Deadly Notions - By Elizabeth Lynn Casey Page 0,72
during the last meeting. It’s like she can’t even fathom the notion of a woman being secure without a man.”
“I don’t think it’s that so much as it is the simple fact she knows he means a lot to me.”
“We all know that, Victoria.” Rose pushed her toes against the ground as her chair began to slow, her normally trembling hands surprisingly accomplished with a needle and thread. “We also all know you’re a genuine treasure. If Milo Wentworth allows himself to get sidetracked from that fact, then good riddance.”
“Good riddance to whom?”
Tori and Rose turned toward the sidewalk to find Margaret Louise and Dixie approaching. “Has anyone ever told you you’ve got elephant ears, Margaret Louise?”
“All the time.” Clasping Dixie’s upper arm with a pudgy hand, Margaret Louise propelled the retired librarian up the stairs and over to the second rocker. “It’s what keeps me in the know on all things Sweet Briar.”
“And then she tells me, and I tell you, and you tell Victoria.” Dixie nodded toward Rose’s butter pats. “Those will go nicely on my pancakes.”
“Did you finish them?”
“I did.” Dixie reached into her cavernous purse and fished out two small tan-colored circles. “I even made a bagel.” After the prerequisite round of oohs and ahhs, Dixie continued. “Georgina brought over her contributions this morning—a bag of chips, a waffle, and a hamburger equipped with all the trimmings.”
Tori glanced down at her cheese and smiled. “I think this was such a neat idea. Those little girls are going to have a blast with all of this food.”
Margaret Louise dropped onto the swing beside Tori, the motion whipping them both backward. “So what did I miss? Who’s leavin’?”
“No one. Why?”
Rose clucked. “She’s talking about our conversation regarding Milo, Victoria. The part where I said good riddance.”
Margaret Louise stiffened. “Did you two break it off?”
Tori shook her head. “No. Not at all. It’s just—” She shrugged her shoulders. “Everything will be fine. I’m going to see him this afternoon. At his house. That way he won’t have to travel so far when Beth comes up with her latest diversion.”
“Hi, everyone!” Debbie trotted onto the porch with a large gift bag in her hand. “Is Operation Play Food ready to become Operation Birthday Present?”
“I think so.” Tori lifted her cheese into the air then brought it down to rest on top of the pile she’d assembled over the past week. “Beatrice left her food in my mailbox yesterday and Dixie has Georgina’s. And Margaret Louise and Rose are virtually done, right, ladies?”
Rose paused her rocker for a moment and held up her offerings. “One last pat of butter to go.”
“Thank you so much, everyone. Those two little girls are going to love this food.”
“Any word on a job for Colton?” Dixie asked.
“As a matter of fact I saw Eloise just the other day and she said there was a glimmer of hope, though it might mean they have to move out of Sweet Briar.” Debbie walked from person to person, quietly gushing over each piece of food she saw. When she finally reached the lone remaining chair, she dropped onto it. “Seems the ones we want to stay, leave, and the ones we want to go, stay.”
“Who are you wantin’ to go?”
A flash of crimson rose in Debbie’s cheeks. “I probably shouldn’t say. It wouldn’t be terribly kind of me.”
“Aw, c’mon, Debbie, every dog ought to have a few fleas,” Margaret Louise chided. “It’s what binds us together.”
Rose pointed toward Tori. “And see? I always found cheese to be very binding.”
A chorus of laughter rang up around the porch. “Okay, okay,” Debbie finally said. “Well, after everything I’ve been hearing, I’d like to see that Beth Samuelson leave town.”
“It ain’t gonna happen.” Margaret Louise shifted in her seat, the wooden structure creaking beneath her weight. “That little thing has her sights set on Milo. Saw it just myself at the bakery this mornin’.”
“This morning?” Tori echoed.
Debbie confirmed the woman’s words. “I saw them, too. And Margaret Louise is right. You can see it in every bat of her eyelashes when she looks up at Milo.”
“And what does Milo do in return?” Rose snapped.
“He really doesn’t respond. He just acts like his normal self.” Debbie pulled a package of tissue paper from the gift bag and held it up for everyone to see. “I figured I’d wrap each food grouping in tissue paper before placing it in the bag. That way, when Abby and Sophie open the package, they’ll see the