Free Last Chance Beauty Queen by Hope Ramsay Page A

You couldn’t live in South Carolina without being aware of something like that. And putting industrial development near any swamp was sure to bring out the environmentalists and the snake lovers, not to mention the government with a whole passel of red tape.
    Hugh really
was
up the swamp without a paddle.
    But there was something else going on—something way more ominous.
    Why the heck was Jimmy Marshall selling off the family land like that? Caroline wondered if his daddy knew what Jimmy was up to. Of course, Lee Marshall was about eighty-five years old, but last she’d heard, he was still pretty sharp. Lee would never have sold the family land like that.
    The plant was cutting corners, but Jimmy was still selling land for top dollar. Where the heck was the money going, if not into the business? Maybe the chicken plant was in worse trouble than Rachel had made it sound.
    Or maybe Jimmy was getting ready to sell out.
    Either way, the town of Last Chance was in deep trouble.
    The plan to convince Lord Woolham to build a factory upstate didn’t seem like such a good plan after all. Last Chance might actually
need
his high and mightiness.
    She was climbing into Stone’s truck for the drive back to town when her cell phone rang. She checked the ID. It was Rachel.
    “Hey, what happened after I left you last night?” Caroline asked her friend. “How’s Bubba?”
    “It’s awful, Rocky. The doctor couldn’t save his teeth.”
    “Oh, no.”
    “And he’s got stitches all over his upper lip, and his nose is broken.”
    “Great.”
    “The oral surgeon told him he should sue Lord Woolham. I’m thinking maybe the doctor is right.”
    “Come on, Rachel, Lord Woolham was just protecting me. Bubba is the one who started the fight.”
    “I know. But that man didn’t have to break his face, did he? I mean we were going. It would have been okay, and besides, there was the whole Miriam Randall prediction, which, by the way, you didn’t say a word about last night.”
    “Uh, okay, you mean that stuff about how I should be looking for the salt of the earth, a regular Joe, a guy who works with his hands?”
    “Right. Exactly.”
    “Okay. First of all, what does that have to do with Bubba’s broken face? And second of all, I didn’t get a chance to tell you about Miriam’s prediction because we were busy talking about the problems at the chicken plant, and then Bubba arrived, and the rest is history.”
    “Don’t you see, Rocky? Miriam is talking about Bubba.”
    “What? No.”
    “Of course she is.”
    “No, Rachel, Miriam is not talking about Bubba.”
    “But she described him to a T. And this morning everyone in town is saying that you and Bubba are going to get back together. Momma even said at breakfast that you and Bubba are a match made in Heaven, and that fistfight down at the Pig Place was just a confirmation of everything. Really, Rocky, you know you ought to consider it. Bubba is always looking after you, you know? He practically worships the ground you walk on.” Rachel’s voice sounded wobbly.
    “Uh, Rache, this makes no sense. I dumped Bubba twelve years ago. Remember? And Bubba’s face was smashed last night because he decided to come after me. How is that a sign of anything except his infernal stubbornness?”
    “I know, but everyone is saying it’s proof that he loves you in spite of everything, and you will come around to understanding it eventually.”
    “Oh, great. Look, I don’t love Bubba.”
    “But you will. Miriam said so.”
    “Honey, it’s not going to happen, okay? There are plenty of regular Joes out there. I’m sure I’ll stumble on one of them one of these days. But in the meantime, I’ve got bigger problems. I need to figure out this factory mess. I spent the morning at the courthouse and you won’t believe who sold Lord Woolham the land adjacent to the golf course.”
    “Who?”
    “Your boss man. And Jimmy ratcheted up the price, land shark that he is. Do you think he