wore deer antlers on her head.
She was laughing and happy until someone threw an apple at her. Tyrella.
The deer scattered, their little deer tails sticking out from their ruffled skirts, leaving Jenna all by herself in her cancan dress. Tyrella launched another apple, hitting Jenna’s antlers and knocking them askew.
“If you don’t get rid of them, we can’t be friends,” she yelled.
Here came the guy in the camo tee, holding a bow and arrow. Fortunately for Jenna, instead of a tip, the arrow had a giant suction cup on the end of it. But it still made her yelp when he hit her in the thigh with it.
“We should never have voted for you,” he hollered.
“Hey, give me a break. I just got on the council,” she yelled back, pulling the arrow off her leg.
Tyrella threw another apple at her. “Deer lover!”
“I do love the deer,” she yelled back, dodging as Florence of the garden club showed up and threw an apple. She had an entire basketful of them.
Meanwhile, all Jenna’s fellow council members were doubled over laughing. “We needed a scapegoat,” called Parker Thorne.
Mildred Morrison had arrived on the scene with several other women, and they were all dressed like Valkyries, wearing helmets and bearing broadswords. “Protect the deer,” she cried, raising her sword, and began to run toward the apple throwers.
“No!” Jenna shouted, holding out a hand to stop them. “We can’t let something like this divide us.”
Next thing she knew, a big buck was by her side. “Get on,” he commanded.
She hopped on and the deer galloped off down the beach with her bouncing around on his back and holding on to his antlers. At least someone still had antlers. Hers had fallen off.
He galloped her up to an entire herd of does and they all crowded around her. “We know you’ll do the right thing,” said Mr. Bambi.
“I’m going to try.”
“Do more than try.” Who knew deer could growl?
“Otherwise,” said one of the does, “we’ll have to hurt you. Our hooves are very sharp, you know.”
“I’m new on the council,” she protested.
“You’d better do what’s right,” said the doe. “You’ve been warned.”
“I’ll try,” Jenna said. “I just want to make everyone happy.”
“You can’t please everyone,” said the buck.
“I know,” she said, wringing her hands. “I know, I know.”
The conversation got no further. She woke up.
She finally got back to sleep and her subconscious left her in peace, but she didn’t wake up feeling very rested.
“You look awfully tired, dear,” Aunt Edie said when she shuffled into the kitchen in search of coffee. “Didn’t you sleep well?”
“Not really,” Jenna said. “I need caffeine.”
“Coffee’s ready. And I’ve got a nice egg casserole.”
As if on cue, Pete entered through the back door, looking bristly and scruffy as usual. At one point he’d had a key to the house but Jenna had put a stop to that. Not that it helped any. Aunt Edie always unlocked the door first thing every morning to give the mooch full access to the kitchen.
“Something sure smells good, Edie old girl,” he said.
“I see your back’s better,” Jenna said to him.
Pete frowned. “It’s hasn’t quit bothering me since you had me painting that room before it was even healed.”
“The bathroom lights in rooms five and twelve need changing, and the sink in room ten needs to be snaked, like I told you yesterday. Think you can handle that?”
“Think we can do without the sarcasm?” he retorted.
“Pete’s wonderful with clogged sinks,” Aunt Edie said, stepping in to smooth the old rooster’s ruffled feathers.
“You’re out of light bulbs,” he added.
“I’ll get you some today. Meanwhile, that sink needs to be taken care of.”
“I’m on it. Don’t get your knickers in a knot.”
“See that you do,” Jenna said, determined to have the last word. She took her coffee and left to get the massage room ready for her first client.
As she left she could hear Pete saying to Edie, “That girl is wound too damn tight.”
Yes, and who was it who wound her up? People thought the deer were a pain. They should have to deal with Pete Long on a regular basis.
On her lunch hour, Jenna went to the hardware store. She walked in feeling some trepidation over seeing Tyrella, who owned the store and was always either at the cash register or helping her employees stock items.
Today she was at the register. “I was hoping you’d come in,” she greeted Jenna.
Great. Here came the first citizen assault, and by her good friend, too.
“I meant to