know anyone here yet, so I figured there might be people I could get to know in an exercise class.”
“Why don’t you two grab some food and come and eat with us?” Emily suggested.
“I already told y’all, no fried bull’s testicles for me,” Maggie shot back.
“What?” Fiona’s eyes widened with surprise as she looked down at the half-eaten food on the plates. “What are you eating?”
“Bull’s testicles,” Maggie repeated, linking her arm through Fiona’s and pulling her away from the tent.
The friends at the table burst out in laughter at Maggie’s over-the-top disgust with their dining choice. Soon conversation began to flow again and the meal was quickly devoured.
Camille was seated across the table from Isabel and Emily, and she leaned in toward them as if she was about to say something of great importance. In response, they inclined forward as well.
“Did Maggie tell you yet about the man she met?” Camille asked, dipping her chin and raising an eyebrow for emphasis. She glanced over at the husbands, who were thick in conversation about the latest baseball scores and rankings.
“No. What man?” Emily asked.
“Yeah, what man?” Isabel repeated with typical concern.
“Well, I thought she would have spilled the beans by now, so don’t tell her I told you girls, but she met a man on one of those online dating sites.” Camille sat back in her chair, running her hands through her short spiky red hair, an intentional pause, as if to let that information sink in.
“I don’t like the sound of that.” Isabel pushed her long black waves over her shoulder. “You never know what kind of kook or pervert is lurking on those sites.”
“They seem to be getting more popular,” Emily remarked. “I think the reputable ones might be safe, don’t you think?” She looked from Isabel to Camille.
“I don’t want to sound paranoid,” Isabel crossed her arms on the table, “but no site is totally safe from scam artists and perverts.”
“Any details, Camille?” Emily inquired.
“All I know is,” she leaned forward again, “his name is Lucas and he has money.”
“Is that what Maggie said?” Emily asked.
It was well known among these close friends that Maggie had always hoped to snag a man with money. She had grown up poor in Texas, escaping that life as a young single mother with a small son, making her way to Hollywood in hopes of becoming a movie star. When her ship never came in, she left her deadbeat husband and moved north to Idaho where her brother and his family lived.
Over the years, her son, Josh, grew up into a fine young man and joined the Navy two years earlier. Her brother, Clifford “Sully” Sullivan, co-owned and ran the local golf course and had been elected Mayor of Paradise Valley a couple of years before.
When Maggie had arrived in Paradise Valley, she’d brought little more than her young son, but she learned all she could about fitness training and she’d opened her own studio, which gave her a decent living. Still, she always said it was her dream to find herself a man of means who would love her and treat her like a queen. Maybe now her dreams were coming true.
“What does she know about this man?” Isabel asked.
“All she’s told me is that he lives in Colorado, his name is Lucas Wakefield, and he’s an investor,” Camille reported.
“Investor? What does he invest in?” Isabel questioned.
“You’ll have to ask Maggie if you want any more facts,” Camille said. “But, please, wait until she brings him up. Otherwise, she’ll know I told you.”
“Maybe I should run a background check on him,” Isabel suggested, tapping her finger on her chin.
“Oh, Isabel, I don’t think Maggie would like that,” Emily warned. Being a private investigator made Emily as skeptical as Isabel’s FBI training had made her, but Emily knew Maggie wouldn’t see it that way. “Why don’t you wait on that one?”
“All right—for now,” Isabel agreed. “But as soon as she tells us about this Lucas character and she starts talking like they’re getting serious, I’m doing a background check.”
“Enough talk about Maggie, what about you, Em?” Camille asked. “Have you found out anything more about Evan’s mysterious past?”
Emily’s late husband, Evan Parker, had been a private investigator in Paradise Valley. He’d been murdered while working late in his office one night about a year ago. Eventually, Emily was able to start putting her tragic loss behind her. Hoping to move on to a new relationship at her friends’ urging, she began