Best Kept Secrets(71)
two-step in an eternal circle around the dance floor.
"He seems to have a finger in just about every pie in
town," Alex remarked.
"Hmm, he likes to know everything that's going on."
"And be a part of it."
"Yes. He makes things happen and spreads himself thin."
She gave a delicate sigh. "Angus has this need to be well
liked, you see. He's always politicking, as though it matters
what other people think."
Alex folded her hands beneath her chin and propped her
elbows on the table. "You don't believe it matters?"
"No." Her entrancement with the dancers ended. For the
first time that evening, she looked directly at Alex. "Don't
read too much into the way Junior treats you."
"Oh?"
"He flirts with every woman he meets."
Alex slowly lowered her hands to her lap. Anger roiled
inside, but she managed to keep her voice low and level. "I
resent your implication, Mrs. Minton."
Sarah Jo lifted one shoulder indifferently. "Both of my
men are charming and they know it. Most women don't
realize that their flirting is meaningless."
"I'm sure that's true of Angus, but I don't know about
Junior. Three ex-wives might disagree with you about his
flirting."
"They were all wrong for him."
"What about my mother? Would she have been wrong for
him?"
Sarah Jo fixed her empty stare on Alex again. "Absolutely
wrong. You're a lot like her, you know."
"Am I?"
"You enjoy causing dissonance. Your mother was never
content to leave bothersome things alone. The only difference
is that you're even better at making trouble and creating ill
will than she was. You're direct to the point of being tactless,
a trait I've always attributed to bad breeding." She lifted her
eyes to someone who had moved up behind Alex.
"Good evening, Sarah Jo."
"Judge Wallace." A sweet smile broke across Sarah Jo's
face. One would never guess she had had her stinger out
seconds earlier. "Hello, Stacey."
Alex, her face hot with indignation over Sarah Jo's unwarranted
criticism, turned around. Judge Joe Wallace was
staring down at her with disapproval, as though her being
there was a breach of the club's standards.
"Miss Gaither."
"Hello, Judge Wallace." The woman standing beside him
looked at Alex with a censure that matched his, though for
what reason, Alex couldn't guess. Obviously, Junior was the
only friendly face she was going to find in this crowd.
The judge gave the woman's arm a nudge and they moved
toward another table. "Is that his wife?" Alex asked, following
their progress.
"Good heavens, no," Sarah Jo said. "His daughter. Poor
Stacey. Eternally dowdy."
Stacey Wallace was still staring at Alex with such malice
that she was captivated by it. She didn't break her stare until
Junior's knee bumped hers when he resumed his seat and set
two plates of food on the table.
"I hope you like ribs and beans." His gaze followed the
direction of hers. "Hey, Stacey." He winked at her and raised
his hand in a friendly wave.
The woman's puckered mouth relaxed into a faltering
smile. Blushing, she raised her hand to her neckline like a
flustered girl and called back shyly, "Hi, Junior."
"Well?"
Though she was still curious about the judge and his chameleon
daughter, Junior's one-word inquiry brought Alex's
head around. "Sorry?"
"Do you like ribs and beans?"
"Watch me," she laughed, spreading the napkin over her
lap.
She did unladylike damage to her plate of food, but her
healthy appetite earned her a compliment from Angus. "Sarah
Jo eats like a bird. Don't you like the ribs, honey?" he asked,
looking into her plate, which had barely been disturbed.
"They're a little dry."
"Want me to order you something else?"
"No, thank you."
After they'd eaten, Angus took a fresh cigar from his pocket
and lit it. Fanning out the match, he said, "Why don't you
two dance?"
"Are you game?" Junior asked.
"Sure." Alex pushed back her chair and stood up. "But
this kind of dancing isn't my forte, so nothing too fancy,
please."
Junior drew her into his arms and, disobeying her request,
executed a series of intricate turns and dips. "Very nice,"
he said, smiling down at her when they lapsed into a more
sedate two-step. Using the arm he had placed around her
waist, he pulled her tighter against him. "Very, very nice."