Cory had made it sound like she was only visiting the farm. She seemed fully immersed in it on a daily basis. “Is farming a lucrative business?”
Leslie’s eyes rolled back in her head. “It’s a living. We can supply most of our own food needs. I can wear coveralls every day, so we have money for other things like cars, don’t you worry.”
“I wasn’t worried about that. I’m just curious. I haven’t spent time on a farm.”
“You haven’t missed much. I’m planning to spend less time there in the future. I want to see the rest of the country. I just have to find a bookkeeper for my brother. He’s a nightmare when it comes to organization and paying bills.”
I could understand her desire for a different setting. After living in Wachobe all my life, I’d started to wonder what else was out there. Maybe her plans to leave had given Cory the idea she was only visiting her brother. I wondered what her brother thought about her plan to seduce a man with a Caterham. It was the kind of idea Erica would come up with. I thought it best not to ask, but I couldn’t let the opportunity pass to ask Leslie about her brother. “Is your brother a redhead, too?”
“He sure is. We’re twins, born two minutes apart. I’m the older, wiser twin.”
“The women are always the wiser ones.”
Leslie bellowed. “I’m learning that more and more every day. My brother’s a bit of a hothead. It’s all I can do some days to keep our help from quitting when he gets the notion to light into them.”
“My sister met a red-haired man the other night … at The Cat’s Meow.” I rushed on, embarrassed to admit my sister was hanging out at a strip club. “She took quite a liking to him. Do you think it might have been your brother?” Perhaps their lack of organization and ability to pay bills had brought them together.
Leslie scratched her cheek. “He spends a lot of time there, I know that. I had to go over there the other day and cover a check he bounced. If you tell me her name, I’ll ask him about your sister when I get home and let you know. Now, how about you tell me about these cars you found?”
I supplied Erica’s name, then spent the next half hour comparing and contrasting the two vehicles, emphasizing their selling points as well as their drawbacks. Overall, I hinted to Leslie that no matter how fun a sports car the Caterham might be, it would not buy her a boyfriend.
She leaned back in her chair when I finished and hooked her thumbs around the straps of her coveralls. “You don’t seem keen on me buying this car, Mrs. Parker. What’s wrong with a Caterham?”
“Nothing, and please, call me Jolene. If you have the money and you think you’ll enjoy driving the car, then you should buy it. It’s just—”
“You don’t think it’s going to get me a man.”
“No, I don’t.”
Leslie examined her dirty and cracked fingernails. “I read an article that said men find women who drive these cars attractive. I know he likes these cars already. I just thought he might notice me as a woman if I drove one, too.”
“If I had to guess, Leslie, I’ll bet the article you read was written by a man trying to lure more women into buying sports cars. Most of them are bought by men.”
Leslie’s knee bounced up and down as she appeared to consider my words. “You’re a married woman. Tell me, how did you attract your husband?”
I smiled. “He thought I was pretty.” Just like Valerie Bertinelli, but I kept that to myself. I didn’t want Leslie Flynn to try to remodel herself to look like a Caterham. She’d have a hard time becoming sleek and racy.
Leslie glanced down at herself with a rueful grin. “I ain’t pretty.”
Although I’d just had that thought myself, I felt obligated to disagree. “Nonsense. A new hairdo, a little makeup, clothes that emphasize your womanly assets—he’s sure to notice a change in your look.” I sounded much more confident than I felt. He would notice, but who knew if he would find her attractive? I tried to push that thought out of my mind. Something about Leslie Flynn made my heart go out to her. I felt the need to help her in any way I could.
She fiddled with the buttons on her flannel shirt. “I don’t know