Page 38 of Beautiful Dreamer

It was her turn. She tossed her beanbag and watched it fall shortof the game board entirely. Damn. Across from her, Elizabeth winced and staredat the ground. “Jill’s much improved. Starting to move with more freedom.”

“I need to check in on her more, but she’s so dang stubborn.”

“More? You need to check in on her more?” Devyn asked. She didn’trealize that Charlie the liquor store guy checked in on her sister at all.

He looked caught, stared at the sky, and then crumbled. “Ah, hell.Okay. We’re smitten with each other. Well, I think she’s smitten with me, butshe never says. Bosses me around like she is, though.”

Devyn nearly choked on her beer. A beanbag landed on the board infront of her. She shot Elizabeth a thumbs-up for the toss that would earn thema point. “Did you say smitten? You’re gonna have to back up.”

“Yep.” He nodded. Now that the cat was out of the bag, he acted asif it were the most casual thing in the world. “We hook up.” Another beanbaglanded with a thud on the board in front of them and slid into the hole.Elizabeth raised a fist in victory at the additional three points. Devynswallowed back the shock at what Charlie had just spilled.

“We’re up by three now,” Elizabeth called to Devyn, who understoodthat meant she’d better not blow their lead. She took a moment to watchElizabeth celebrate with a twirl. She was getting sexier by the second. Why hadshe not noticed what a killer ass she had until now? She was torn betweenCharlie’s revelation and staring at Elizabeth Draper. Finally, she pulled hergaze away and turned.

“You’re hooking up with my sister? Jill. As in Jill Winters? We’retalking about the same woman? About this tall? Dark hair? Kind heart?”

“Ah, yep,” he said. “Thursday is our day, generally speaking.”

“Thursday.” She scrubbed her forehead. “You and my sister gettogether on Thursdays for…alone time. And you’re smitten. But she refuses tosay that she is.” She did her best to assemble the facts. “Do I have it?”

“That’s about the long and short of it.”

Devyn stared at the painted lines of the parking lot, trying towrap her brain around saucy Jill’s secret Thursday life. She’d been married fora couple of years to a man who’d stormed around the house a lot, worked verylittle, and spent money like a prince—until she’d eventually had enough anddivorced him. Jill had shown zero interest in dating again as far as Devyn hadseen, but apparently, Devyn wasn’t supposed toseeat all.

“Oh, golly,” a sweet female voice said. “If it isn’t little DevynWinters. From what I’ve heard, your real estate career sounds incrediblyexciting.” She turned to see Mary Beth Eckhart standing nearby grinning. Shewas an old friend of their mom’s who would stop by for coffee and a game ofcards when the girls were young. Just seeing her made Devyn light up from theinside and remember those lighter days.

She placed a hand over her heart. “Ms. Eckhart, it’s so good tosee you.” Before she could stop herself, her arms were around the woman whotook her right back to the comforting thoughts of her mom, which was just thebest medicine for missing her.

“Good to see you, too, sweet girl. Now that you’re in town for abit, why don’t we get together for some coffee and lemon cake over at myhouse?”

She remembered her one-story at the end of Tisdale Street well.Ms. Eckhart always had a jar of mints in the entryway. “I’d love that. Youalways made the best lemon cake in South Carolina.”

“Still do.” Her eyes crinkled when she smiled, reminding Devynthat time had passed and she’d missed a lot. “It’s a date.”

“Devyn Winters. Are you gonna toss that beanbag or yammer allday?”

Devyn looked across the parking lot to see Elizabeth’s eyebrowsdrawn in and her game face on. “Wow. You take this really seriously, don’tyou?” Devyn called back. “And you just said ‘yammer.’”

But Elizabeth was too hyperfocused on the board to botherresponding. Obediently, Devyn tossed a beanbag and watched it sail slowlyacross the parking lot and into the hole, to her total and utter amazement.Elizabeth leapt into the air and Devyn couldn’t help but do the same, revelingin the victory of her throw. Suddenly, the game had purpose. Their opponents,Chip and Luke from the car wash, were fairly consistent and would not be aneasy takedown. However, the game now had possibility. She tossed, Luke tossed,Elizabeth, and then Chip. Over and over. As the number on the scoreboardclimbed, so did Devyn’s stake in the game. The onlookers cheered and madepredictions, calling out their support for one team or the other.

“Take ’em down, Devyn,” a pregnant woman yelled from under theawning of Mr. Pitts. She didn’t know her, just a friendly spectator, but itmade her feel included. All of them did. She smiled and raised her beer, feelinglighter than she had in a very long time. She and Elizabeth took the game in anail biter of a last round, with Devyn finding her technique more and more asthey progressed. They went on to play Mr. Pitts himself, paired up with hiswife, Terri, who quite honestly was the better player with a perfect arc to hertoss. Wow. Yet she and Elizabeth beat them, too.

“Now listen, this next team is no joke,” Elizabeth told herquietly as they waited for another match to finish. “They’ll start slow, butonce we get comfortable? They’ll start to ease in and steal the points.” Devynnodded along, liking the way Elizabeth’s breath tickled her ear subtly. Yeah,that definitely did things to her.

“Steal the points, huh?” she asked.

“We can’t let them.”

She’d never seen Elizabeth so serious about anything other thantragedy, ever. Her blue eyes held fire, and Devyn was not about to let herdown. She touched her longneck bottle of beer to Elizabeth’s. “Let’s do it.”

The nine or ten people who remained for what would be the finalround clapped as Devyn and Elizabeth took their places on separate sides of theboards. They made eye contact and nodded at each other in solid teammatesolidarity. They were up against Lulu and Peggy from the Amazin’ Glazin’ DonutShop, and word on the sidewalk was that they had regular practice sessionsbetween frosting batches. Peggy wore a glove on her right throwing hand, andLulu tied a lucky bandana around her forehead before lining up her shot. Devynswallowed and rolled her shoulders, flabbergasted at how much this mattered toher.

It was over in a matter of minutes. Peggy and Lulu did just asElizabeth said they would, allowing them to put a few points on the boardbefore turning the tables and clobbering them completely. Lulu sank nearlyevery toss into the hole, prompting both women to touch their thumbs to theirbehinds and making a sizzling sound both amusing and annoying. Peggy’sparticular skill was knocking Devyn’s beanbags entirely off the board with herown. The defeat was solid and devastating. She and Elizabeth accepted the patson the back from the friends and neighbors who’d gathered, which helped soothethe burn.

“You tell Jill hello for me,” Charlie, the smitten liquor storeowner, said. “I’m glad she’s doing better. Tell her I’ll give her a shoutsoon.”

“For a date?” Devyn practically squeaked. She was still trying toreconcile Jill carrying on a torrid affair. It was so…not Jill, everyone’sfavorite fourth grade teacher, watcher of Hallmark Christmas movies.Meanwhile she’s getting down withLiquor Store Charlie on Thursday?

“For some one-on-one time,” he said, with a sheepish smile.

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