I took the dress from Scarlett and draped it over my arm. “Is he always so—”
“Grumpy?” Scarlett filled in for me.
“I was thinking guarded and serious, but yeah.”
“He does have a temper on him, but he wouldn’t hurt a fly,” Scarlett said. She paused and pressed her lips together, as if thinking. “Well, he wouldn’t hurt a fly unless it mouthed off to him at the Lookout and he was lookin’ for a brawl. But that’s all Bootleg men.”
“True,” Leah Mae said, nodding.
Scarlett glanced around. “There’s no one in the dressing room, is there?”
Leah Mae shook her head. “No. I had customers earlier, but right now it’s just us.”
“Have you heard anything yet about…” Scarlett trailed off, nodding her head toward me.
“Oh yeah,” Leah Mae said. “Jameson and I had breakfast at Moonshine after… you know. People are all aflutter about Gibson’s new girlfriend.”
“But just that, right?” Scarlett asked. “Gossip’s all about Maya.”
“Yep. There’s talk about how y’all met. There’s apparently a rumor going ’round that you were a mail-order bride, but I don’t think many believe it. Mostly people are just surprised that Gibson has a real girlfriend.”
“That’s what I’ve been hearing, too,” Scarlett said.
I took slow steps through the store, touching items as if my attention was on the clothes. But I was thinking about Gibson. “I take it that’s big news? Gibson having a girlfriend?”
“Is it ever. I can’t remember the last time he admitted he was dating someone. Maybe not since…” Scarlett paused and made a disgusted face. “I won’t even say her name. Anyway, he takes his lone wolf status seriously. Mostly just occasional hook-ups with random girls he meets when he’s playing.”
“Scarlett,” Leah Mae hissed.
I bit my bottom lip to keep from laughing.
“Well, it’s true,” Scarlett said. She held up another dress, first in front of herself, then on me. “This one’s more my color. Anyway, when it comes to Gibs, there’s no point in sugar-coating it. But don’t let that put you off. My brother’s a good man, deep down.”
“That is your color. And his relationship history isn’t my business anyway.”
“Speak of the devil,” Leah Mae said, pointing out the window.
I glanced outside. Misty Lynn Prosser paused, snapping gum between her teeth. Her eyes roamed over the window display. She was dressed in a hot pink tube top. Maybe it was just the angle, but it looked like her boobs might be crooked.
“Oh hell no,” Scarlett said. “If she comes in, can I kick her ass out?”
“Yes,” Leah Mae said.
“Good.”
A flash of anger burst through me. She’d stolen Gibson’s wallet and turned in the photos he’d kept. Photos of me and him. It didn’t bother me that he’d dated her. That had been a long time ago, and he wasn’t really my boyfriend anyway. But it did bother me—deeply—that she’d used me to try to hurt him. It made me want to march out there and give her a piece of my mind.
Misty Lynn flipped her bleached-out hair over her shoulder and walked by without coming inside.
“Damn,” Scarlett said. “I was hoping I’d get to escort her out.”
“She never comes in,” Leah Mae said. “Which is fine by me. I know you’re supposed to be courteous to your customers no matter who they are, but I think Misty Lynn is the universal exception to that rule.”
“I agree,” I said.
“Not that you need a reason, but do you have bad blood with Misty Lynn?” Scarlett asked.
I glanced toward the window again. “Not from before. But she turned in those pictures of me and Gibs. Am I wrong in assuming she did it to hurt him, and not because she thought it was the right thing to do? Maybe I’m jumping to conclusions.”
“You’re not jumping to anything,” Leah Mae said. “Bex told me Misty Lynn sashayed into the sheriff’s office like she was expecting a blue ribbon. She didn’t even show a lick of remorse that she’d broken Gibson’s window, or that she’d committed theft. She wanted to get him in trouble.”
“God, that pisses me off.”
“She cheated on him, too,” Scarlett said.
“She what?”
Scarlett nodded. “Back when they dated. It was right after our mom died. That’s mostly why I hate her so much. I didn’t like her before—let’s be honest, she’s never been very likable. But after she cheated on my brother? She made an enemy for life.”
I decided in that moment that I hated Misty Lynn, too. Hate was a strong word, but no one hurt my Gibson and got away with it.