Free Last Chance Beauty Queen by Hope Ramsay Page B

really expectedmy daddy to sell out? Or was he just playing a flim-flam game with his Lordship?”
    “Oh, no. Do you think Hettie knows Jimmy did that?”
    “I have no idea. Probably not. But that’s not the important thing—there’s something off about the whole situation. Jimmy’s been selling off a lot of land lately, Rache. Like he’s either in deep financial trouble or… I don’t know.”
    “Shoot. This is bad. I heard something else this morning in the break room.”
    “What?”
    “Roy Burdett was complaining, like he always does. But this time Harlan Gregory said Mr. Marshall was paying off the state OSHA inspector to look the other way.”
    “Well, that might explain where some of this money is going. Rachel, if Jimmy is bribing inspectors, we’ve got to say something about it to the authorities.”
    “We don’t have proof. We just have something I overheard.”
    “Even so, we might want to make a couple of calls to the authorities.”
    “No. I can’t. If I blow the whistle and the factory closes, everyone will blame me.”
    “Not if you do it anonymously.”
    “There is no such thing in Last Chance. My life is utter crap, you know that?”
    “It could be worse, honey. Your career might hinge on convincing a bunch of church ladies to give up on saving a putt-putt place dedicated to the Lord. And also you could be the focus of one of Miriam’s matrimonial forecasts.”
    “Uh, Rocky, I wouldn’t mind being included in one ofMiriam’s forecasts. It’s you who want to go off and have a career. Me, I’d like to settle down with a nice guy and maybe raise a few kids.”
    Caroline gritted her teeth. Rachel could be maddening sometimes. She’d gone to college and had worked in Columbia for a bank until an unhappy love affair had sent her home three years ago. Now she seemed to think being an administrative assistant at the chicken plant was the pinnacle of achievement.
    She just didn’t seem to understand her own worth.
    “Look,” Caroline said, “call me if you hear any more rumors at the chicken plant. I’ll be at the meeting of the Committee to Resurrect Golfing for God.”
    Caroline ended the call and drove from Allenberg to Last Chance. She parked her brother’s truck in the parking lot behind the Cut ’n Curl. It was still early so she strolled into the doughnut shop that shared the alleyway. She inhaled the scents of powdered sugar and frying oil like an addict. Despite the state of her waistline, she ordered a Boston cream and a cup of coffee.
    Her plan was to hide out for a few minutes while she ate the doughnut and checked her e-mail on her smart phone. Caroline needed the sugar fix before she met up with Lord Woolham. There were just too many things going wrong with her life at the moment for her to face him—or a meeting of the Committee to Resurrect—completely cold turkey.
    But as so often happens to the best-laid plans, hers fell apart a minute later when Dash Randall sauntered into the shop and ordered a cup of coffee to go.
    He was dressed in full-out western mode. His Wranglers were cowboy worn, his alligator boots had pointytoes and stacked heels, and his hat was a dusty gray Stetson.
    He looked like he’d been born in the saddle, which wasn’t too far from the truth, seeing as Dash had started his life in Texas. He’d moved to Last Chance to live with his great-aunt and -uncle after his granddaddy died. The whereabouts of Dash’s parents had always been a mystery—one he never spoke about.
    He ambled over and dropped into the molded plastic seat at the little round table where Caroline was devouring her doughnut.
    “Sneaking junk food again, huh?” he asked, taking a noisy sip of his coffee.
    “Did I ask you to sit down and insult me?”
    The corner of his mouth turned up. “I reckon you’re allowed to be nasty this morning. And I can fully understand the need to fortify yourself before your Englishman makes a fool of himself in front of the ladies of the