Page 63 of Scorched

Chapter 10

Arms loaded, Maggie got her fingers around the knob of Peppy Brewster’s back door and let herself in. It was book club night—her first—and they were making table decorations instead of discussing the book none of them read.

“Oh! Here, let me help you.” London hurried forward to take a box off the stack Maggie carried.

“There are more in the car.”

“We’ll get them,” Macy said. She motioned to Rayna, and the two of them went out to get the rest of the vases.

Tara walked over to look inside the boxes Maggie set on the table. “Oh, I like these. You guys did good.”

Maggie smiled and started unpacking them. “Thanks. The shop we went to had some great stuff. Did you bring the lights and stuff?”

“Yep.” Tara pointed to a box at the end of the table.

“Awesome.”

The back door opened again, letting Macy and Rayna inside.

“Don’t unpack all that back here. We’ll have more space out front,” Macy said.

“Oh. All right.” Maggie put the few vases she’d pulled out back in the box and picked it up, carrying it out to the café. The others followed.

“So, what are we doing?” Rayna asked.

Tara explained what she wanted, and they spread out amongst the tables, each taking a glue gun and some vases, lights, ribbon, and flowers.

“Where did you get all these, Maggie?” Macy asked. “They’re gorgeous.”

“Declan and I went to Genevieve’s Antiques in Colorado Springs.”

“You got Declan to go shopping?”

She shrugged, bending over to plug in her glue gun. “I offered to take him to the fire station, but he said he’d rather come with me. He was worried there was going to be some backlash from the husband of a woman I represented. She was charged with aggravated assault, but argued self-defense and the judge agreed.”

London wrinkled her nose. “Good. Seb told me about that case. I’m glad she’s leaving the bastard.”

“Me too. I hope she stays away this time.”

“But Declan was worried? Was there a credible threat?” Macy asked.

“Not really, no. Hank Tulley’s just mean.”

“My brother’s smitten.”

Maggie snorted. “Maybe, but nothing’s going to happen.”

“Yeah, right,” Tara said. “I saw the way you two looked at each other at the inn.”

“Oh, I’m not denying the attraction. He’s just determined he’s not good enough for me.” She glued a flower to the jar and picked up another one.

“What?” Macy said. Her head shot up to stare at Maggie. “Why the hell would he think that?”

“Your parents. And his arrest in June.”

“That’s just bullshit. Those charges were dismissed. And our parents haven’t been part of our lives since we graduated.”

“That’s what I told him. I don’t know what else to say to convince him otherwise.”

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