Page 38 of The Party Line

“Hey, this ismyproperty. You have no right to tell anyone to leave,” I said.

He turned his glare toward me. “Don’t believe a word this piece of—”

“What’s going on back here?” Richie Brewer asked as he opened the gate and came into the yard. Maybe everyone in town was coming to buy the farm. But I was a little glad to see that Connor wasn’t one of them.

“None of your business—and if you’re here to try to talk Lila into selling the place to you, it’s too late. I’m first in line,” Derrick growled.

“What for?” Richie asked. “All you’ll do is plow under the strawberries and plant marijuana as soon as Texas makes it legal.”

“Party has turned into a brawl,” Jasper muttered. “Want to take bets on who wins when the fightin’ starts?”

“I’ll put my money on Gina Lou.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “You can both go home and forget that this property even exists. I’m not selling it to anyone.”

Derrick’s expression changed from angry to sweet in a split second. “These flowers are for you, darlin’. No strings attached. I didn’t send anything when Miz Gracie passed away, so I brought them tonight. They are almost as beautiful as you are.”

“You’ve used that line so many times that it’s worn out,” Gina Lou snapped.

“You”—he pointed his finger at her—“stay out of this, and go on back to whatever rock you live under.”

“Hey, now,” Richie barked, “that’s no way to talk to a lady.”

Derrick whipped around to face Richie. “She’s not a lady, and you can stay out of this, old man.”

“Derrick, you can take your flowers and go home. And don’t you dare talk about Gina Lou that way. Richie, I don’t need you to fight my battles!” I yelled over all of them.

“Lila, are you all right?” Connor asked from outside the fence.

“I’m fine!” I shouted. Now there were three guys in my yard, all bowed up like a bunch of fighting banty roosters.

“I brought pizza and beer,” he said. “I had no idea you had company. What’s going on?”

“None of your concern,” Derrick said.

“These two are having an argument.” Richie’s tone said that he was aggravated. “Lila has asked them to leave, but they won’t. I just dropped by to see if Lila had changed her mind about selling her property. I know that Everett’s lease runs out the first of the year, and I wanted her to know I’m still interested.”

Derrick shook the flowers at him. “And I told him that—”

“Don’t believe a word he says,” Gina Lou growled.

“I think the whole bunch of you better go,” Connor said as he came through the gate and set the pizza and beer on my back porch. “She’s asked you to leave ...”

My hands clenched into fists. Men and their chivalry. “I don’t need you or anyone else to fight my battles.”

“Hey ...” Connor held up his palms. “Let’s all take a deep breath and give Lila some space.”

Jasper went into his house with Sassy right behind him.

“Just because you are sleeping with her doesn’t give you the right to boss us around,” Richie said.

That put extra heat in my already scalding-hot temper. I pointed at him, then swung my finger around to include all three of them. But Connor snapped before I could speak.

“Hey, now! That was uncalled for, Richie.”

Jasper opened the door, gently closed it and the wooden screen door behind him, and stepped out to the edge of the porch. He licked his finger, stuck it up in the air, and said, “Gina Lou, you come on over here and stand behind me.”

She didn’t argue, simply obeyed.

Then he raised what looked like a small can of hair spray up in the air. “This here is pepper spray. The wind is coming y’all’s way, and I’m going to give you to the count of five to get the hell out of my yard.”

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