Page 1 of Let Sleeping Dogs Lie

Part One

Magnolia Steele

Chapter One

“Magnolia, you got the coleslaw covered?”

Tilly asked me this as I was stirring some mayo into a giant metal mixing bowl full of shredded cabbage and carrots, apple cider vinegar, and a few other secret ingredients handed down through Momma’s family for generations.

I gave her a stern look. “What’s it look like to you?”

She was standing over a fry basket full of breaded chicken in the Southern Belles Catering kitchen in downtown Franklin, Tennessee, waiting for them to reach the perfect shade of golden brown before she plucked them out. Pointing her metal tongs at me, she said, “I swear to all that is holy, you sound more and more like your momma every day, Alabama accent and all. God rest her soul.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” I sassed back. Well, sort of. Tilly was like an aunt to me, and while I could get away with all kinds of nonsense with her—always had—I wouldn’t truly sass her. I loved her too much to show her disrespect.

“It is when you’re living with her,” a male voice said behind me. I turned around to face him.

Colt Austin. Blue-eyed, blond, and much too handsome for his own good, he looked like a country music star waiting to be discovered…which he was. Women all over Nashville adored him. Thankfully, I was the only woman Colt adored.

Propping a hand on my hip, I gave him an ornery grin. “I don’t hear you complaining about me much. Quite the opposite.”

He walked over and snatched the spoon from my hand, tossing it into the bowl, then wrapped an arm around my back and pulled me hard against his chest. A playful grin tugged at the corners of his lips. “Good point.”

I understood the reason for that grin. Helikedthat I was being sassy. It was better than being perpetually mopey.

“Get a room,” groaned Rita, one of the catering staff, but she followed it with a laugh.

“I’d do just that if we didn’t have to feed one hundred and fifty people in about two hours,” Colt said, giving me a quick peck on the lips, then releasing me. Lowering his voice, he said, “You got another one of those official letters, Maggie. This one’s from the attorney’s office in Sweet Briar.”

Picking up the spoon, I started stirring the coleslaw again. “So?”

“So? Aren’t you curious what it’s about?” he asked in disbelief.

“It’s probably the mayor asking me to be in a parade again,” I said dismissively, hoping he’d drop the subject. But no, I wasn’t that lucky.

“That one was from the Sweet Briar mayor’s office. The last two have come from an attorney.”

“So?” I countered.

“Why don’t you just open it and see what it’s about?”

I shot him a glare. “No.”

It was just one more unknown I wasn’t prepared to deal with. I was barely managing to hang on without adding to my problems.

“Maggie…” he pleaded. I knew curiosity was getting the best of him. Frankly, I was surprised he was respecting my privacy and hadn’t just ripped it open.

“No means no, Colt,” I said, focusing on mixing the slaw.

“But—”

“You heard ’er,” Tilly said in a tone Colt wouldn’t dare defy. “Leave it be.”

The rest of the staff glanced around at each other as Colt gave me a soft kiss. “Sorry, Mags.”

Then he set to work so we’d be ready to shoot out the door in an hour to head to the corporate event we were catering.

I nearly groaned in frustration. So we were back to treating poor Magnolia with kid gloves.

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