Page 31 of Let Sleeping Dogs Lie

“Summer,” Luke said in a pleading voice, but then his cell phone rang.

He pulled it out of his pocket, then grimaced as he checked the screen before he answered.

“Hey, Amber.” He made a face. “Okay, I’ll go check it out now.”

With a heavy sigh, he gave me a pleading look. “Summer, I’ve got to go, but I don’t want to leave like this. Hell, I’m not even sure whatthisis.”

“We’re fine,” I said. “It’s me. Just go.” But was it just me? I was too irritated to tell.

“I’ll call you when I get a chance,” he said, sliding out of his seat.

“I’ll answer if I can.”

He hesitated, then leaned over and kissed me, searching my eyes as he pulled away. “I love you.”

“Love you too.” I gave him a tiny shove. “Go. I’m fine.”

He hesitated further, then finally walked out the door, Dixie watching the full exchange with a worried look. “Are you and Luke fightin’?”

“No, I’m just in a mood.”

She slipped into Luke’s seat and picked up a fry from his plate. “Everything okay?”

I could tell her about my chat with Meemaw, but I didn’t feel like dredging it up, so I leaned forward and lowered my voice. “We might have a job.” Then I whispered, “With Magnolia Steele.”

Her eyes flew wide. “She’s gonna be on the show?”

“Shh!” I whisper-shouted. “No. She might hire us for a PI job. She was meeting with Pierce Robbins after she and her sister-in-law met with me this morning. They said they’d get back to me after lunch.”

She blinked hard. “Wait. She’shere. InSweet Briar? Why didn’t you tell me? I would have come back earlier for the appointment!”

“I didn’t know,” I said. “Her sister-in-law scheduled it under her name and I didn’t make the connection. And this is all a secret.”

“There’s no way she can be in town and keep it a secret for long,” she said. “Now tell me what happened. Everything.”

So I did while she ate the rest of Luke’s lunch and then started on mine.

“Do you think she’ll pick us?” she asked after I finished.

“I don’t know,” I admitted. “Luke thinks so, but she might be wary of any additional attention I might bring.”

“There’s no way she’ll pick Pierce,” she said. “He’s a weasel.”

“Maybe so, but he’s a smart weasel.”

Unfortunately, all we could do was wait.

Part Three

Magnolia and Summer

Chapter Twelve

Magnolia

“Well, it definitely needs work…” Belinda said.

We sat in her car, staring at the house that had belonged to grandparents I’d never met. It was small and looked like it had been neglected for decades. The vegetation was overgrown, and a few windows were broken. Over half the paint had peeled off the siding. The front door had been left partially open. It looked like it needed to be bulldozed rather than remodeled.