Nora Roberts Land(15)
“So, where to?”
Jill flung up the end of her neon green scarf, letting the wind take it. It streamed behind her, fluttering along in time with her long red hair. “Guess.”
Meredith traced the bottom of her bustier for courage. She could do this. “Where?”
Jill pointed across the street. “Smith’s Hardware. Old man Smith’s turned it over to Wayne. He might just be your Bradley Vane.”
Meredith slowed her pace. “But he was a big weenie in school.”
Jill dragged her toward the store. “Wasn’t there some story about an ugly duckling?”
“She was a woman.”
The bell pealed as her sister opened the door. Chemicals and wood competed to make her eyes tear up.
“How about the frog prince? He was a man.”
The sound of shuffling boots cut their conversation short. “I’d recognize that red hair anywhere. Meredith, I’d heard you were back. Still hale and hearty, I see.”
Wayne’s old joke fell flat. How many times had she heard that one growing up?
“Hale and hearty indeed.” She grimaced. “Good to see you, Wayne.”
He was mostly bald, save for a few dark squiggles he was using as a comb-over. He was two inches shorter than Meredith and probably weighed ten pounds less. She’d crush him in his sleep if she rolled over in bed. The terrifying image made her eye twitch. She elbowed Jill in the stomach as she stepped forward to shake the guy’s hand. He hadn’t changed a bit. He was still a weenie.
Jillie was going to die.
She pasted a polite smile on her face as she listened to Wayne’s story about why he’d taken over the store. His dad’s hemorrhoids had gotten too painful. Yuck!
Bradley Vane, her ass.
Fifteen minutes later, she bought a hammer and followed her sister out of the store.
“Where are the nails?” Jill sputtered between giggles. She leaned against the wall and belly laughed.
“I don’t need nails. I’m planning on using it on your head!” she said, pulling it from the bag.
“Oh, you should see your face!”
“I could kill you,” Meredith muttered without heat. Then she started laughing too, her sister’s glee contagious.
“You all right, Jill? That woman isn’t threatening you with that hammer, is she?”
Meredith dropped her weapon hand and spun. A hunky officer leaned across the passenger seat of his Eagle County Sheriff’s SUV, the window wide open. He had the whole Nora hero look nailed down, that was for sure. She thought of Nate Burke from Northern Lights.
“No, Larry.” Jill dug her elbow into Meredith’s ribs. “She’s my sister.”
“Larry Barlow. Deputy Sheriff.” He tipped his finger to his forehead in some type of a guy greeting. “I heard you were back in town. Welcome.”
The hammer felt conspicuous, so she stuffed it back in the bag, paper ruffling. “I’m Meredith.”
“Don’t take that hammer to your sister this early,” he said, his face breaking into a broad grin. “You haven’t been here long enough for it to be self defense, but if you need some advice on how to get away with clocking her, let me know.”
His sense of humor had an edge, but he wasn’t hard on the eyes. “That’d be great, Larry,” she replied. At least Jill had picked one winner.
“See you around, Meredith, Jill.” He sped off into the slow stream of cars.
Jill made a play for the hammer. “Gimme the weapon.”
Yanking it back, Meredith said, “No.” She won the tussle and shoved it into her oversized purse. “This is a reminder of what happens to you if you pull that kind of shit again.”
Jill bit her lip. “Okay, but I had to do it. First, I needed a good laugh. Second, it was part of my diabolical strategy as your pimp.”
She knocked her sister in the arm with her fist. “Stop saying that.”
Jill spun around, trailing the scarf like a flamenco dancer. “I figured after seeing Wayne, everyone would look better.”
Meredith sidled around a dog tied to a lamppost. “You’re right. No one could be worse than Wayne. I won’t date men who weigh less than me, Jill. I have my principles.”
Jill knelt down to pet the brown and white bulldog, who rolled onto his stomach, begging for more. “I could probably find a few more weenies to torment you, but with that hammer, I’ll think twice. So what did you think of the deputy?”
“Kinda cute,” Meredith said with a shrug.
“He’s more than cute. You’re only torturing me over Wayne. In that uniform, he could cuff me and do a full body search.”
Meredith’s mouth dropped as a man stepped outside and reached for the dog leash wrapped around the lamppost.