In Shining Whatever (Three Magic Words Trilogy #2)(7)

Then the cheerleading squad from high school all took their places in the choir section behind the podium, and Stephanie's best friend spoke a few words. Kate wiggled in her seat. It was the most preposterous funeral she'd ever attended. Stephanie had been thirty-two years old. The church looked as if it was putting a senior in high school to rest.

Sophie poked her in the ribs and whispered, "Be still. It'll be over soon."

She waited for Hart to take his turn at the podium and relive his days with her, but when the cheerleader finished, they played Stephanie's favorite song from high school. Kate thought it was the only thing about the funeral that seemed fitting.

Then the procession began at the back pew. Sophie was first in the long line to walk past the casket and view Stephanie one last time. Kate was behind her, and Fancy came next. Hart was the next one. They all four glanced and kept moving to the back of the church and out to the parking lot, where friends waited respectfully for the family.

"Kate," Hart nodded when they were outside.

"Afternoon, Hart," she said.

"Fancy and Sophie. It's good to see you," Hart said.

"You okay with this?" Fancy asked.

"What we had was over long ago. It was a high school thing and finished fifteen years ago."

"But you went to college together," Sophie said.

"One semester, then I transferred to A&M. We'd broken up long before the semester ended," he said.

"We're going to the Eagle's Nest. Want to join us?" Sophie asked.

Kate almost swallowed her tongue.

"I'd love to," he said.

"Then we'll all meet there. We're in different vehicles," Fancy said.

Hart headed toward an older-model white truck minus the tailgate.

Kate looped her arm through Sophie's and led her toward their vehicles, whispering the whole time into her ear, "I will hide your body where no one can find it. When you get home, make out a will and leave everything to Fancy, because you are a dead woman"

Sophie giggled. "Oh, hush! I can see the way that man looks at you. Same way Theron looks at Fancy. He's your knight in shining whatever."

Kate shook her head. "You've got rocks for brains. Y'all go on and have coffee with him. I'm going home."

"Just shows I'm right. You can't even sit at the same table with him," Sophie said.

Kate had no choice but to follow them to the cafe after that remark. Hart was already there and had claimed one of the tables with four chairs surrounding it. Eagles were on everything from the clock on the wall to the billboard that held last year's Albany Lions football team pictures. Hart's photo had been among them years before, right along with Stephanie's who had been the pretty cheerleader at the top of the pyramid.

White vinyl covered the twelve tables in the dining room. A small washtub of condiments, along with a sugar shaker, clear plastic paper-napkin holder, and a red bottle of ketchup were arranged in the middle. The salt shaker had bits of saltine crackers in it to keep the salt from clumping. Red-and-white-checkered valances hung on the windows.

"What're y'all havin'?" the waitress asked.

"Coffee for me. Ladies?" Hart asked.

"Sweet tea and an order of French fries," Fancy said.

"Coffee," Kate said.

"Same," Sophie said.

Fifteen years earlier, Kate would have done backflips off a lightning bolt if she could have gone to the Eagle's Nest with Hart. To sit with him at the table would have been right up there next to kissing the Pope's ring. Right then, she just wanted to gulp down the coffee and make an excuse to leave.

"What'd you think of that service?" Hart asked.

"I figured you'd speak," Sophie said.

"Not me. I don't want to be a part of that. She wasn't a high school kid anymore. She was a grown woman," he said.

"Well, thank you," Kate said. "Who on earth planned such a thing?"

"Her mother. Who else? She was in her glory when Steph was a cheerleader. When she went to college and things went south, her mother never forgave her."

"I'm in the dark. As you know, we left that summer you and Stephanie went off to college. What went south?" Fancy asked.

Kate was all ears.

"Everything. That summer, we had a big argument. Stephanie wanted an engagement ring before we left, and I was too young to be that serious," Hart admitted.

"But you made up. Did you give her a ring?" Sophie asked.

Hart shook his head. "We made up for about two weeks. During the time we were apart" He stopped and sipped his coffee.

Sophie touched his hand. "You don't owe us an explanation. Let's talk about something else"

He looked into Kate's pecan-colored eyes without blinking. "I think it would help if I talked about this now.

"We were apart for a little over a month, and during that time she was seeing Billy Joe Miller. We got back together and went to college. That's when it went south. He rented a trailer not far from campus, and she spent most of her time over there. Her mother didn't know until Christmas that we weren't dating."

"Billy Joe Miller. Chris Miller's older brother?" Kate couldn't believe her ears. Billy Joe was the real resident bad boy in a three-county area. Chris Miller was an innocent babe compared to Billy Joe-and Chris was a womanizer, drunk, and general skunk. He was the reason Gwen jerked Fancy Lynn off to Florida so quickly.