Free Sweet Justice by Cynthia Reese

the younger daughter protested. “You can’t wear the same dress to Rob’s wedding that you do to Daniel’s—”
    â€œAnd why not? She just said I could.”
    â€œBut it will be the same in the pictures!”
    â€œLet’s—” Mallory tried to smother a chuckle and couldn’t. This woman and her daughters were too precious—for all the squabbling, it was obvious that they loved each other.
    Mallory managed to control her laughter before it overtook her completely, and she held up a hand. “Let’s try to get your mom a dress she’ll love, and then maybe we can find it in a different color for the next wedding?”
    Ma stabbed a finger at her. “I like this girl! Yes, ma’am, lead me on to these magical dresses that never go out of style.”
    They began looking at sheath and column dresses, with Mallory desperately trying to figure out where the wedding would fall on the fancy/not fancy scale. Ma kept insisting that the wedding was not at all fancy, since it was going to be at their farm, while her daughters, who turned out to be DeeDee and Cara, insisted, that no, there must be bling on the dress.
    â€œKimberly’s like me—not fussy a bit. Why, she hasn’t even been able to find a dress herself yet—”
    The door jangled, and Mallory, who had the store to herself while Eleanor had gone out for a late lunch, craned to see who it was.
    When no head popped up over the dress displays, she frowned. “Excuse me—I could have sworn I heard the door open.”
    â€œOh, yeah. It’s a girl in a wheelchair. Some nice gentleman opened the door for her and helped her over the threshold,” Ma told her. “I saw it all a minute ago while Cara and DeeDee were fighting to the death over sequins. Sequins! At my age!”
    Mallory’s heart stopped. Girl in a wheelchair meant only one thing to her—Katelyn. How had she gotten here? Who had driven her? Was something wrong?
    It was Katelyn, sitting proudly just inside the door near a display of the store’s newest arrivals.
    â€œHey, Mal. What do you think, huh? I managed to drive the car all the way down here, all by myself! Pretty cool, if I do say so myself!”
    Mallory opened her mouth to—what? Fuss at Katelyn for driving when she hadn’t been cleared by her doctor? When she didn’t have good control of her legs? Scold her for using part of the gas Mallory needed to drive her to therapy?
    Breathe. Breathe , she commanded herself. She’s safe and sound, and how much gas could it have taken?
    Katelyn’s announcement, loud and boisterous, had attracted the attention of Mallory’s customers. They followed Mallory toward the front of the store like a flock of little ducklings.
    â€œWell!” The smile in Ma’s voice was unmistakable. “Katelyn! How nice to see you again! And you’re driving? That’s good! Maegan will be so proud of you.”
    Mallory spun slowly back toward Ma, then swung to take in Katelyn’s grin. The pieces clicked into place.
    This was Ma . Ma Monroe—Collette? Colleen? Andrew’s mother. The woman who had sent her fried chicken and blankets and pillows.
    A paranoid thought pulsed through her head: Colleen Monroe had never set foot in this shop before today. And Andrew had “happened” to drop by last night with a pizza.
    Were they trying to charm her into dropping the lawsuit?
    She scrutinized Ma’s face as Katelyn jabbered away. No, the woman looked genuinely surprised to see Katelyn here. It was a small town, and most definitely high fashion wasn’t Ma’s cup of tea, so maybe it wasn’t so unusual that she had never been in here before.
    â€œWait, is this your sister? Mallory?” Ma turned back to her. “Now, why on earth didn’t you tell me that?”
    â€œWell—I—”
    â€œBecause,” DeeDee interjected gently. “You