heard of small-town rumors and gossip, but he had no idea what he was getting into when he bought the drugstore. “Why doesn’t she just take that teacher to Sunday dinner.”
“You might be super smart when it comes to books,” Cricket said, “but you need to be educated in the ways of small towns. Anna Grace can sleep with the teacher. She can fall in love with him, and even have an affair with him the rest of her life. But she will marry someone Mary Lou approves of. Anna Grace wouldn’t dare disgrace herself in front of the club members by marrying a plain old teacher. Mary Lou would be mortified, and her father would fire her from the high-paying, window-dressing job she has at the oil company.”
“Why would he do that?” Bryce asked.
“Because if Mary Lou ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy, and her husband doesn’t cross her when it comes to Anna Grace,” Cricket answered.
“Holy sh…smoke,” Bryce muttered. “What else do I need to know about?”
“That’s enough of a social lesson for tonight, but if you’ve got doubts about anything, just call me or else ask Lettie and Nadine. They know everything about everything in Bloom, going all the way back to when they were young, and Nadine will be ninety-five tomorrow,” Cricket told him. “Lettie is a couple of years younger than she is, but neither of them act that old. You do know that Lettie believes in aliens, don’t you?”
If Bryce hadn’t swallowed fast, he would have spewed tea all over the table. “You’re kiddin’, right?”
“Nope, not one bit, and if you don’t want to have to find another place to live, don’t ever try to convince her otherwise,” Cricket said.
Bryce was so glad that he’d come out to the farm to get some produce the day before. Cricket was a fountain of information. Her cooking was fabulous. He got to play in the dirt and could look forward to going fishing. And she was so damned cute that it took his breath away.
Chapter Four
Cricket had just flipped the lights on at the shop and set down her tote bag on Thursday morning when her phone rang. She fished it out of her purse and smiled when she saw Jennie Sue’s name pop up.
“Good mornin’,” she answered. “How’s the vacation going?”
“Absolutely wonderful,” Jennie Sue replied. “We had planned to go to a waterpark and the zoo today, but Aubrey and Dina both cried. They wanted to build another sandcastle on the beach and play in the sand. Rick is getting them into their bathing suits. I’ve gathered up the sunblock and snacks. Now, tell me all about this new pharmacist and how you are being the damsel in shining armor who is rescuing him from a life of misery with Anna Grace.”
Cricket giggled. “I don’t know about all that, but he has to be saved, and I’m doing my part to help with that. He helped me pick peas and gather the tomatoes last night. Then he ate supper with me.”
“Lettie thinks there might be a little attraction there,” Jennie Sue said. “She said that when she and Nadine came to the bookstore yesterday, your eyes were sparkling.”
“Anna Grace bullied me in school and has continued to be hateful to me every chance she gets. Getting back at her would make anyone’s eyes twinkle.” Cricket unloaded her tote bag and made a pot of coffee while she talked.
“Well, don’t lose the sparkle. I want to see it when I get home,” Jennie Sue said. “We went to a T-shirt shop yesterday, and the girls picked out two for you.”
“That will make my eyes twinkle for sure.” Cricket poured herself a mug of coffee before it even quit dripping and carried it to the sofa. “I miss those two little angels so much.”
“We’re ready,” Rick’s deep voice came through the line.
“Beach, Mama, beach,” Dina said.
“Did you get the snacks and the juice boxes and the towels and the buckets and shovels and…” Aubrey ran out of breath.
“They aren’t acting much like angels right now,” Jennie Sue laughed.
“I love hearing their voices, and they’ll always have little wings and a shiny halo in their favorite aunt’s eyes,” Cricket said. “Give them a hug from me and go enjoy the day. The damsel in shining armor has things under control here.”
“Love you, sister,” Jennie Sue chuckled. “See you at the end of next week.”
“Lookin’ forward to it,” Cricket said and ended the call.
When Jennie Sue first came back to town a few years ago, Cricket had felt the same way about her that she still did about Anna Grace. She’d thought Jennie Sue was uppity and had been glad that she’d fallen on hard times. But with time, and especially after Rick and Jennie Sue started seeing each other, Cricket had seen that she’d been wrong and that she should have never grouped Jennie Sue in with the other Belle girls.
Maybe you’re wrong about Anna Grace too. Cricket’s mother’s voice was clear in her head.
“Mama?” Cricket whispered.
But there was no more from her mother, and before she could figure out why she’d heard the voice so clearly, the bell above the door rang, and Anna Grace came into the store for the first time ever. Cricket blinked a dozen times, but the tall blond woman did not disappear.
“May I help you?” she finally asked.
Anna Grace was wearing a cute navy dress that day with matching high heels and had a matching bag draped over her arm. She crossed the floor with the grace of a runway model and sat down in the wingback chair across from Cricket’s desk. She crossed one long, slender leg over the other and took a deep breath. “I need to talk to you.”
Here it comes, Cricket thought. She’s going to tell me to leave Bryce alone or else she’ll ruin my business.
“About what?” Cricket sat down in her desk chair and got ready for the bullying.
“I want to apologize for all the times when I’ve been hateful and mean to you, and to ask for your help.” Anna Grace kept her eyes on a spot on the wall behind Cricket’s head.
“Thank you for that, but I don’t believe you.” Cricket reached under the desk and pinched her thigh, proving she wasn’t asleep but fully awake. “I think you are here to tell me to step aside where Bryce Walton is concerned, that you intend to start up a relationship with him, and eventually marry him because he’s a pharmacist.”
“If my mother was sitting in this chair, you would be right. She gave me orders to do just that this morning, but…” Anna Grace actually blushed.
Cricket folded her arms over her chest. “I think you will do anything to get what you want, and then later, you and your friends will laugh at me for being so gullible. Well, I’m an adult now. I’m not a teenager who wants to be included in your circle of friends, and I’m not someone you can bully anymore.”