The Strawberry Hearts Diner(24)

Emily left her friends and came over to the tables. She looped her arm in Jancy’s and pulled her toward the group waiting beside the merry-go-round. “We need your help. None of us can flirt with that henchman of Carlton’s, but you can,” Emily said on the way back to the group. “We want you to infiltrate their camp and see what’s going on.”

“Why can’t you do it? He’s never even seen you?”

“Because she’s involved with another man who’s goin’ to want to monopolize all her time,” Sarah whispered.

Emily blushed. “Do y’all remember Jancy? She was here for our freshman and sophomore years in high school before she moved away.”

“I remember wishing you would tutor me in chemistry. My mama told me if I ever brought home a C on my report card we’d have a funeral at our house,” Sarah said. “I got a D and she was so glad that I didn’t flunk that we almost had a party, but I wouldn’t have sweated all the way home that day if I’d had your brains. Lord, you were a whiz kid in that class. Did you major in it at college?”

“Didn’t go to college. Barely got through high school,” Jancy said.

All of them looked like they’d been cut from the same bolt of cloth. About the same height. Shades of blonde hair ranging from honey to strawberry. Perfect makeup and cute little outfits that matched from their earrings to their shoes.

“Sarah and Teresa each got married this past year,” Emily said. “And Waynette has a two-year-old and another one on the way.”

All those awkward and uncomfortable high school feelings crashed into her like a wave. “Congratulations.”

“I just found out. No baby bump yet,” Waynette said. “You still single like Emily?”

Jancy nodded. “So what do you want me to do . . .”

“Good afternoon to all of you.” Carlton spoke into a microphone that he’d taken from the driver’s hand. “Welcome to my party. This is my lawyer, Rebecca, and my associate, Hilton. We will be mingling among all of you to answer questions, but before that, let’s all eat up and enjoy this lovely summer day.”

The caterers brought out a small card table and set it up close to the limo. Rebecca put her pretty pink briefcase in the middle and headed toward the barbecue. Evidently she wasn’t accustomed to walking in those high heels, because when one of them sank into the earth, it threw her off balance. She pitched forward, and if Ryder hadn’t been standing close, she’d have landed facedown in the dirt. He caught her, set her aright with a big grin, and took a step back.

“You’d do better to kick off them shoes and go barefoot, ma’am,” he said loudly as he tipped his hat and then walked away.

Jancy noticed the daggers that shot from Emily’s eyes. So it just might be Ryder, after all. If that was the case, Vicky was going to have a first-rate Texas hissy when she found out.

Nettie stepped out from under the pavilion, and the whole place went silent. She did not need a microphone for her voice to reach out across the whole park. “We’ll have grace before we dig in. After we eat, the local boys will provide us with some music and we can socialize all afternoon. I’ll ask Woody to bless this food today.”

Men removed their hats, and heads bowed. Woody said a short prayer, and the whole crowd said a hearty “Amen!” Then folks lined up on both sides of the tables under the pavilion. After they’d loaded their plates with home cooking, some of them wandered over to the barbecue table. They carried their food to quilts that had been thrown out under the big shade trees or to lawn chairs they’d brought from home. Jancy wasn’t sure where she belonged in the scheme of things until Shane laid a hand on her shoulder.

“Fall in right here in front of me. W-we’ll get us a plate and go over to the quilt that Ryder brought for us to share with the ladies. It’ll be crowded, but we’ll all fit,” he said.

“Thank you,” Jancy muttered.

“Nope, thank you for bein’ with m-me today. Sometimes it gets old bein’ the third wh-wheel at everything,” he said.

“Don’t I know it.” Jancy smiled up at him.

“There’s plenty of room,” Sarah said. “Just crowd right in here beside me and Jimmy. Good thing that we brought two quilts. Jancy, meet my husband. That one right there belongs to Teresa. His name is Quaid. And that one”—she pointed—“has been married to Waynette for three years, and he’s Will.”

“Hello.” Jancy took them all in with one smile. “Thanks for making room for us.”

“Hey, we’ve got to stick together. I hear that you are going to be our spy of the day,” Ryder said.

“I’ll do my best. Do I need a badge or a gun?” she teased.

“Naw, just your smile. That old cowboy w-won’t even know wh-what hit him.” Shane nudged her on the shoulder.

Jancy still wasn’t sure if Shane was just flirting with her or if he was sincere, but the sparks sure danced around the park when his shoulder touched hers. Still, if he really had a crush on her like Emily said, wouldn’t he be at least a little jealous of her flirting with another man?

“So what do y’all want me to find out? We already know that the wolf is sniffing around wanting to buy land. What else can we discover?” she asked as she shoved a fork loaded with potato salad into her mouth. The good home cooking reminded her of suppers when her mother was alive.