The Devine Doughnut Shop(27)

“It can’t be true.” Every emotion from disappointment to anger flashed through Macy’s body, leaving her limp and feeling numb. “I love him so much and . . .” She stopped and stared out over the mesquite trees and cattle in the pasture. “There has to be a logical explanation.”

“I hope we’re wrong about the money,” Sarah answered, “but I have no doubts that Neal and Darla Jo spent the night together.”





Chapter Six


Macy received several texts from Neal on Thursday saying that he was too busy in meetings and networking with the hotel managers to get five minutes free for a phone call. He ended each one with a heart emoji.

“There is no way he can be this sweet and not be real,” she kept telling Grace and Sarah when she shared every text with them.

“The first step in grieving is denial—and, honey, you will grieve for what could have been. You are denying it now, but somewhere deep in your heart, you know he’s been conning you.” Sarah wasn’t sure if she was talking to Macy or herself.

“After you found out that your fellow was a married man, did you deny it?” Macy snapped.

“No, because I had too much proof in my hands. I did fight the urge to either strangle or smother him for about five minutes. Then I got dressed and walked out of that motel room in a cloud of anger. That’s what I was feeling when I got into my truck and came home,” Sarah answered.

“Did he even call you to apologize?” Macy asked.

“He sent me a text. No apology. Just a text to tell me he’d planned to end it that morning, and I’d saved him the trouble,” Sarah replied. “His wife had forgiven him, and he vowed to be on the straight and narrow from now on. He was sorry if he hurt me, but it was just a consensual affair as far as he was concerned.”

“That’s a coward for you,” Grace muttered. “He’s no better than Justin. He left me a note on the windshield of my car.”

“I know the steps involved with grieving, and the final one is acceptance,” Macy said, “but I just can’t accept that Neal has been unfaithful or that he’s out to swindle me. He’s not that kind of man.”

The tinkling of the bell above the shop door told them someone had arrived. Macy left the kitchen and found Darla Jo standing in front of the display case with a broad smile on her face—or was it a smug look? Otherwise, she seemed as innocent as a newborn baby lamb in her pink gingham-checked sundress. Her hair looked like she’d just walked out of the beauty shop, her pink fingernails didn’t have a single chip on them, and her makeup was flawless.

Suddenly, Macy felt downright dowdy in her Devine Doughnut Shop T-shirt and jeans. Her red hair, tucked up into a net, made her look like an old woman. When she had washed her hands in the bathroom just minutes before, she had noticed that her eyes were still dull from the migraine she’d had earlier in the week and the one that had threatened the day before.

“Well, good morning,” Darla Jo said. “Macy, isn’t it?”

“That’s right. What can I help you with this morning?” Macy could hear her icy tone in her own ears. Surely, if what Sarah thought was going on was really true, Darla Jo wouldn’t have the nerve to come into the shop and flash brilliant smiles at her.

“I need half a dozen glazed, four of those with cream cheese filling for Edward, and two with sprinkles for the boys,” she answered.

“Neal likes the ones with cream cheese filling, too,” Macy said as she put the doughnuts in a box. Playing on words, the sign on the door, their T-shirts, and the bags all had the same logo—the D in Devine had a halo sitting on top of it and angel wings peeking out the sides. Underneath were the words “As light as clouds and sweet as angels.”

Their great-grandmother had come up with the whole thing, and even though it was outdated and slightly sacrilegious, no one had had the heart to change it over the years. Macy had thought it was something divine from God when He’d put Neal into her life, but that morning she wished she could erase the logo—there was nothing as sweet as angels about the place.

“Where are those precious boys of yours?” Macy asked as she rang up the sale.

“They are at home with Edward.” Darla Jo laid a bill on the counter. “We’ve booked a flight from San Antonio this afternoon. We’ll get married on the beach on Saturday morning at sunset. Doesn’t that sound so romantic?”

Darla Jo’s information seemed to prove to Macy that she had been right all along. She felt guilty for ever doubting Neal and yet relieved at the same time. Edward was leaving with Darla Jo in a few hours, so he couldn’t be Neal, who was in San Diego right now and coming back to her on Saturday. It was all a misunderstanding.

“How old are your boys?” Macy asked as she made change.

“Six and eight, and they look exactly like their father,” Darla Jo answered. “They have Edward’s dark eyes and hair.”

“You and Edward were married before?” Macy asked.

“No, but we had the boys together.” Darla Jo took the change from Macy and picked up the box of doughnuts.

“Well, I wish you all the best,” Macy said, with a lighter heart than she’d had in the past twenty-four hours.

“You too,” Darla Jo said.

“And tell Edward that I hope he can find cream cheese–filled doughnuts on the island that will satisfy his taste,” Macy said with a smile.