Free Joan Hess - Arly Hanks 09 by Miracles in Maggody Page B

walking down the aisle.”
    Mrs. Jim Bob snatched up the cake plate and took it into the kitchen. When she returned, her face was pale but composed. “What else have you heard?” she said, forcing herself to sound only mildly curious.
    “She was at the SuperSaver,” Elsie admitted cautiously. “I was waiting in line when I chanced to see her come out of Jim Bob’s office. Her blouse was so tight I wondered why the buttons didn’t pop off, and her skirt barely covered her panties.” She decided not to describe Jim Bob’s expression and instead said, “I’d better run along. Lottie’s picking me up shortly to go shopping in Farberville for something to wear to the revival.”
    After Elsie left, Mrs. Jim Bob went inside and tidied the kitchen, then sat down on her newly upholstered sofa in the living room and tried to think up a foolproof scheme that would send Malachi Hope and his wife slinking out of town like whupped dogs. Despite Brother Verber’s assurances that he and the Lord had everything under control, she suspected her position in the community was in grave danger.
    —==(O)==—
    Ruby Bee tried to act casual as Estelle came across the dance floor and perched on her favorite stool. She even went so far as to pour a glass of sherry and scoot a basket of pretzels down the bar. “Heard anything new?” she asked as she began to wipe the pristine surface of the bar with a dishrag.
    Estelle shrugged. “Millicent McIlhaney says Darla Jean’s been spending time with Malachi Hope’s wife’s sister. I reckon that’s who was in the backseat of the station wagon the other day when we saw it at the low-water bridge.”
    “I reckon so,” Ruby Bee said, sucking on her cheeks to keep from blurting out her news.
    “I think Millicent was relieved when Chastity wasn’t allowed to go riding around with Darla Jean anymore. She happened to overhear overhear a snippet of conversation when the girls didn’t know she was in the kitchen, and she said she was dumbfounded at some of the foul language.”
    “You’d think someone who lives with a preacher would mind her mouth.”
    Estelle gave Ruby Bee a condescending smile. “Millicent was referring to Darla Jean.”
    “Everybody in town knows she talks like a sailor,” said Ruby Bee, shooting back an equally condescending smile. After a few more swipes, she tossed the dishrag in the sink. “I had a surprise earlier today.”
    “So did I. Millicent was on time for her appointment for the first time since Hiram’s barn burned to the ground, and that must have been a good fifteen years ago.”
    Ruby Bee sniffed. “If you don’t want to hear about it, that’s just dandy with me. I’ve got more pressing things to do than stand here discussing Millicent’s tardiness. Maybe I’ll go start the chicken and dumplings.” She headed for the kitchen door, but slowly, so she could be persuaded to stop before it was too late.
    “So what’s your surprise?” Estelle asked grudgingly.
    Ruby Bee whirled around and pointed at the end of the bar. “Seraphina Hope came in and sat on that stool. You’d think someone who’s been on television would be uppity, but she was just as nice as she could be. I couldn’t help thinking of Dolly Parton—and she’s the sweetest, most honest person that ever came out of Nashville. Seraphina said they enjoyed the green bean casserole the very day we dropped it off, and asked for my recipe. She was real interested in learning about Maggody. We were having such a friendly conversation that I liked to have burned the cherry cobblers.”
    “I wouldn’t think there’d be all that much to talk about. What did she want to know—the details of Marjorie’s pedigree or the tomfoolery that went on during the Missionary Society election last year?”
    “Regular stuff about who all lives here and what folks do to earn a living. When I told her about your beauty parlor, she said she just might call and make an appointment to get a trim. Her