“Hurry.” Malene shoved a basket into my arms. “We’ve got to get on it and beat Leola Vass.”
“Does she have a team?”
“Clem,” Norma Ray said, the boobs of her shirt bedazzled in a pattern that looked a little too much like nipples, “Leola is a one-woman army. She’s won the contest three years in a row.”
My jaw dropped. How had I missed this? “By herself?”
“By herself,” Malene said. “But I think she comes at night and stows away bushels of apples where no one can find them.”
Urleen wagged a finger. “We’ve never been able to prove it, though.”
I handed Rufus a basket. “Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s get picking!”
We each headedoff in separate directions. Lady stayed with me, prancing near my feet. Really, the entire town had turned out, even folks that I’d only recently met like Crystal Darsey’s mom, Bailey; Georgie, who was Sykes Laffoon’s sidekick; and Julie Bender, who owned the coffee shop and bed-and-breakfast. Even Lance and Patrick were running around with a basket.
I was quietly minding my own business when I heard someone say, “Keep that mutt of a dog away from my apples.”
Crystal Darsey teetered up on her towering heels. The grass hit her at about mid-calf, and I wondered if there were any snakes hiding out nearby. More specifically, I wondered if any of them would come out and bite her ankles.
No, I didn’t want her poisoned, just bitten.
I scoffed at Crystal before picking another apple. “Lady isn’t bothering anyone. She’s as nice a dog as they come.”
“She’s eyeing me like she’s got rabies.”
“Listen here, woman,” Lady started.
I shot Lady a dark look, silently reminding her not to speak in public. She wilted.
Crystal’s eyes widened. “Well, would you look at that? They said that magic was coming back to Peachwood, but I figured it would be the elite who got ahold of it first.” Her eyes narrowed. “Not the trash.”
I just about threw my basket in her face. “Listen, I don’t know what your problem is, but you can stay away from me, my dog and my house.”
People were now watching. I might have been screaming. I was definitely screaming. But it wasn’t undeserved.
Crystal folded her arms. “I don’t want to have anything to do with you, so I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You don’t know what I’m talking about? You tried to set fire to my house last night.”
“I did not!”
“Yes, you did.” I stalked toward her. “I might not be able to prove it now, but I will at some point.”
Crystal’s gaze zeroed in on the folks taking notice around us. She spoke loudly enough for them to hear. “So someone set fire to your house? Well, maybe you deserved it. You go around stealing people’s jobs from them, Clementine Cooke.”
My face burned. I lowered my voice to a growl. “You have no idea what you’re talking about, Crystal. I have worked hard for everything that I have, and I don’t need you coming in and trying to ride my coattails to the top.”
She sneered. “Maybe that’s why someone attacked your house. Maybe it’s because you’re a mean, nasty person.”
I jammed my finger in her chest. “I’m not the one who’s mean and nasty. No wonder you got run out of town the last time. Oh, don’t look so shocked. I know all about how you run around—the whole town does. You’ve come here looking for trouble. Well, if it’s trouble you want, it’s trouble you’ll get. Come on, Lady.”
I moved to step around Crystal but stepped right in a divot. My body lurched to the left, and my shoulder collided with hers, knocking the tramp onto her heinie.
She shoved a finger at me. “You attacked me! Everyone just saw you were aggressive toward me.”
“Crystal,” I said, seething, “if I wanted to be aggressive with you, you’d know it.”
With that, I marched right past her and found a new spot to pick apples from.
