“They both came from Houston,” Grace said. “Maybe they knew each other before she moved to Devine and got involved with Wesley and then Henry.”
“And Wesley was barely in the ground when she took up with Henry and wound up inheriting that big ranch of his when he died. I’ve always wondered if she had a list of prospective older guys that she could fleece,” Sarah said. “Do you think Neal is doing what they call along con?”
Grace shook her head. “Surely not. Why would he be engaged to Macy if he and Darla Jo are getting rich off her husbands?”
“To cover up their relationship,” Sarah suggested.
Grace giggled again. “We’ve both been watching too many cop shows in the evenings. He’s probably just having one last fling before he has to settle down and be a faithful husband.”
Sarah laughed with her. “Look at us—sitting out here, thinking that there’s a real black widow in our little town. Wesley died of a heart attack, and Henry’s diabetes killed him. You’re right. Neal is just having a last fling. You can tell by the way he looks at Macy that he’s in love with her.”
“Let’s go home and get out the rocky road ice cream and two spoons,” Grace suggested. “That will help you get over Joel.”
“It might. Ice cream heals everything from broken hearts to the desire to smother a man with a cheap hotel pillow.” Sarah started up the engine and drove back to the house. “But I’m not sure I’ll ever trust a man again—and in my defense, he wasn’t wearing a ring. He didn’t even have a pale spot where a ring might have been. I always check for that before I even let a man buy me a drink.”
“There are a few good men out there,” Grace said, “but I don’t think they hang out in bars.”
Sarah shook her head slowly and parked in front of the house. “You met Justin atchurch. Of course, you were both just kids at the time, but still...”
“Point taken, but do you realize that Justin and Joel both start with aJ? Maybe we should avoid any men from now on that have aJname,” Grace told her as she got out of the truck and made her way to the porch, where Macy was sitting in the swing.
Grace was about to open the front door when Macy called out to her, “Hey, I’m glad y’all are back. I need to talk to you about something really important, and there’s no time like right now to get it off my chest.”
“She knows,” Sarah whispered, so close behind Grace that it startled her. “Can I get a beer first?”
Grace grabbed the handle to the screen door. “And I’d like an iced tea. Do you want one, Macy?”
“I’d love one,” Macy said and flashed a brilliant smile.
“She doesn’t know,” Grace whispered on the way to the kitchen. “If she did, she wouldn’t be smiling like that. She would be crying until her eyes swelled shut.”
Audrey slipped into the kitchen and went to the refrigerator for an ice cream sandwich. “Know what?”
“Nothing,” Grace answered and felt guilty for lying to her daughter.
“We were talking about Darla Jo,” Sarah answered.
That wasn’t a total lie, since they had been discussing the woman earlier.
“Sheisprobably crying,” Audrey said and closed the freezer door. “Dillard Wilson got married yesterday to his old high school sweetheart. Talk around town says that he was the next man she was going to seduce.”
Grace almost dropped the tea pitcher. “Good grief! Where did you hear that?”
Audrey shrugged. “Crystal babysits for her on Saturday nights and usually stays over. Darla Jo’s got a young, good-lookin’ boyfriend, according to Crystal, but she marries old men so she can get their money when they die. But she and her boyfriend go out on Saturday night and don’t come home until early Sunday morning.”
“What else did she tell Crystal?” Grace asked.
Audrey peeled the paper off her ice cream sandwich. “Darla Jo said that she and her boyfriend were going to move away from Devine and live on a tropical island. Someday, I’m going to be rich enough to live like that.”
Sarah pulled the tab on her beer and took a long drink. “Has Crystal met the Saturday-night boyfriend?”
Audrey took a bite of her ice cream. “Nope. He don’t pick her up at the door. She meets him somewhere and doesn’t come home until daylight or after most Sunday mornings. She has to be home by ten so Crystal can go to church. That’s her parents’ rule. Darla Jo pays Crystal a hundred dollars. I told Crystal if she ever needs a relief sitter that I would do it in a heartbeat for that kind of money. The little boys are in bed by nine—and when Darla Jo cleans out her closet, she gives Crystal what she doesn’t want. Last month she gave her a purse that cost five hundred dollars brand-new.”
“That’s pretty generous,” Grace growled.
“Yep, and that’s why I’m going to marry a rich man someday,” Audrey said with a smile. “When I do, you all three can come and live in my mansion with me.”
“Well, thank you for that.” Grace was amused by her daughter’s statement—and glad that Audrey was talking to her at all, to tell the truth. She picked up the two glasses of tea and headed outside.
