* * *
“Rise and shine!”
Kalista shielded her eyes from the bright light that suddenly came on in Bo’s spare bedroom. She grimaced and sat up as Viv approached her with a wide smile, showcasing straight white teeth that had graced many a fashion magazine cover in the seventies and early eighties, her chin-length bob smooth and sleek. Her former stepmother had almost reached supermodel status, only to walk away from the business when she was at the top of her game— something Kalista never understood.
“What time is it?” Her bleary eyes glanced at the old-fashioned alarm clock on the equally old-fashioned bedside table. “Six thirty? I slept all day?”
Viv sat next to her on the soft mattress. “It’s six thirty in the morning.”
Kalista fell back against the pillow and groaned. “You know I don’t rise and shine until after ten.”
“That’s about to change, young lady.” Viv’s cultured voice held a slight Southern twang. “I let you sleep in today.”
Six thirty was sleeping in?
Viv’s salt-and-pepper bangs were pulled back with a red scarf. “There’s lots to do on the farm. Bo always takes care of the heavy farmwork, but we have chickens, pigs, and goats to feed.”
Kalista felt faint. “I have to feed pigs?”
Viv’s smile widened. “You’ll love them. Their snorts and grunts are adorable.”
It was official. Vivian had lost her marbles.
“We also have to get ready for the hoedown on Saturday.”
“The what?” It was like she was in a foreign country.
“The Clementine Memorial Day Hoedown.” Viv went to the window on the opposite side of the room and pulled open the red-and-white gingham curtains. Light poured inside. “You’ll have a great time. Everyone does.”
Doubt it.The excitement of seeing her former stepmother after so many years was starting to wear off. Viv had changed, and she barely recognized her. The old Viv loved to shop, get mani-pedis, peruse fashion magazines, and attend lavish parties. She’d lived to be seen, and Kalista had loved being seen with her, even as a preteen, although the parties had always been off-limits.
The Viv sitting next to her was a different woman. Completely barefaced and wearing a blue gingham sleeveless shirt and knee-length blue jean shorts, she looked like she’d come in straight from the barn. She didn’t even appear to be wearing lip balm. Unthinkable.
Kalista covered her face with one of the fluffy white bed pillows. “I’m going back to sleep.”
“Nope.” Viv grabbed the pillow, dropped it on the bed, and stood. “You’re getting dressed and going to your first job interview.”
“I have one already?”
“Bo arranged it for you. He had to call in a favor, so you don’t want to be late.”
Kalista scowled and shoved off the covers. She shouldn’t have let Daddy make her come to Podunk, Arkansas. She should be back in Los Angeles with her friends having fun, hanging out atthe beach. She was a California girl through and through. She was also starting to think Bettany put her dad up to this. She wouldn’t put it past her current stepmother to use the time Kalista was away to dip her paws further into Daddy’s bank account.
“But Daddy has to teach me a lesson,” she muttered as she got up from the bed.
“What?” Viv was inside the closet, pushing hangers across the clothes bar. She poked her head outside the door. “Oh boy,” she said, looking at Kalista from head to toe before ducking back into the closet again.
“What?” Kalista walked toward her.
Viv tossed a robe at her. “Put this on. You can’t walk around the house wearing next to nothing.”
Kalista looked down at her plum-colored negligee. “What’s wrong with this?”
“It’s inappropriate.”
“It’s a nightgown, Viv. You’ve worn less than this at the beach.”
“And I regret being so immodest.
