Cowboy Take Me Away(233)
She shook her head. “I’m not allowed to tell my side of the story until the meeting. I wouldn’t want to sway you into believing I’m tellin’ the truth.”
Sister Grace pointedly held the door open. “Ladies. We’re meeting in Father Bartholomew’s office.”
They followed the nun single file; Keely in the lead, Carolyn in the rear. She froze in the doorway when she saw the woman sitting in the front row, next to a girl with a black eye.
Edie Knapp. Or whatever her last name was now after her second—or was it her third?—divorce. Edie’s daughter—a carbon copy of her mother down to the tight-lipped sneer—gave Carolyn a critical once-over with the eye that wasn’t swollen shut.
In that moment, Carolyn knew this situation—years in the making—was about to implode.
“Now that we’re all here, I’ll make introductions and ask that we can keep this civil,” Old Father Bartholomew stated.
Good luck with that.
“Edie Shultz and her daughter Margo. Carolyn—”
“McKay, yeah, we’ve met. Can we get on with it?” Edie demanded.
The priest cleared his throat. “The allegations are that Keely has been harassing Margo since the first day of camp. The counselors have broken up shouting matches and near altercations several times. However, Margo says Keely attacked her this morning after chapel. When Amanda Peterson tried to step in, Miss McKay turned on her too.”
That’s when Carolyn craned her head and saw Tammy Peterson sitting in the second row. Tammy and Edie’s daughters were thick as thieves? No surprise since those witches were in the same coven.
Tammy glared at her.
Carolyn had the oddest compulsion to wink and offer a finger wave because this whole thing was a farce.
“Keely has a different version of events,” Father Bartholomew continued. “Keely claims Margo and Amanda have been saying inappropriate things to her and her cousins since the camp began. And she was only defending her family.”
“Father Bartholomew,” Edie began in a simpering tone, “the McKays and the Wests have reputations for being loudmouths and brawlers. Part of me feels sorry for Keely. Obviously being raised in a household of boys she wasn’t taught the normal social graces and boundaries. Or how to act like a lady.”
“Really, Edie? You going there?” Carolyn said. “Make sure you’ve grown thick enough skin to take it if you’re gonna dish it out.”
Edie seemed taken aback.
Good.
Carolyn patted Keely’s shoulder. “Why don’t you tell me what happened, sweetheart?”
Edie opened her mouth to object but the priest shushed her.
“This is the first year my cousin Chassie West has been at camp. Chassie’s mom was Native American and since the first day Margo and Amanda have been makin’ fun of her, callin’ her squaw, Injun and chief. They’ve been tellin’ everyone she’s here as a charity case and too poor to even live on the rez. Today after chapel I heard Margo and Amanda brag they were gonna slice off a chunk of Chassie’s hair to see how she liked bein’ scalped like her ancestors did to the pioneers.”
Margo leapt up. “That’s a lie!”
Amanda leapt up too. “They’re liars, and skanks, and they make fun of us for having solid morals!”
A snort echoed from the back of the room. “Oh please. You and Margo have been sneaking into the boys’ dorms since last year and have the morals of an alley cat in heat.”