The Devine Doughnut Shop(42)

“Are you just trying to stir up trouble?” Macy asked. “What we decide or don’t decide with this place is a family matter that we will never discuss with anyone. But you can go out there and tell all your nosy friends that we aren’t selling the business or our recipe. As far as my character judgment—you better be careful not to throw stones from inside your glass houses.”

From Lisa’s expression, it was obvious that Macy’s comments about their husbands had not landed. “If that’s the case, why is Grace going to have lunch with Travis Butler?”

“Again, none of your business.” Grace tried to keep calm, but even she could hear the edge in her voice.

Grace turned and headed toward the kitchen. She sent up a silent prayer: Lord, please send some more customers in here. If there’s a lot of people, then maybe those two won’t be so brazen and nosy.

“He’s not as sexy as Justin was, but he’s not bad,” Carlita said.

“Whew!” Lisa fanned herself dramatically with her hand. “I still get hives when I think about Justin.”

“Why’s that?” Grace stopped at the end of the display case.

“Honey, you have to know that several of us spent a little time with him before he took off,” Carlita answered.

“You were both already married before he left town, so you know what that makes you. And you have the audacity to say what you did about Audrey,” Grace growled. “And FYI, I’m not the marryin’ type—and if I was, it wouldn’t be for money.”

“And that’s why you’re still stuck in a joint like this,” Lisa said. “You’re not old yet, but you will be someday, and what will your prospects be then?”

Grace turned back and snapped, “Maybe I’ll come up with a new topping for doughnuts when I get really old. Something that old folks will love, but it will choke all gossiping hussies to death.”

Finally, Lisa and Carlita left, tossing their hair in one last insulting flounce, and even though there were a dozen doughnuts of various varieties still in the case, Grace locked the door. “We’ll take what’s left home. The girls will enjoy having some for their after-school snacks. I sure wish those two would realize they aren’t welcome here.”

“They think they’re on a pedestal, and we’re just here to wait on them,” Sarah told her.

“Amen!” Macy said with a nod. “I sure wanted to kick the legs out from under Carlita’s chair, so it’s a good thing we are closing.” She got three bottles of sweet tea from the refrigerator and led the way to the cleanest of the four tables. She sat down and propped her feet up on an empty chair. “Now, let’s talk about Travis—or better yet, let’s talk about Justin. Do you believe what those two hateful women said about him?”

Grace sat down, propped her feet on the same chair as Macy, and told them about her plans to have pizza with Travis. “I wouldn’t have believed anything those women said a few years ago.” She twisted the top off one of the bottles and took a long drink. “But right now, nothing would shock me. It just makes me more determined to shun relationships.”

“Let’s see.” Sarah used the final few inches of the chair for her feet. “A couple of weeks ago, you said that you couldn’t date now because any man would run if you introduced him to Audrey.”

“And now”—Macy opened her bottle and downed a fourth of it before coming up for air—“you roll over and agree to meet a man for pizza when he asks with a lame excuse about picking your brain. Girl, Travis is just like Justin and Neal, only he’s got a little different angle. He’s trying to woo you into selling him our shop.”

“He can ‘woo’ away,” Grace said. “And for your information, I only said I’d meet with him to shut him up. It’s going to be a one-and-done deal. And I also wanted to give Lisa and Carlita something to talk about other than you and Neal. I’m killing two birds with one stone.”

“You are one devious woman,” Macy said and threw up her hand for a high five. Grace slapped it and took another drink of her tea. “They keep promising they won’t come back in here, but we see them almost every day.”

Sarah pushed Macy’s feet to the side. “You’re taking all the room.”

“Am not.” Macy pushed back. “And, honey, they couldn’t resist returning to the place that’s got the best gossip in town right now. Rumors are like air and water to them: if they don’t get a good portion of both every day, they’ll wither up and die.”

“Think we’ll get the blame if Mr. Money Pants doesn’t put in a factory?” Sarah asked.

“Probably,” Grace replied, and shrugged. “We might even go back to only making half as many doughnuts as we’ve had to do since all this started. Please keep this Friday thing under your hats. I don’t want Audrey to know about it. She gets so dramatic about every little thing.”

“Amen to that,” Macy agreed.

“Yep.” Sarah finished her tea, stood up, and began cleaning. “Our worlds have sure changed in the past few weeks.”

“Mama used to say that change was good for us,” Grace reminded them. “She said it kept life from getting boring.”

“I’d take a little dose of boring right now,” Macy said. “Do y’all realize that for us—mentally speaking—March came in like a lamb? I was getting married. Even though we didn’t know it, Sarah was falling in love at the time. Audrey hadn’t gotten caught with contraband at school yet. Is it going to go out like a lion—creating more havoc in our lives?”