Mitzi picked up both cups and carried them inside. Her thoughts went back to Dixie and Tabby and how excited they’d been about the whole business of creating bouquets for the mannequin. Maybe if they were really good at floral arrangements, she could turn one of the upstairs rooms into a little flower shop. They could earn a little money making up the corsages and boutonnieres for weddings.

She groaned when it finally dawned on her that she’d promised the girls that she’d have flowers there the very next day. That meant taking a shower and going to Greenville to buy them that night. While she was letting the cool water wash away all the sweat, she made a mental list of all the places that would be open after five.

After she’d finally cooled down, she stepped out of the shower. Pulling her wet hair up into a ponytail, she decided against makeup and dressed for comfort. Starting on one end of Greenville and hitting every store that might have silk flowers, she bought more than she needed in each place. By the time she reached the Walmart, the back of her van was already loaded. She grabbed a cart and headed straight for the artificial-flower aisle. Rounding the end of an aisle, she crashed into another cart.

“I’m so sorry,” she muttered.

“No problem. I wasn’t watching where I was going. I think they’d call it a no-fault accident.”

She looked up and into Graham Harrison’s eyes. There she was in a faded T-shirt, jeans that had seen better days, hair all messy, and no makeup. There was no place to hide, and it would’ve been rude to ignore him.

“Well, hello, again. I don’t think we’ve done too much damage to the carts,” she said, hoping he’d think her red cheeks were the result of sunburn.

“They still roll and hold a lot of merchandise. Actually, it’s the store’s fault. They should install traffic lights.” His eyes bored into hers. “I understand you and my girls have designed the perfect dress for the wedding. I’m almost afraid to go home after what they told me they might do.”

“It’s really a sweet little dress that they can wear to church afterwards, so don’t worry. I loved working with them. They’re amazing girls. I may have a little business proposition for them, but maybe they should talk to you about it before I say anything.”

“They’ve already called me twice.” He grinned. “But wait until you get to know them better before you think they’re too wonderful, especially Tabby. She’s the mouthy, ornery one. Dixie has a quieter, gentler nature. But they’re both good kids.”

“How are you settling in?” Mitzi asked.

“We’re almost unpacked. Moving from a small house to a big one isn’t as difficult as if it’d been the other way around,” he answered. “And the change will be good for the girls. They had a rough year.”

“Oh?” She feigned ignorance and glanced at his cart. Hair products, Stetson aftershave, a package of three red oven mitts, and three rib-eye steaks.

“Bullying problems over their size. My sister, Alice, talked me into bringing them to Celeste. She says the school here has a motto about bully reporting called ‘Stand Tall. Tell All.’ I hope she’s right.”

“Must be something they decided to do after we were in school,” Mitzi said.

“Did you have problems?” Graham asked.

Immediately, Mitzi wished she hadn’t said that out loud. Now he’d look at her as a fat girl for sure. “Sometimes.” She blushed again.

“I’m sorry. Guys get bullied when they’re undersized, but girls are right the opposite. None of it makes a bit of sense to me.” His phone pinged, and he fished it out of the pocket of his dress slacks. He read the text, typed in a return note, and then pushed his cart around hers. “Supper is going to be cold if I don’t hurry. Thanks again for everything. And hold those wings and halos in reserve until you get to know the girls better.”

Oh, I would love to get to know them better, and you, too, Graham, she thought as she watched him disappear around the corner. They are a mirror of myself at that age.

Chapter Three

Mitzi noticed Paula’s note on the table as she passed by it that morning. She flipped on the light and read that Paula would be a few minutes late to work. “Probably Gladys again,” she muttered as she headed to the refrigerator.

At seven in the morning sunrays were usually streaming through the window, but not that day. A loud clap of thunder followed a flash of lightning, and then hard rain sounded like bullets hitting the metal roof. The light above the table flickered and then went out.

“Well, there goes the electricity,” Mitzi groaned. “I guess I’ll pick up pastries for breakfast. Paula was the smart one, leaving before all this hit.”

She made her way to her bedroom in the semidarkness, got dressed, and picked up an umbrella on the way outside. She’d barely made it off the porch when a solid gust of wind blew it out of her hands. She watched it flip a couple of times before it hung up in the lower limbs of the huge pecan tree at the corner of her house. There was no way to run between the raindrops as she dashed to the van, so she was soaked when she slid into the seat.

“Thank God I’ve got extra clothes at the shop,” she muttered as she started the engine and headed to town.

She used the drive-through window to order a dozen assorted doughnuts, but even with the small awning over the window, the sack was water-splotched by the time she pulled it into the vehicle. She hadn’t expected to see Paula’s car in the parking lot when she parked behind the house, but Jody’s old truck wasn’t there, either. Grabbing up her purse in one hand and the brown bag in the other, she hurried through the rain to the porch.