The Devine Doughnut Shop(30)

Macy ran faster in sneakers than Darla Jo could in three-inch high heels, so she beat the woman to the porch, jerked the phone out of Neal’s hand, and threw it at the SUV. It hit just right, sending a nice big crack in the windshield. Darla Jo made it to the porch about the same time Macy drew back her fist and popped Neal—or Edward, or whatever the devil his name was—right between the eyes. Blood immediately ran from his nose and down over his lips, which didn’t look so kissable right then.

She was about to hit him again when Darla Jo tackled her, and they both tumbled down the steps and out into the yard. Macy’s redhaired temper became an uncontrollable force. She saw Grace and Sarah get out of the truck, but she held up her palm.

“Stay back,” she yelled as she pulled Darla Jo up by a fistful of hair and dragged her to the SUV. “You can have him. I don’t want him, but this is between me and Neal, Edward, or whoever he is.”

Neal was suddenly beside her, with one hand trying to catch the blood flowing from his nose and the other attempting to free Darla Jo’s hair from Macy’s hand.

“Darla Jo, darlin’,” he gasped, “I’m so sorry.”

“You should be apologizing to me, not her,” Macy growled and pushed his hand away from hers.

“Get my purse and suitcase,” Darla Jo screeched, “and let’s get out of here.”

Neal ran back to pick up her things and, as the boys started to come back out of the house, immediately yelled at his sons, “You guys go back in and find my flip-flops. I just remembered I forgot to pack them.” He grabbed the sack and tossed everything into the back of the SUV.

Who knew the creep had a true caring bone in his body? They’re definitely not going to want to see this, Macy thought.

By then, Macy had pushed Darla Jo into the passenger seat with enough force that she was slammed up against the console. Then she went at Neal, using the kickboxing she’d learned at a defense class the church had sponsored a few years back. The first strike landed in his groin. He hit the dirt, rolled up in a fetal position, and moaned. She heard a rib crack when she landed the second one, and she had brought her foot back for another kick by the time Grace and Sarah pulled her away.

He was still rolling around in the grass and getting stains on his white slacks when she freed herself from her cousins and put a foot on his chest. Then she removed her fake engagement ring and threw it at him. “You almost made it, Neal—or Edward, or whatever your name is. I believed every word you told me. But in every bad experience, there’s a good lesson to be learned. I guess now you’ll have to live on what you and Darla Jo have swindled out of folks for the past ten years. Be careful—you might just die in your sleep like they did.”

Darla Jo had gotten out of the SUV and was trying to get past Sarah and Grace. “Are you crazy? I’m calling the police right now!” she screamed as she fell onto the ground beside him and gathered him up in her arms.

“If you really want them, I’ll call them myself and tell them what’s been going on here,” Macy said through clenched teeth.

“Just get out of here,” Neal gasped.

“Let’s go,” Grace said.

“Nope, I want to tell the police about attempted fraud and see what they have to say about it,” Macy said. “Maybe he can spend a night or two in county lockup while we straighten all this out. Plane tickets sure are expensive these days.”

“Noooo,” he said.

“Cut your losses and be glad that they aren’t worse,” Sarah said as she took Macy by the arm and led her back to the truck.

“Edward is really the love of my life. I would never hurt a hair on his head!” Darla Jo screamed at her.

Vengeance . . . the voice in Macy’s head started.

“Save it,” she barked at both the voice and Darla Jo.

“Daddy, we can’t find them,” one of the boys yelled from the front door.

“Look out by the swimming pool,” Edward managed to get out.

Macy broke free from Sarah and went back to stand over the lot of them. “How many others were there before me?”

Darla Jo laughed. “That’s classified, but you weren’t the first.”

“Will I be the last?” Macy asked.

“Maybe,” Darla Jo answered. “The boys are getting older, and they need stability in their lives.”

“You will pay for this,” Macy whispered as Darla Jo got to her feet. “Somewhere down the road, you will pay dearly for what you have done and the hearts you have broken.” She gave Darla Jo a hard push, and the woman landed on top of Neal.

“Maybe so”—Neal rolled over and wrapped Darla Jo up in his arms—“but we’ll have fun on the journey to that place in the road. In another life, Macy, we might have made a good couple.”

“In another life, you wouldn’t have even looked at someone like her.” Darla Jo managed to get into a seated position. “Now I have to change clothes. I can’t travel like this, and you need to clean up. You can’t go anywhere with dried blood on your face. Thank God the boys were in the house.”

Macy got into the truck, took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. “My whole body is trembling with anger, and my ears are buzzing like a whole hive of bees have taken up residence there. Thank God y’all pulled me off him. I’ve never been so mad. The Jesus I thought I had in me was tested, and I failed.”