“Maybe to you and me. But not to Adeline. Where were you last night? Were you with them? Please tell me you didn’t take them across the river to Franklin’s for a special dinner or something.”
“No, I was at home. Delilah’s mother showed up and surprised her, and they must have gone out for a bite. Maybe she wanted privacy since everyone here in town knows who she is.”
“Well, everyone in Swynton now knows who she is, too, and they’re not wasting any time sharing their side of things. Can you please gently remind Miss Lovin’ Texas about the longstanding rivalry between the two towns?”
“I think you’re making a bigger deal out of this than?—”
“They mentioned it on the local radio station. I fully expect it to get picked up by the paper, too. If there’s anything she needs, anything at all, you’re her contact. If she wants takeout from Franklin’s that’s fine. But please don’t let her cross the river again.”
“Okay.” Students began to file out of the auditorium doors. “I’ve got to go. Don’t worry, I’ll handle this.”
I hung up and waited for a break in the mass exodus so I could get inside. Just when I seemed to make progress in one area, something else popped up that needed my attention. With a little less than two weeks until Delilah’s time in Ido came to an end, I needed to make sure she experienced the best we had to offer, while keeping my heart out of the equation.
Delilah
“Thanksagain for talking to the students today.” The principal shook my hand one more time. Finally, Jasper was able to take me by the elbow and lead me through the front doors out of the school.
“That seemed to go well.” I carefully slid my sunglasses into place. I’d been able to cover up the bruise well enough, but it was still tender. “What do you think?”
“I think your talk was amazing. Were you really bullied in middle school like that?”
I let out a breath. “Sure was. I looked like a stork. All legs, big teeth. I towered over most of the boys and the girls all hated me because I did pageants.”
“I never would have guessed.”
“That’s why I want to do something that helps young women. Through my training with the pageant community, and especially Monique, I learned that feeling good about myself had to come from inside. If you wait for other people to give you external validation, you’re wasting your time.” I pulled out my phone as I got settled in the front seat of the truck.
“Hey, I talked to Lacey while you were answering questions.”
“Anything I need to know about? Is something wrong?” I lifted my gaze to meet his.
He glanced to his feet. “I guess someone snapped a picture of you and your mom out at dinner last night.”
I turned my attention back to my phone. “Oh no. Why is my picture plastered across the home page of the Swynton town website?”
“It’s Adeline. She’s saying you couldn’t find something decent for dinner, so you had to turn to Swynton instead.”
“That’s ridiculous. We only ended up there because my mother wanted a drink and I remembered you saying something about there being a bar over in Swynton.”
“So, it’s my fault?”
He might have meant it as a joke, but I didn’t take it that way. “It’s no one’s fault. Why is it such a big deal if we grabbed dinner somewhere?”
Jasper rolled his shoulders back. “In case you haven’t noticed, Adeline’s got a bit of a sore loser complex going on. I think she’ll take every opportunity she has to discredit Ido.”
“And my mother’s request for a top-shelf cosmo has put us in the center of a turf war?” I wanted to ask if that was all it was, or if his past dealings with Adeline had anything to do with the rivalry between them.
“Looks like it.”
“I’m sorry. I had no idea she’d spin it that way.”
“Lacey was hoping that you might be able to stick to Ido’s side of the river while you’re here. Just to avoid giving Adeline any future ammunition.” He squinted at me, like he was uncomfortable making the request.
“Of course.” I reached out to give his arm an encouraging squeeze. “I’m sorry I didn’t think about that.”
“If you need anything, just let me know.”
“I will. You’ve done so much already. Between your family and you carting me around everywhere...” I wanted to say something that would communicate how much I’d enjoyed my time with him. But before I had a chance to come up with something more eloquent, my phone rang. “It’s Stella.”
