"Best to pay your bill before you go off exploring."
"You're absolutely right. I wasn't thinking. I'll take care of it right away." Except she couldn't do that.
A truck roared by, heading into town, and another trickle of perspiration slipped between her breasts. She needed to throw herself on someone's mercy, and it didn't take long to make her choice. "Officer, could I talk to you privately?"
Ted shrugged and moved to the rear of the car. The officer scratched his chest. Meg caught her bottom lip between her teeth and lowered her voice. "See, the thing is . . . I made this stupid mistake. With all my traveling, my mail didn't catch up with me, and that's caused a small difficulty with my credit card. I'll have to ask the inn to bill me. I don't think it will be a problem." She flushed with shame, and her throat closed so tight she could barely get out the words. "I'm sure you know who my parents are."
"Yes, ma'am, I do." The cop reared back his head, which sat on a short, squat neck. "Ted, looks like we've got a vagrant here."
A vagrant ! She threw herself out of the car. "Now wait just a minute! I'm not a-"
"Stay right where you are, ma'am." The cop's hand went to his holster. Ted propped his foot on her rear bumper and watched with interest.
Meg spun on him. "Asking the inn to send me a bill doesn't make me a vagrant!"
"Did you hear what I said, ma'am?" the cop barked out. "Back in the car."
Before she had time to move, Ted approached again. "She's not cooperating, Sheldon. I guess you'll have to arrest her."
"Arrest me?"
Ted looked vaguely sad about that, leading her to conclude that he had a sadistic streak. She jumped back into her car. Ted stepped away. "Sheldon, what do you say we follow Miz Koranda back to the inn so she can take care of her unfinished business?"
"Sure thing." Officer Surly pointed down the road a few feet. "Turn around in that drive, ma'am. We'll be right behind you."
Ten minutes later, she was once again approaching the front desk of the Wynette Country Inn, but this time Ted Beaudine walked at her side while Officer Surly stopped by the door and spoke into the mike on his lapel.
The beautiful blond desk clerk sprang to attention as soon as she spotted Ted. Her lips curled in a wide smile. Even her hair seemed to perk up. At the same time she furrowed her brow with concern. "Hey there, Ted. How are you doing?"
"Just fine, Kayla. Yourself?" He had a way of lowering his chin when he smiled. Meg had watched him do it to Lucy at the rehearsal dinner. He didn't drop it far, maybe only an inch, just enough to turn his smile into a curriculum vitae of clean living and honorable intentions. Now he was offering the identical smile he'd bestowed on Lucy to the desk clerk at the Wynette Inn. So much for his broken heart.
"No complaints," Kayla said. "We've all been prayin' for you."
He didn't look remotely like a man in need of prayer, but he nodded. "I appreciate it."
Kayla tilted her head so that her sweep of shiny blond hair fell over one shoulder. "Why don't you join Daddy and me for dinner at the club this weekend? You know what a good time you and Daddy always have."
"Just might do that."
They chatted for a few minutes about Daddy, the weather, and Ted's mayoral responsibilities. Kayla pulled out all the stops, tossing her hair, batting her lashes, doing the Tyra Banks eye-thing, basically giving it everything she had. "We've all been talkin' about that phone call you got yesterday. Everybody thought for sure Spencer Skipjack had forgotten about us. We can hardly believe Wynette's back in the running. But I said all along you'd pull this off."
"I appreciate the vote of confidence, but it's a long way from a done deal. Remember that up until last Friday, Spence was set on San Antone."
"If anybody can convince him to change his mind and build in Wynette, it's you. We sure do need the jobs."
"Don't I know it."
Meg's hopes that they'd continue their conversation were short-lived as Ted turned his attention back to her. "I understand Miz Koranda here owes you money. She seems to think she can work it out."
"Oh, I hope so."
The clerk didn't look as though she hoped any such thing, and a panicky flush crept from Meg's face to her chest. She licked her dry lips. "Maybe I could . . . speak to the manager."
Ted seemed dubious. "I don't think that's a good idea."
"She'll have to," Kayla said. "I'm only helping out today. This is way beyond the realm of my responsibilities."