Page 92 of One Touch

“Shut up!” I hissed before playfully sending her a bland look and balling up a napkin in my fist. “Have you talked to Lee?” I tossed the rumpled napkin at her, and she playfully swatted it away.

“Shh!” she scolded. “It tookyearsfor people to stop asking us when we were getting married despite the millions of times we assured everyone we were just friends. I don’t need that old rumor rising from the ashes to bite me on the ass again. Charles and I went on our fifth date, and that’s about the time men get all weird about my friendship with your brother.”

I sighed in defeat. “I know. It’s fine. A sister can hope is all. The last thing I want is a sister-in-law that I don’t like.”

“Trust me, I don’t think you have anything to worry about. Your brother will never settle down.”

“What about Charles?” I teased. “Is he the marrying type?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know about that yet, but he is the make-out-in-the-backroom type.” She slyly sipped her drink as her words sank in.

“You did not!”

Her smile widened, and I leaned in to get every girly detail about her latest date with our town’s newest resident.

Affection for my hometown poured through me. I missed the friendships. My family. The sense of belonging that was all a part of living in Outtatowner.

I looked over at my aunt and smiled.

Tootie preened and basked in all the attention the Bluebirds were giving her.

Bug was shooting daggers from the corner. Her pursed lips and crossed arms were frosty enough to scare even a King away, but I was determined.

Once Annie left early to meet Charles for a spontaneous walk on the beach, I plopped down next to Bug with a sigh. “Hey there, Ms. Bug. Can I get you a refill on that sweet tea?”

She peered down her slim nose at me. “I take it unsweet.”

Of course you do.

“I’m fine,” she continued.

I cleared my throat, hoping the general camaraderie of the book club would allow her to open up a bit and offer some help in identifying the three people from the photograph.

I observed Bug as she watched the women circle Tootie, asking questions and fussing over her.

“Pretty wild that something like a secret room was tucked away all that time, isn’t it?”

She gently lifted a shoulder. “Lots of things get hidden over time. Some things are best kept that way.”

Her dark eyes looked over me, and a tiny shiver ran down my spine.

She looked me over. “You know the Remington County historical society is having a field day with this.”

I nodded. “They’ve called Aunt Tootie several times, asking to photograph and document the space. I also think they’re hoping she might donate a few items to the town museum.”

So far, as a family, we had kept to our pact to not reveal any information about the connection to the Kings we had uncovered in the speakeasy. Having the county historical society poking around would splash something like that all over town, and the busybodies would have a field day with any scrap of information about our families and the feud.

Half the time I wondered if the feud hadn’t been kept alive for so long simply because the residents of Outtatowner loved to gossip about it.

“I could be salty about the fact Tootie is reveling in all her newfound attention.” She lifted her chin. “But jealousy isn’t my color.”

“Of course not,” I assured her. I swallowed back the nerves as I pulled the photograph from my purse. I needed Bug on my side, and buttering up the prideful woman seemed like my only option. “With your experience as the record keeper at the library, I was hoping you might be able to help me with something I found.”

I held the photo out for her and she took it, looking over the faces smiling back at us.

Her eyes narrowed as she whispered, “Where did you get this?”

My eyes went wide, and my heart thunked beneath my ribs.Does she know something?“I found it in the speakeasy. It was in a little locked box we found hidden beneath the bar.”

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