Pip’s mouth twisted into a snarl. “My dear mommy-in-law came up with it.”
“I find that hard to believe. Mrs. Howard was never one for having fun.”
“Ha, true that, but she thinks it’s time her daughters found their life partners, and this is a nudge in the right direction, Dylan says.”
“How?” Maggs was fascinated. Small town life could be many things, but boring was not one of them.
“Apparently it’s going to be some kind of mating ritual, according to Dylan. I’m a little fuzzy on the logistics, but I think you have to share a chair with the same man right until the end, and it’s a chance to do that with the man of your dreams. Dear mommy-in-law has decided she wants her daughters to marr y locals now and give her more grandchildren, so this is the start of her campaign to secure that.”
“Get out.” Maggs whistled. “She’s hoping to get all that from musical chairs? Why not just set them up on a blind date?”
“That would be easier, but she sees this as more subtle.”
“Who are the men she’s picked?” Maggs asked.
“Only she knows that. It’s all part of a bigger plan, Dylan says. Unfortunately for Mary Howard, her children are now friends and have discussed it, so her cunning plan will fail.”
“I love this town,” Bailey sighed.
“I missed it,” Maggs said and really meant it.
“In more gruesome news, Fin found a femur on the mountain a few days ago,” Bailey said.
“A human one?”
“Yup.”
“Poor Fin.”
“It was gnawed clean by something, he thinks.”
Maggs shuddered.
“Chief Blake and Fin are keeping quiet about it, which is annoying, but until they ID who it belonged to, they can’t say much anyway,” Pip added.
“Can you ID someone from their femur bone?”
“I don’t know but can’t see how you could. Fin’s coordinating searches to try and find the rest of the remains,” Bailey said. “The Linbar family are hoping it’s their youngest son. He went missing three years ago, and there has been no sign of him since.”
“I remember when that happened. The Linbars weren’t my favorite peeps, but still, I can’t imagine what that would be like. I mean, just to have your son there one day and gone the next. Noel, the eldest child, took it really hard,” Maggs said.
“He’s on the town council,” Bailey added. “Not sure why, as we hardly see him in town.”
“Must have been hard on Fin finding something like that,” Maggs said.
“Yes, but according to Joe, Fin’s handling it like he usually does, calm and controlled. It’s not like he hasn’t found bodies up there before,” Bailey added. “This is a bit different, of course.”
“What really grinds his gears, however,” Pip added, “is the local paper running stories like, ‘Fin Finds a Femur.’ Plus, the locals won’t leave him alone, constantly asking him questions.”
“I can imagine how he hates that,” Maggs said. She knew what this town was like, and how relentless locals could be in the pursuit of news. “Okay, enough on that topic. Now tell me about your children. I’m so excited to meet them all.”
The sisters-in-law didn’t hesitate, as she’d known they wouldn’t. Parents loved talking about their offspring.
“Gracie is terrifying everyone at school now. She’s full of energy and, according to Dylan, going to be the president one day, as she’s the smartest kid he’s ever met… that was until Blake arrived,” Pip said. “Now we have an astrophysicist and a future president.”
“Benjamin is gentle like me, but Ella is all Joe,” Bailey said.
Maggs cradled her mug and listened as they talked. She loved to hear the happiness in their voices, even if inside she felt a tug of jealousy.One day,she told herself.
