Free Trouble Maker: A MacKenzie Family Novel (The MacKenzie Family) by Liliana Hart

cable-knit sweater in hunter green and a pair of dark brown corduroy pants. Her boots were well used and scuffed at the toes.
    The little shop next to the mercantile was vacant and she stopped to stand in front of it and look through the windows. She knew it was the place her shop would be. There were two square display windows and the thick wooden door had a glass insert. The floors were the original wood and though the space was narrow, it was deep enough that she could divide it into two spaces—one a reception area and place to hang samples of her work, and in the other she could put backdrops and screens for in-house photo shoots. There was an apartment above the space that had a tenant, but Mary assured her that she was quiet and wouldn’t be a bother.
    She felt some of the tension go out of her shoulders. She could make this work. Now she just had to find the courage to actually speak to the people she’d known all her life. But she could do it. Those same people would be lining up for family portraits, graduation pictures, babies, and weddings. It was a business, and she was providing a service for the community.
    It was only a few more steps to the front door of the sheriff’s office, and she found her hand was slightly damp as she turned the knob. Mary had told her that Cooper had beat Sheriff Rafferty in the election several years back. She’d grown up with Cooper, just like she had all the MacKenzies, though he’d been several years older and didn’t often hang out with them. But imagining him in the position of authority as sheriff was hard to wrap her brain around, especially knowing some of the stuff he’d done as a kid.
    She’d grown up hearing Harley rail against the police. How corrupt and useless they were. How they targeted the poor and the people who needed their help the most. And then he’d told her if she ever told Sheriff Rafferty about the whippings that Rafferty would come straight to him because they were friends. And she’d get twice the punishment.
    She’d never heard any gossip around town that Sheriff Rafferty had been corrupt. Mostly people called him inept and lazy. But she’d never been sure if her daddy was telling the truth about them being friends, so she’d made it her policy to steer clear of the police whenever she saw them.
    The sheriff’s office was pretty much what she’d expected. It smelled strongly of Pine-Sol trying to mask the smell of sweat and burned coffee. A wooden desk sat to the right of the door and a slightly plump woman with fresh highlights in her blonde hair sat behind the desk, her long nails clicking against the keyboard as she typed. Her desk was stacked with papers and file folders, and behind her was a dispatch board where she took calls if there was trouble.
    There was another desk directly across from her, but this one was empty except for a couple of pictures of a man she’d never seen before and what she assumed was his wife, who was stunningly beautiful. Two jail cells lined the back wall of the room. They were stark and empty except for a cot with a mattress that had been covered in plastic and a metal toilet.
    It took Marnie a few seconds to remember why she recognized the woman’s face. And then it hit her and dread settled in her stomach like a lead ball. Lila Rose. The girl everyone loved to hate, but never had the guts to say so to her face because they were afraid of what she’d say about them.
    There hadn’t been a moment from kindergarten to her junior year that Lila hadn’t made fun of her for wearing the same old clothes or only having a boiled egg to eat for lunch some days. It had always irked Lila that Marnie could come and go as she pleased at the MacKenzies. In her mind, Lila and Darcy should’ve been the best of friends. The two daughters of wealthy ranchers. But Darcy couldn’t stand Lila and had told her so to her face in the first grade. In turn, Lila had set out to make Marnie as miserable as possible.
    “Can I