“Interject? What the hell do you know about interjecting?”
“More than you, pretty boy.”
“You were party to this lie.” Hope had Tex in her sights now. She looked fine riled, but Newman kept that thought to himself. “You don’t even know what the hell this is about, because even Howling’s grapevine doesn’t work that quick, and yet you told Jay a lie that I will never live down.”
“Actually,” Tex help up both hands to hold Hope off, “Newman just filled me in. And can I say, honey, that Jay is a real piece of work, and needs a lesson in manners.”
“Manners!” Hope screeched. “This is my life you two are about to ruin… further.”
“John Finch is my cousin.”
“You were actually telling the truth?” Hope asked.
“I don’t lie.” The Texan looked insulted.
“And this helps me how?” She had her hands on her hips. “Because Finch is a big player, and not likely to come to Howling just because his cousin wants him to. Added to that, he doesn’t work with low-level photographers like me.”
“He owes me a favor, I’ll get him here, and let’s face it, a magazine could really benefit this town. Help with tourism and that kind of thing.”
“What kind of favor is big enough to get him here to do that?”
“She’s an untrusting soul, Newman.” Tex looked over Hope’s head to him.
“Her mother’s Millicent Lawrence, bud.”
Tex nodded wisely, as if nothing more needed to be said.
“Leave my mother out of this!”
“No offence meant, Hope,” Tex said with another easy smile. “And my cousin owes me money.”
“Lending someone a twenty is not grounds to make them come and partake in a lie!”
Newman wondered why he was so attracted to this woman. She was nothing like the women he usually wanted. She was bad-tempered, had no social skills, and dressed like a bag lady. But he wanted her just the same.
“It was more than twenty.”
Tex looked uncomfortable suddenly, and Newman knew why, he just wasn’t about to save his friend and turn Hope’s fire on him.
“Fifty then!”
“More than fifty actually.”
“How much then?”
“Two million.”
Her mouth opened and closed several times, but no sound came out. “I-I don’t how many zeros are in two million,” she whispered.
“What’s the deal with the women in this town, Newman? Didn’t they do math like the rest of you? Annabelle asked me the same question once.”
“I don’t think millions were thrown around much in math, bud.”
“They were in my school.”
“I can’t believe you loaned someone two million dollars.”
Hope’s tone was shocked; the anger seemed to have fled now. Newman didn’t hold out much hope that would last.
