The Devine Doughnut Shop(32)

Grace went straight to the freezer for a half-gallon container of rocky road ice cream. “We can start on this while we wait on Beezy.”

“Hey, I’m sorry I’m late to the party,” Beezy said, coming through the back door. “I drove as fast as I could—speed limit signs are just a suggestion when you get to be my age. What’s going on?”

Raelene stood up and went to the counter for another spoon. She handed it to Beezy and pulled out the last chair for her.

“Ice cream?” Beezy sat down and dug into the container. “So it’s true, is it? Neal left town this morning with Darla Jo, and those two boys she’s got belong to him. I knew all along that she was up to something with those poor gentlemen, but I liked Neal. We’re lucky that they’re both gone. Devine doesn’t need people like them.”

Macy groaned. “I’d hoped that I could save a little bit of face.”

“Bless your heart,” Beezy said, “and I mean that in a good way. This is not your fault.”

Macy took a deep breath, let it out slowly, and told Beezy and the girls what had happened that day, starting with Darla Jo coming into the shop and ending with details of the fight. “Yes, it is my fault for trusting too easily, but it won’t ever happen again.”

“That man is a . . . ,” Beezy stammered. “If I hadn’t promised God that I would clean up my language, I would . . .” She set her mouth in a firm line and rolled her eyes toward the ceiling. “Lord, forgive me for breaking my promise, but he is a son of a bitch.”

“That means I’ve lost my substitute babysitting job, and I don’t get to be a bridesmaid, either. But I would have loved to have seen that fight. I didn’t know you took kickboxing lessons. Will you teach me how to do that?” Audrey asked but didn’t wait for an answer. “I liked Neal. Why would he do this to us?”

Grace wondered why her daughter couldn’t see that she was in the same kind of canoe that Macy had been paddling. Crystal and Kelsey were using her just like Neal had used Macy—maybe on a smaller level, but a con was a con, whether they were teenagers or grown men.

“Neal only liked himself. And he did it for money,” Raelene answered. “My mama’s boyfriend is like that in a way. He says his back is hurt and he can’t work, so Mama supports him. He’s just a lower form of a swindler than Neal, but they’ve both got black hearts.”

“Vengeance belongs to the Lord,” Macy said, repeating the words that had come to her mind more than once that day.

“But sometimes even God needs help,” Audrey said.

Raelene nodded. “God couldn’t build an ark, so he had Noah do it.”

“You got that right.” Audrey raised her hand for a high five.

Grace was shocked that the girls were united in any way, but it gave her a glimmer of hope that her daughter would open her eyes to what was really going on with her new friends.

Raelene slapped Audrey’s hand and dug out another spoonful of ice cream. “Do you really think men like him will get their comeuppance, Macy?”

“I do, and when it happens, they’ll remember how many . . .” Macy stuck her spoon back in the container, covered her face with her hands, and began to cry.

“I think God knows that Neal is an SOB,” Audrey declared and glanced over at her mother. “I didn’t use bad language. I spelled it out—and besides, it’s the truth. So anyway, God will give us both a pass today, Beezy.”

“That’s good.” Beezy had barely gotten the words out when her phone rang. She fetched it out of her skirt pocket. “I need to get this. It’s my sister, but I’ll make it quick.” She slid her finger across the screen and said, “Hello, Mavis. I’ve got you on speaker with the Dalton family.”

“Good!” a woman with a thin, high-pitched voice said. “Macy, I’m so sorry that Neal turned out to be a swindler. All of us at the church thought he was a good man, what with showing up to sit with you and being so kind to us old ladies. We almost feel as betrayed as you must, but we just want you to know we’ll be praying for you.”

“Thank you,” Macy said.

“Beezy, I’m just reminding you that we’re on for a game of poker this evening,” Mavis said. “Now, get on back to your visit.”

“I’ll be there,” Beezy said, then ended the call. “Now, where were we? So did Neal get any money?”

“No,” Macy groaned. “Gossip sure travels fast.”

“Granny used to say that it went even faster than the speed of sound,” Raelene said.

“I believe it,” Grace agreed. A picture of Travis flashed through her mind. What would he make of this kind of trouble, and would he still push to purchase the business and land?

“Me too,” Sarah said with a nod.

“Thank God you have a bull-crap radar,” Beezy said. “But rest assured, nothing like this has ever happened in Devine. People will be talking about it for weeks. I imagine that y’all better double the number of doughnuts you usually make for a few days.”

Audrey scraped the bottom of the ice cream container clean, then picked up all the spoons and took them to the sink. “Why would they need to make more doughnuts?”

“The best place to get the good gossip is at the source,” Grace answered. “Folks will be dropping by to buy doughnuts in hopes that they can get Macy to tell them more about Neal.”