the younger daughter protested. âYou canât wear the same dress to Robâs wedding that you do to Danielâsââ
âAnd why not? She just said I could.â
âBut it will be the same in the pictures!â
âLetâsââ Mallory tried to smother a chuckle and couldnât. This woman and her daughters were too preciousâfor 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. âLetâs try to get your mom a dress sheâll love, and then maybe we can find it in a different color for the next wedding?â
Ma stabbed a finger at her. âI like this girl! Yes, maâam, lead me on to these magical dresses that never go out of style.â
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.
âKimberlyâs like meânot fussy a bit. Why, she hasnât even been able to find a dress herself yetââ
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. âExcuse meâI could have sworn I heard the door open.â
âOh, yeah. Itâs a girl in a wheelchair. Some nice gentleman opened the door for her and helped her over the threshold,â Ma told her. âI saw it all a minute ago while Cara and DeeDee were fighting to the death over sequins. Sequins! At my age!â
Malloryâs heart stopped. Girl in a wheelchair meant only one thing to herâKatelyn. 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 storeâs newest arrivals.
âHey, 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!â
Mallory opened her mouth toâwhat? Fuss at Katelyn for driving when she hadnât been cleared by her doctor? When she didnât 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. Sheâs safe and sound, and how much gas could it have taken?
Katelynâs announcement, loud and boisterous, had attracted the attention of Malloryâs customers. They followed Mallory toward the front of the store like a flock of little ducklings.
âWell!â The smile in Maâs voice was unmistakable. âKatelyn! How nice to see you again! And youâre driving? Thatâs good! Maegan will be so proud of you.â
Mallory spun slowly back toward Ma, then swung to take in Katelynâs grin. The pieces clicked into place.
This was Ma . Ma MonroeâCollette? Colleen? Andrewâs 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 âhappenedâ to drop by last night with a pizza.
Were they trying to charm her into dropping the lawsuit?
She scrutinized Maâs 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 wasnât Maâs cup of tea, so maybe it wasnât so unusual that she had never been in here before.
âWait, is this your sister? Mallory?â Ma turned back to her. âNow, why on earth didnât you tell me that?â
âWellâIââ
âBecause,â DeeDee interjected gently. âYou