Call Me Irresistible (Wynette, Texas #5)(88)

"Anybody else?" The sheriff turned another page in his notebook.

"Skeet Cooper saw me mash one of Ted's golf balls into the ground to keep Ted from winning his match against Spencer Skipjack. You should have seen the way he looked at me."

"You should have seen the way I looked at you," Ted said with disgust.

Meg picked at a hangnail.

"And?" The sheriff clicked his pen.

She pretended to look out the window. "Francesca Beaudine."

"Now wait a minute!" Ted exclaimed.

"The sheriff wanted a list," she retorted. "I'm giving him a list, not making accusations." She turned back to the sheriff. "I saw Mrs. Beaudine a little more than an hour ago at her house, so it would have been very hard for her to have done this."

"Hard, but not impossible," the sheriff said.

"My mother did not trash this place," Ted declared.

"I don't know about Ted's father," Meg said. "He's hard to read."

Now it was the sheriff who puffed up with outrage. "The great Dallas Beaudine isn't a vandal."

"Probably not. And I think we can safely eliminate Cornelia Jorik. It would be tough for a former president of the United States to sneak into Wynette without getting noticed." 

"She could have sent her henchmen," Ted drawled.

"If you don't like my list, you come up with one," she shot back. "You know all the suspects a lot better than I do. Bottom line-somebody is sending me a clear message that they want me out of Wynette."

The sheriff looked at Ted. "How about it, Ted?"

Ted shoved his hand through his hair. "I can't believe any of these people would do anything so ugly. What about somebody you work with at the club?"

"Those are my only positive relationships."

The sheriff flipped his notebook closed. "Miz Koranda, you shouldn't stay here by yourself. Not until this thing is settled."

"Believe me, she's not going to stay," Ted said.

The sheriff promised to talk to the police chief. Ted walked him out to his squad car, and Meg's cell rang in her purse. When she glanced at the display, she saw it was her mother, the last person she should talk to right now and the person whose voice she most wanted to hear.

She moved through her trashed kitchen and out the back door. "Hi, Mom."

"Hi, honey. How's the job?"

"Great. Really great." She sank down on the step. The cement still carried the day's heat, and she felt its warmth through Torie O'Connor's castoff skirt.

"Your dad and I are so proud of you."

Her mother was still under the illusion that Meg was the activities coordinator at the club, something she'd have to correct very soon. "Honestly, it's not much of a job."

"Hey, I know better than anyone what it's like to work with giant egos, and you have to see a lot of that at a country club. Which brings me to the reason I called. I have some great news."

"Belinda died and left me all her money."

"You wish. No, your grandmother will live forever. She's one of the undead. The great news is . . . Your father and I are coming to visit you."

Oh, God . . . Meg jumped up from the step. A dozen ugly images flashed through her head. The ripped sofa cushions . . . The broken glass . . . The drink cart . . . The faces of everyone who held a grudge against her.

"We miss you, and we want to see you," her mother said. "We want to meet your new friends. We're so proud of the way you've turned things around for yourself."

"That's . . . that's great."

"We have some scheduling we need to work out, but we'll settle that soon. A low-key visit. Just a day or so. I miss you."

"I miss you, too, Mom." She'd have time to clean up the mess inside, but that was only the tip of the iceberg. What about her job? She assessed the probability of being promoted to activities coordinator before their visit and concluded she had a better chance of being invited to Birdie's house for a slumber party. She shuddered at the thought of introducing her parents to Ted. It didn't take much imagination to picture her mother falling to her knees and begging Ted not to wise up.

She picked the most straightforward of her troubles. "Mom, there's just one thing . . . My job. It's not that impressive."

"Meg, stop putting yourself down. I can't change the fact that you've grown up in a family of wacko overachievers. We're the strange ones. You're a normal, intelligent, beautiful woman who let herself get sidetracked by all the craziness around her. But that's behind you now. You've made a fresh start, and we couldn't be prouder. I have to run. I love you."