“Irene said that was the way things often went,” Clinton replied. “It looks like neither of your cousins have changed much. Have you?”
“That’s classified/redacted stuff,” she threw over her shoulder. “And your security level isn’t high enough to get the original rumor file on my past. I’m just glad that I moved away from here right after high school. I hoped that the rumors would die down when I left. What did you hear?”
“Nothing much, just a few rumors about teenage pranks,” Clinton said with a chuckle.
Taryn smiled and held the door open for him to bring in the casket piece. “That’s in the past. You want to talk about all the stupid stunts you pulled when you were young?”
“I’m Scottish to the bone, and we are known for our wild and wicked ways,” he said, “and I’ve never been a rat, either. Thanks for holding the door. We’ll put these at the front of the viewing room and then get the funeral home cart to bring in the rest.”
“For Leona?” the funeral director asked as he came down the hallway.
“Yes, sir,” Clinton answered.
“First room on the right. The family will be arriving in an hour for a private viewing, so it will be nice to have the flowers a little early,” he said.
Taryn took one look at Leona lying in the casket, gasped, and slumped down in one of the chairs in front of the casket.
Clinton was a blur as he rushed over to her side. “Are you all right?”
“No, I’m not,” she answered. “I’d forgotten how much Leona looks like Ruby. They were distant cousins.”
He sat down beside her. “Do you need a drink of water? Maybe you should put your head between your knees.”
“I’ll be fine in a minute,” she said. “I’ve always thought Nana Irene and Ruby would live forever, and the sudden shock of realizing that it could have been one of them here”—she paused—“in this place ... Well, it flat-out took me by surprise.”
Clinton draped an arm around her shoulders and gave her a gentle squeeze. “We aren’t ever prepared to lose a loved one. Not even if they’ve been sick for a long time.”
Taryn attributed the jolt that ran through her body at his touch to her relief that it was Leona and not Ruby in the casket. “You are so right, but I’m over my shock now. Let’s get the rest of those flowers out of the heat before they wilt. If Nana Irene heard that we delivered ugly arrangements to her friend’s funeral, she might bring her guns back to the shop.”
“She just might,” Clinton said with a chuckle. “She runs a tight ship.”
You have no idea just how tight that ship really is,Taryn thought.
Chapter Two
Why do we have to live in this cramped space?” Anna Rose complained that evening when she dragged two big suitcases into the trailer. “The closet in my room is so small that I can barely get my clothes in it. I’ll be living out of a suitcase for six weeks!”
Jorja brought in her baggage—one small suitcase and a tote bag—and headed down the hallway. “It could be longer than six weeks. Nana Irene told me that she was staying with Ruby until she could come back to work—and at her age, that could be even longer. Maybe until August. I’m not worried, though. I don’t have to be back at school until the first week of September, and I’ve already told my church family that I’ll be gone most of the summer.”
“I’m taking the bedroom at the end of the hall,” Anna Rose said and rushed past Jorja to claim it. “The closet is bigger in that one.”
Taryn rolled her eyes but didn’t say anything. The end of summer sounded like an eternity and three days away to her. She agreed with Anna Rose’s complaint about living in the cramped space of a single-wide trailer that had to be at least thirty years old. The thing would definitely be overcrowded with three grown women living in it, and it looked pitiful. Back when Nana Irene had lived there, when Taryn was a little girl, it had seemed plenty big enough. But now the blue on the lower half of the outside had faded, the white on the upper part had a few rust spots, and the inside wasn’t big enough to cuss a cat without getting a hair in Taryn’s mouth—another of Nana Irene’s sayings.
After all three of the cousins had graduated from Shamrock High School—go, Shamrock Irish!—Nana Irene bought the house next door to Ruby’s. Then she had offered the single-wide to folks who needed a temporary roof over their heads until they could get back on their feet. Taryn couldn’t complain too much. The place had a good roof and air-conditioning, and was just a temporary thing. Being cramped wouldn’t kill any of them—at least, Taryn hoped that it wouldn’t.
Taryn took her single suitcase to the first bedroom down the hall on the right, by far the smallest of the three. But hey, she didn’t need a big closet. She was used to working at home in pajama pants and an oversize T-shirt, and she had no problem living out of a suitcase. She liked to move every few months, so she usually rented an Extended Stay room and paid rent by the month. That way she didn’t have to worry about moving towels, bedding, or even kitchen items, and she didn’t make fickle friends who would betray her.
“I’ve got dibs on the bathroom since you got first choice of bedrooms,” Anna Rose shouted.
“Don’t you dare use all the hot water,” Jorja yelled.
Taryn heard the bathroom door close and the old pipes under the trailer clank when Anna Rose turned the water on.Lord, I’m not as good at praying as Jorja, but please keep the plumbing going while we’re living here,she thought.
That’s when it hit her: they had to share the one tiny bathroom, and the hot-water tank wasn’t big enough to support three hot showers. That meant that by the time it was her turn, she would have to wait until the water got hot again. Her stomach let her know that her lunch had long since gone, and it was time to eat. She opened the pantry and found that Nana Irene had stocked it well. A peek inside the refrigerator showed that there was food in there as well. She poured herself a bowl of junk cereal, covered it with milk, and carried it outside.
She had only taken the first bite when a little red sports car pulled up and parked right beside what had to be Clinton’s black pickup truck. A tall, thin blonde got out and carried a covered dish up the stairs tothe landing. She knocked on the door with the toe of one of her high-heeled shoes, with soles that matched her car, and did a little hip wiggle while she waited for Clinton.
Taryn set her bowl of cereal to the side, slipped her phone from her hip pocket, and called her grandmother.
