Part 29 (1/2)

Still another woman who thought she knew what he needed. Meg couldn't resist. ”And Ted returns your feelings?”

”We're getting there.” She lowered the camera again. ”At least I hope so. I'm a realist. Maybe it won't happen the way I want, but I'm like my father. I don't back down from a challenge. I believe Ted and I have a future, and I intend to do everything I can to make it happen.” She gazed directly into Meg's eyes. ”Cards on the table. I want you to leave Wynette.”

”Do you now?” She saw no reason to tell Sunny she'd have been on her way if Sunny hadn't stopped her. ”And why is that?”

”It's not personal. I think you're good for my father. He's been depressed lately. Getting older and all that. You've taken his mind off it. The problem for me is, you're holding Ted back. He'd never admit he's leaning on you, but it's obvious.”

”You think Ted's leaning on me?”

”I see it in the way he looks at you, the way he talks about you. I know you and Lucy Jorik were best friends. You're a reminder of her, and as long as you're around, it's going to be very hard for him to move forward.”

So smart, and yet so dumb.

”I'm also a big believer in women watching out for women,” Sunny said. ”Being around him so much isn't good for you. I've heard from more people than I can count that you're over him, but we both know that's not quite true. Face it, Meg. Ted's never going to go for you. The two of you have nothing in common.”

Except famous parents, a privileged upbringing, a pa.s.sion for ecology, and a high tolerance for the absurd, something Sunny would never understand.

”Ted is comfortable with you because you remind him of Lucy,” Sunny went on. ”But that's all it will ever be. Staying here is holding you back, and it's making my relations.h.i.+p with him more complicated.”

”You certainly are blunt.”

She shrugged. ”I believe in being honest.”

But what Sunny called honesty was nothing more than a callous disregard for any feelings or opinions that weren't her own.

”Subtleties have never worked for me,” she said, proudly flying the flag of her self-importance. ”If you're willing to disappear, I'm willing to help you get started with your jewelry business.”

”Blood money?”

”Why not? You aren't a bad investment. By incorporating genuine relics in your pieces, you've stumbled on a nice little niche market that could be very profitable.”

”Except I'm not sure I want to be in the jewelry business.”

Sunny couldn't comprehend anyone turning her back on a viable business, and she barely concealed a sneer. ”What else are you going to do?”

She was about to tell Sunny she'd handle her future her own way when she heard tires spinning on gravel. They both turned as an unfamiliar car braked to a stop behind them. The sun was in her eyes, so she couldn't see who was driving, but the interruption didn't surprise her. The good citizens of Wynette wouldn't leave her alone with a Skipjack for long.

But as the car door opened, her stomach sank. The person getting out of the dark sedan was Spence. She turned to Sunny. ”Take me back to town.”

But Sunny's eyes were on her father as he approached them, his Panama hat shadowing the upper half of his face. ”Dad, what are you doing here?”

”You told me you were taking pictures today.”

Meg had no reserves left to deal with this. ”I want to go back to town now.”

”Leave us alone,” Spence said to his daughter. ”I have a few things I need to say to Meg in private.”

”No! Don't leave.”

Meg's alarm confused Sunny, whose welcoming smile for her father faded. ”What's going on?”

Spence angled his head toward his daughter's car. ”I'll meet you back in town. Go on.”

”Stay where you are, Sunny,” Meg said. ”I don't want to be alone with him.”

Sunny looked at her as if she were maggot-infested. ”What's wrong with you?”

”Meg's a coward,” he said. ”That's what's wrong with her.”

Meg wouldn't be his helpless victim yet again. ”Sunny, your father a.s.saulted me yesterday.”

Chapter Twenty.

a.s.saulted?” Spence gave a rough bark of laughter. ”That's a good one. Show me a mark anywhere on you, and I'll give you a million dollars.”

Sunny's customary composure had vanished, and she regarded Meg with revulsion. ”How could you say something so vile?”

More cars were b.u.mping down the gravel lane, not just one, but a whole stream, everyone sensing trouble. ”s.h.i.+t,” Spence exclaimed. ”A man can't take a c.r.a.p in this town without everybody showing up to watch.”

Kayla jumped out from the pa.s.senger side of a red Kia being driven by one of the waitresses at the Roustabout. ”What are y'all doin' out here,” she chirped, rus.h.i.+ng toward them as if she'd just stumbled on a roadside picnic.

Before anyone could reply, Torie, Dexter, and Kenny disgorged from a silver Range Rover. Torie's Hawaiian print sarong clashed with her plaid bikini top. She had wet hair and no makeup. Her husband wore a dark blue business suit, and Kenny raised a hand decorated with a Spider-Man Band-Aid. ”Afternoon, Spence. Sunny. Nice weather after yesterday. Not that we didn't need the rain.”

Zoey leaped from a navy blue Camry. ”I was on my way to a science curriculum meeting,” she said to no one in particular.

More cars fell in behind hers. The whole town seemed to sense a catastrophe in the making, and they were all determined to prevent.i.t.

Dexter O'Connor gestured toward the landfill. ”You're a lucky man, Spence. So many possibilities.”

Instead of looking at him, Spence kept his angry gaze on Meg, and the relief she'd felt at the appearance of all these people began to fade. She tried to tell herself she was wrong. Surely he'd let this go. Surely he wouldn't press this in front of so many people. But she'd known from the beginning that he couldn't tolerate having anyone get the best of him.

”The contracts aren't signed yet,” he said ominously.

A collective expression of panic fell over the faces of the onlookers. ”Dad ...” Sunny put her hand on her father's arm.

Torie took charge. Tightening the knot on her sarong, she marched toward Spence. ”Me and Dex are planning to throw a couple of steaks on the grill tonight. Why don't you and Sunny join us, that is if you don't mind kids, or maybe we'll s.h.i.+p them over to Dad's house? Sunny, have you ever seen emus close up? Dex and me have a whole flock of them. Basically, I married him so I could pay my feed bill. He isn't as crazy about them as I am, but they're the sweetest creatures you ever met.” Torie went on to deliver a breathless and very lengthy monologue describing the care and feeding of emus and their benefit to humankind. She was stalling for time, and since everybody kept glancing down the lane, Meg didn't have any trouble figuring out why. They were waiting for a knight in a powder blue pickup to appear and save the town from disaster.

More vehicles streamed into the lane. Torie was running out of emu material, and she cast an imploring eye at the others. Her brother reacted first, slipping one arm across Spence's shoulders and gestured toward the landfill with the other. ”I've been giving a lot of thought to the routing.”

But Spence turned away from him and studied the growing crowd. His gaze returned to Meg, and the way his eyes narrowed told her it was payback time. ”Turns out, that might be a little premature, Kenny. I have a reputation to consider, and Meg here was just telling my daughter something pretty shocking.”

Dread kicked her in the stomach. He wanted revenge, and he knew exactly how to get it. If she stood her ground, she'd hurt so many people, but the thought of backing down made her ill. How could doing the right thing feel so wrong? She dug her fingers into her palms. ”Forget it.”

But Spence wanted his pound of flesh for every wound she'd inflicted on his ego, and he pressed. ”Oh, I can't do that,” he said. ”Some things are too serious to forget. Meg says I- What was that word you used?”

”Let it go,” she said, even as she knew he wouldn't.