Miss Mayhem (Rebel Belle #2)(21)

Making a mental note to talk to him about it later, I set the pitcher back on the counter and took a seat at the table. I still wasn’t allowed to play gin rummy with The Aunts—only once I was officially an adult, i.e., married, would I get invited to that table—but I liked to watch.

“And how are things with David?” Aunt Jewel asked. Her voice was light, but I saw how closely she was watching me. I loved Aunts May and Martha, but I was closest to Aunt Jewel. And while it wasn’t like I’d told her anything that was going on with me, I always had the feeling she somehow knew there was more to me and David than met the eye.

But I smiled back and gave a little shrug. “They’re good.” I thought it would be easiest to leave it at that.

Aunt Jewel nodded, taking a sip of her tea. “Well, that’s good to hear. I wondered, since you’ve looked a little out of sorts lately.”

Aunt May and Aunt Martha made humming noises of agreement, and it was all I could do not to roll my eyes. “Just busy,” I said. “Spring semester of your junior year is an important time. College applications, all of that.”

That got all three of The Aunts’ attention. “Ooh, what colleges are you looking at, honey?” Aunt May asked.

Relieved that we were on slightly safer ground, I launched into an account of the top schools on my list. They were mostly all here in the South, and I thought I’d chosen a pretty good mix of big state universities and smaller private colleges. Of course, they were all schools I’d picked out last year, and I felt a little twinge of guilt that I hadn’t done more on the college front lately.

Of course, I’d been kind of busy.

Aunts May and Martha smiled pleasantly, but Aunt Jewel asked, “And David?”

When I didn’t answer right away, she took one of Aunt Martha’s cigarettes, lighting it with a hot pink Bic. “Are y’all looking at the same places? I know you haven’t been together long, but it still seems like something you should talk about.”

The College Issue was one of those things David and I had trouble talking about. Obviously, going to the same college was a nonnegotiable, and had nothing to do with us being a couple. I couldn’t even go that far out of town alone without feeling an aching weight in my chest. But I was convinced we could find a place we both agreed on.

Unfortunately, David never wanted to talk about it, always shrugging and saying, “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.” Problem was, that bridge was rapidly approaching.

To Aunt Jewel, I said, “We’re talking about it.” And I certainly didn’t add that my dream college was a women’s school that was completely out of the question, and that no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t help but resent that the teensiest bit. Or that Ryan probably needed to be factored into the equation now.

Closing my eyes for a second, I took a deep breath. One thing at a time. First we’d deal with the Peirasmos, and then I could worry about how to negotiate The College Issue.

Thankfully, Aunt Martha changed the subject, asking if any of my friends were going to be in the upcoming Miss Pine Grove Pageant.

I laughed, leaning back in my seat. “Not that I know of. Most girls at the Grove aren’t into that kind of thing.” The pageant, which happened every May Day, was held in the town’s big rec center, and despite the name, it was open to any girl in the surrounding few counties. As a result, Miss Pine Grove was usually from Appleton or Eversley rather than Pine Grove itself.

The Aunts thought the pageant was tacky and nearly had a collective stroke when my sister, Leigh-Anne, had decided to be in it several years ago.

They’d been even more horrified when she’d won.

So when I said that no one I knew had anything to do with it, I could practically feel them all sag with relief.

“Good girl,” Aunt Martha said, just as Aunt May muttered, “Trashy,” under her breath.

Aunt Jewel only took a drag on her cigarette and commented, “Oh, like you both don’t have Toddlers & Tiaras saved on the TV box thingie.”

“That is different,” Aunt Martha said with a lift of her chin, and Aunt May agreed with a fervid “Very different.”

On that note, I decided to head out. I still wanted to run by David’s before I went home, so we could go through some of Saylor’s books together. I’d thought about asking Bee what books she’d seen, but after today’s incident, I thought it might be best to let that drop for a while.

But just as I went to go, my phone rang. Glancing at The Aunts, I shook my purse at them. “May I answer?”

“Go ahead, honey,” Aunt May said with a wave, and I smiled, reaching into my bag. It was Ryan, which was kind of a surprise. He almost always texted if he needed to get in touch.

I had barely said hello when he broke in, his voice tight and breathless. “Harper, you need to get over here. Now.”





Chapter 10


I MADE IT OVER to Ryan’s house in record time—one of the perks of being a Paladin is the ability to drive like a stunt person—and Ryan was already waiting outside the front door for me as I pulled up.

“What took you so long?” he asked, and I noticed that he was the palest I’d ever seen him, almost gray.

Slamming the car door behind me, I hurried up his front steps, nearly tripping over a rocking chair on the porch. “I came as fast as I could,” I said, moving past him into the house. “What is it? Is it Alexander? Is it one of the trials?”