In Shining Whatever (Three Magic Words Trilogy #2)(66)

"Do I get a say-so in this?" Kate raised her voice.

"Me, I don't think you do," Maw Maw said.

"I'm thirty-one years old, and it's my truck," she said.

"I'm thirty-three years old, and I agree with your grandmother. You've got a lead foot when you are upset," Hart said.

He could kiss the old Cajun woman. Kate thought the quarters were too close out there in the swamp. He'd see if she could survive ten or more hours in the cab of a truck with him without him throwing her out beside the road to hitchhike the rest of the way. It could be a very interesting trip, indeed.

"Then let's get our stuff and get out of here. I want to be in my own bed in Breckenridge by midnight," she said through clenched teeth. She turned and stormed down the hall with a big smile on her face. There she found all her things packed, sitting on the bed, and ready for travel. The smile faded and was replaced by a faint giggle. Maw Maw had to be part witch to figure out everything a step ahead of when it actually happened. Either that or something similar had happened between her and Paw Paw, and she was reliving history.

Maw Maw grabbed Hart's arm when he started toward the bedroom. "Mais, I did what I could to help you. Now you got to help yourself, son. You get her home by midnight, it's your fault, not mine."

He winked and kept going. It would never do for Kate to see them talking or catch the faintest syllable of a word. He had two days left before he had to be in Breckenridge, and he was driving.

Kate did hug her grandmother before she left, but she didn't thank her.

Maw Maw hugged Kate and whispered, "Call me when you get the date for the wedding, yes?"

Hart handed Claud the car keys to his rental and thanked him for taking care of it for him.

Kate hopped into the passenger's side of the truck, dug her cell phone out of her purse, and called Fancy.

Hart buckled up, started the engine, and waved at Maw Maw, who watched them leave from a straight-backed chair on the front porch.

"Hi, lady," Fancy answered. "So did you kiss or kill?"

"How did you know?"

"I called you, and your grandmother answered. Lovely little lady, but I had to listen really hard to make out some of her words. Spicy old girl, isn't she?"

"Homicide is still on the menu," Kate said.

"It serves you right, after the way you laughed at my predicament with Theron. I'm glad you got stuck out there on an island. Too bad it wasn't snowing and iced over."

"Don't give me grief, girl. I had an outdoor bathroom, no hot water, no electricity, one bed, and had to fish for my supper," Kate said.

Fancy's laughter was so loud that Kate held the phone away from her ear.

"What are you grinning about?" she turned on Hart.

"Compare disasters with your friend and leave me out of it," he said.

"Did you kiss him?" Fancy asked.

Kate hesitated.

"You did, didn't you?"

Kate didn't answer.

Hart looked across the cab at her.

"Keep your eyes on the road," she said.

"Sweeten up that tone or I'll get lost on purpose."

"You two need a couple more days. By the time Theron came to Florida and we started home, we weren't still fighting. Oh, I called your momma. She laughed so hard that she cried when I told her what Maw Maw did. She said you'd always wanted him; now you had him. She wondered what you'd do with him. I'm hanging up now. Sophie knows all about everything too."

"Some friends both of you are. You could commiserate with me," Kate pouted.

"Why? Did you commiserate with me?" Fancy asked.

"But you and Theron were in love and meant for each other. You just didn't know it." She wished she could take the words back the moment they were out in the air. Hart didn't need to hear that.

"So are you two. Have been a lot longer than me and Theron. So have fun on the trip home. Your grandmother told me Hart was driving."

"She's a witch," Kate moaned.

"If you don't want her, I'll take her. Oh, by the way, she says she's wearing a red dress to the wedding, so you might think about using that color just to make her happy," Fancy said.

Kate hung up on her.

Hart caught Highway 162 North out of Jeanerette and drove to New Iberia. He thought about stopping at Victor's place for dinner but decided to go on in spite of the hunger pains. If she was that close to the courthouse she might change her mind about going home to Texas, and he wasn't willing to take a chance. Not far up the highway from there, he caught Highway 90 toward Lafayette, where he'd catch 1-49 all the way into Shreveport.

"You planning on letting me starve?" she asked, after they'd gone through Lafayette.

"No, ma'am. Name your poison and we'll stop."

"I want a steak. A big one with a baked potato the size of a watermelon. And I want dessert to go with it," she said.

"Where's the nearest Outback Steakhouse, then?"

"Up near Alexandria, and I'm willing to wait that long," she said.

By the time they followed the road signs and found the place, a plain old McDonald's burger sounded good. It was well after lunchtime, so they didn't have to wait for a table at Outback. The waitress brought Hart's sweet tea and Kate's beer right away, along with a plate of appetizers to keep them from eating the sugar right out of the little white packages.