a man she’d known for two years?
She adjusted the plastic sinners and opened the curtains wider. The next time she saw the sheriff, she needed to treat him like a stranger on a dark night in New York City. Cross the street, look the other way, move along.
Coffee was the next priority. Then she needed to get her car from the cemetery.
While her cup was brewing, she texted Avery, asking for a ride. And then she stared out the dining room window. Mrs. Everly and Darla Bastion were standing on the sidewalk across the street, ogling Lola’s window display as if it were Christmas and she’d set up a blasphemous tree.
By the time Lola finished her coffee, Avery was pulling up in front of the house. She wore a pair of black pants and a maroon polo shirt with the movie theater logo. Her hair hung down her back in a sheet of sleek black. A true friend, Avery glared at the neighbors until they dispersed.
Lola opened the door before Avery could knock.
“Are you still mowing that witch’s lawn?” Avery charged in, dark eyes blazing.
“Yes.” Randy had mowed Mrs. Everly’s lawn for free whenever he’d mowed their lawn. It hadn’t seemed right to stop after his death. To avoid an argument with Avery, Lola asked, “How was your date last night?”
“Horrible. My life is ruined.” Avery’s voice cracked, and she looked as if she couldn’t decide if she was going to cry or pick a fight with Mrs. Everly. “The guy who bought me at auction? Frank? He’s trying to buy the entire block downtown, including my family’s movie theater.” She pressed the heels of her hands to her temples and muttered, “Not that my family said a word to me about it.” She blew out a breath and dropped her hands to her sides. “If the town council approves, he’s going to tear it all down, and I’m going to be out of a job.”
“Oh no.” Lola rubbed Avery’s back. “Is there anything I can do?”
Avery shook her head, staring at Randy and Candy. “Why are Randy’s dolls on display?”
“It’s modern art.” Lola adjusted Randy’s hand on Candy’s waist. She’d had to deflate him a little to get more bend. It gave him a laid-back swagger.
Avery raised her finely shaped eyebrows. “That kind of creative expression will get you thrown in the pokey in this town.”
“Been there, done that.” Lola tried for nonchalance, but she was afraid she might have sounded a little cocky. “The sheriff locked me up last night.” Not many women in Sunshine could say that.
Avery perked up. “Did Drew handcuff you first? He seems like the quiet but possibly kinky type.” She slid a red strap off Candy’s shoulder.
“The sheriff is too starched to have a kink.” Lola tamped down memories of half smiles and low chuckles and slid into a pair of black Keds. “After we get my car, do you want to go to Greeley for some shopping therapy?”
“Can’t.” Avery looked down at her work clothes, her features returning to the doom-and-gloom expression she’d had when she’d arrived. “A Disney movie opened this weekend, and every family in town is coming to the first two matinees. Stacey Wexley called in sick already, which means there was a party hosted by the Bodine twins last night, so she won’t be the only teenage no-show.” Avery huffed on her way to the door, and no matter how hard Lola tried to lighten the mood, she continued huffing until she dropped Lola off at her car.
When Lola got back home, she sat at the kitchen table, contemplating how to spend the day. By now, the entire town would’ve heard about her making a spectacle of herself at the bachelorette auction. Mrs. Everly would be telling people about her window display. And Lola could look forward to Drew showing up with her rent check, possibly including a lecture about small-town decorum, because that was the way the sheriff rolled.
Randy and Candy fell to the carpet in a passionate heap.
“Typical.” Lola righted the pair and propped them up with dining room chairs on either side. “Why couldn’t my husband cheat where Mrs. Everly could see?”
Oh, snap. Where did Randy do the deed?
She had no idea. She’d accused Drew of being party to the debauchery, but that didn’t hold up to the light of day, not when Drew had a little girl.
Lola washed out her coffee cup, realized it was from a restaurant she’d never been to in Greeley,