Free Stirring Up Trouble by Andrea Laurence Page A

hearing with Judge Griffin on Monday morning. I’ll have Winston put fresh linens on your old bed.”
    It sounded wonderful, and Maddie was too tired to argue. She felt like she could sleep from now until church the next morning. Even as she set down her teacup, she could feel her body start to sway in her seat.
    â€œYou poor thing, you’re not even going to make it to dinner. Go upstairs right now and I’ll have Cookie bring you a sandwich to nibble on in bed.”
    Maddie nodded. “Okay. Thank you.”
    Standing, she made her way out of the library and up the stairs. She didn’t even wait for Winston to make up the bed for her. Kicking off her shoes, she collapsed facedown on top of the comforter and passed out.

    It was quiet. Too quiet.
    Not the bar—Woody’s was rarely quiet and tonight was no exception. This evening it was filled with the typical sounds of a Sunday afternoon—professional football and the occasional group cheer or groan depending on how the game was going.
    Things were going fine, and yet, Emmett kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. When the cops didn’t come Saturday night, he’d almost called the station to make sure the officer they sent over hadn’t gotten in a wreck on the way.
    Perhaps the brush with the law had cooled Maddie’s guns. It certainly hadn’t thrilled Emmett, but the less it seemed to bother him, the more it irritated her, so he played it off like it wasn’t a big deal.
    It actually bothered him that she seemed to think being arrested was commonplace for him. Apparently, in Maddie’s universe, poor people were the same as criminals. And of course she presumed he was poor—why else would anyone toil in a run-down old bar if they had another option? Surely he must’ve spent more than one night on the wrong side of iron bars.
    The door opened and Maddie’s brothers Grant and Blake slipped inside. Emmett waved, expecting the brothers to find a table in front of the television, but they came to sit at the bar instead.
    â€œNot here for the game?” Emmett asked. Blake was a retired quarterback in the NFL. He typically came to watch a game every Sunday evening with his brothers.
    â€œNot today,” Blake said.
    â€œAlthough we’ll still take a cold beer,” Grant added with a smile.
    â€œWill do.” Emmett pulled out two frosted mugs from the case and poured each of the brothers their favorite brews. “So, if not football, why are you here? Are you going to give me a good talking-to for harassing your sister?”
    Blake laughed. “Lord, no. Trust us, we know exactly how she can be. We lived with her for years. Hell, poor Mitchell had to share a uterus with her.”
    Emmett’s brows went up in surprise as he passed them their drinks. “She’s a twin?”
    â€œYep, the illustrious Chamberlain twins. Never have two people so different come out of the same person at one time.”
    â€œI’ve never met Mitchell,” Emmett admitted. “What’s he like?”
    â€œHe’s the smart one in the family,” Grant said. “More serious than the rest of us. He was always great in school, the valedictorian of his class. He studied while the rest of us played football and chased girls. And now, years later, Blake’s a cripple, I’ve settled down into monogamy, and he’s about to graduate from Vanderbilt as a doctor. Time better spent, I’d wager.”
    â€œI’m not a cripple,” Blake complained.
    Emmett knew about Blake’s old football injury—anyone who watched ESPN or lived in Rosewood did. It’d taken him out of the NFL and brought him home to coach the high school team. It didn’t hold him back, though. He’d managed to make it to the state championships and get rock star Ivy Hudson to agree to marry him, so it wasn’t all bad. He could tell Grant just liked to rag on his brother.
    And he was