a lucid moment and said that she wasn’t a bit surprised.”
Teresa picked up the paper and read the headline out loud. “Local Women Busted in Prostitution Ring.”
Kayla leaned over to read the article with Teresa. “You’ve got to be shittin’ me.”
“If you look on the fourth page, you’ll see that her husband has filed for divorce and custody of their three-year-old son, too. From what I read, I guess he found out that she wasn’t teaching a Bible class on the days she hired a sitter for their little boy, and he was the one who turned her in to the police,” Noah said.
Teresa immediately wondered if that was the job Noah had done in Sulphur Springs. Had he been the very private investigator who’d discovered all this? She looked up to see a smug little smile on his face and knew, without a doubt, that her question had been answered even though a word hadn’t been spoken.
“How the mighty have fallen.” Teresa went back and read the article again, this time slower so she could get all the details. “Miss Janie used to say that when some hoity-toity person got their just due. I can’t imagine why she and those other three would be doing something like that. They were all cheerleaders in high school, and Prissy was even the student senate president.”
“They sure didn’t need the money,” Kayla said.
Teresa laid the paper aside. “Must have been for the thrill.”
“And we thought it was a thrill to get ice cream from DQ.” Kayla giggled. “Guess we’re wired different than they are.”
Teresa immediately thought of the differences in hers and Noah’s wiring. Noah had been raised with plenty, and she’d had a horrible upbringing. Did that mean that they’d never be compatible?
“Miss Janie didn’t have a hand in raising them,” Teresa said.
“Amen.” Noah smiled. “If Prissy is out on bail, and I imagine that she is, then I wonder if she’ll even show her face at the reunion.”
“She’ll probably be there and brag about how much money she made before she got caught,” Teresa said.
“Now I can’t wait until next week.” Kayla went to the refrigerator and took out a pound of sausage. “Miss Janie loves biscuits and gravy, so that’s what we’re having this morning.”
Teresa hardly heard the last words she spoke for the buzz in her ears caused when Noah sat down and his knee touched hers. Dammit! she thought. I’ve got to get ahead of this schoolgirl attraction or else come right out and ask him if he feels the same way I do.
The week went by in a blur, and when the evening of the reunion arrived, Kayla understood that old saying about being as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a roomful of rocking chairs.
Kayla turned to one side, then the other, and even looked over her shoulder at her reflection in the mirror after she’d gotten dressed.
“You look amazing,” Teresa said from the doorway.
“Don’t sneak up on me like that.” Kayla’s cheeks turned scarlet. Could her foster sister read her mind, too? Did she know that Kayla had been thinking about the biggest nerd in school?
“I didn’t sneak up on you,” Teresa argued. “I was on my way to my room, and your door was open. I mean it. There’s no way anyone is going to outshine you at the reunion.”
“I doubt that, but thank you, and I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you loaning me this dress.” Kayla took one more look at the woman in the mirror. The people who’d lived under the bridge with her would never believe that she was the same person.
Kayla picked up a small clutch bag that matched the shoes she’d bought on sale and started downstairs with Teresa right behind her. “Are you gloating?” she asked.
“About what?” Teresa shot right back.
“That you could take an ugly duckling and turn it into a swan?” Kayla turned around when she reached the hallway.
“You were only an ugly duckling in your mind. Shake it off and enjoy the evening,” Teresa told her. “Your eyes look gorgeous in that dress.”
Kayla appreciated how close they had gotten. She had no doubts that even though they might disagree regularly, they really could run a business like the senior place together.
Noah peeked out from Miss Janie’s room and said, “You look like you belong on the cover of a magazine.” He tossed her the keys to Miss Janie’s car. “Have a good time.”