by those vixens who fall all over him. Too trusting, poor man—thinks with his heart.” Aaron froze beside her, and Charlize smiled that her mother had called him out, until her mother targeted her next. “Good thing you’ve met my daughter, Aaron, because she’s both a beauty and a darling. That should fix your problems.”
Mabel wouldn’t have it. “How do you explain his connections to the drug cartels, that scandal with his charity? Oh, I know what you did, Mr. Mills. There was a riot in Dallas after you suggested moving your business to Arkansas. I read the article.”
Henry winked. “Sounds like politics to me. The media wouldn’t be after this boy if he didn’t stand up to them like he does. You must have your money in all the unpopular places.”
“He was in the CIA,” Charly explained quickly to Aaron.
“Mark my words,” Mabel wasn’t holding anything back anymore. “He’ll leave town on the heels of another fake charity, with your daughter in tow, no doubt. And that Janson fellow? With the pharmaceuticals? That’s his friend that will get everyone killed with that flu shot.”
Now Charlize was getting annoyed, but Aaron took it all in good stride. He held up his hands. “Janson Styles isn’t that kind of a scoundrel, though he volunteered to be in the bachelor auction this Saturday. Why don’t you come, Mabel, and battle him away from the other women.”
Mabel was incensed. “I will not!”
Charlize’s mother seemed interested. “What about you, Aaron? Will you be in the bachelor auction?”
Charly guffawed. “No, he’s only making his friends do it.”
Mabel blew out in anger, and Mr. Wood hooted out in appreciation. “All right. No more putting us off,” he said. “Let’s see if your bingo is as good as your trash talk.”
“He probably cheats like you, Henry,” Mabel muttered.
“We’ll see about that.” Mr. Wood was clearly enjoying himself. “Put up your stakes, Aaron. And forget money. I know that means nothing to you. My daughter is dating one of you fellas from the Mountain Cove Retreat. You’ve got more money than you know what to do with. Let’s find a different way to make this fun for all of us.”
Mabel grumbled, but boredom easily won her over, and she grabbed a seat mighty fast for someone who thought she was getting in with the devil.
Charlize noticed her mother watching her and Aaron with interest. “Let’s figure out these stakes.” Her mother leaned back. “Aaron can’t have all the fun. I say whoever comes in last in a blackout game has to cause a scandal. Let’s give people something else to talk about besides you, kid.”
Aaron quickly found the nearest card table and dragged it over. “You’re on.”
Mabel groaned. “You’ve got to give us a better reason to play than that.”
“Right, what will we win?” Mr. Wood patted the table decisively.
“We can bar anyone from playing on bingo night... for a whole year,” Mabel announced. That seemed unnecessarily cruel, but Charly’s mother was all for it. With a hard look at Mabel, she fetched the bingo cards while Mabel got the metal bingo cage and set it roughly on the table. Charly turned the wood handle. The first number rolled out and the game started. Both Mabel and Aaron were the first to get the numbers on their cards and from there dominated the game. And then, like a dark horse, Henry Wood caught up, chuckling. Mabel cast him suspicious looks, but Charly saw no way to cheat at this game.
Charly’s mother got a few lucky numbers from there and Aaron started to fall behind so that he and Charly were neck and neck for last place. Henry glanced over mischievously. “Are you even trying, boy, or did you give up?”
Aaron smirked. “Just being a gentleman.”
“I doubt that.” Charly nudged him playfully. “He likes to cause a little scandal.” Looking across the board, she saw her mother was falling behind. Henry Wood was doing well, but not as good as Mabel. Charly held her breath. Mabel could not be allowed to win a blackout. She’d bar Charly’s mother from bingo for life. And then, as if she’d willed it to happen, a number rolled out that was on Charly’s board, and then another and another. She wasn’t tied for last place with Aaron anymore.
Henry Wood let out a low grumbling laugh. “You gonna let Charly get away with that, Mabel? She’s catching up to you.”
Mabel scowled, then smirked when she got another number on her bingo board. Miss Bates