Devil’s Claw

CHAPTER 10

When it came time to park at Daisy’s Café, Joa

“Maybe not,” Butch said cheerfully. “There’s Jeff and Maria

Je

Joa

“Why don’t we go in and see,” he said.

As soon as Butch held open the door, Joa

Joa

He tried his best to look contrite, but it didn’t work very well. “I told you I hate cleaning ovens,” he said. “I’ll do almost anything to avoid it.”

Accompanied by gales of laughter, Maria

“You were in on this, too, weren’t you!” Joa

Je

“No, you certainly didn’t.”

“So we pulled it off?” Maria

“Completely.”

“Good.”

Just then, Joa

“Wait a minute,” she demanded. “Where do you two think you’re going?”

“This is a shower,” Butch said. “Girls’ stuff,” he added with a wink in Je

“But when will you be back? How will Je

He gri

Butch followed Jim Bob out the door before Joa

“Put on!” he demanded urgently, handing Joa

Knowing the cap would give her a terrible case of hat-hair, Joa

“Put on!” Junior ordered again. Amid another burst of general laughter, Joa

Within minutes, Joa

After lunch and pieces of a wonderful lemon chiffon cake, it was time for Joa

Angie’s newfound happiness was a testimony to the fact that Joa

Not far into the pile of gifts, Joa

“Eva Lou!” Joa

Eva Lou Brady blushed and beamed with pleasure. “Victoria’s Secret,” she said. “I ordered it from a catalog. You don’t think I’d actually set foot in a place like that, do you? I’d be too embarrassed.”

Glancing back at the growing pile of unwrapped lingerie on the table, Joa

Eva Lou nodded. “You’re a little too practical for your own good at times,” she said. “It’s time you lightened up. Time you stopped taking everything so seriously.”

“I’ll try,” Joa

By two o’clock, the party was winding down. Most of the guests had left. Maria

Kristin, a good-looking blond, twenty-something, had been the previous sheriff’s private secretary long before Joa