PRAISE FOR CAROLYN BROWN
The Strawberry Hearts Diner
“Sweet and satisfying romance from the queen of Texas Romance.”
—Fresh Fiction
“A heartwarming cast of characters brings laughter and tears to the mix, and readers will find themselves rooting for more than one romance on the menu. From the first page to the last, Brown perfectly captures the mood as well as the atmosphere and creates a charming story that appeals to a wide range of readers.”
—RT Book Reviews
“A sweet romance surrounded by wonderful, caring characters.”
—TBQ’s Book Palace
“Deeply satisfying contemporary small-town western story . . .”
—Delighted Reader
The Barefoot Summer
“Prolific romance author Brown shows she can also write women’s fiction in this charming story, which uses humor and vivid characters to show the value of building an unconventional chosen family.”
—Publishers Weekly
“This story takes you and carries you along for a wonderful ride full of laughter, tears, and three amazing HEAs. I feel like these characters are not just people in a book, but they are truly family and I feel so invested in their journey. Another amazing HIT for Carolyn Brown.”
—Harlequin Junkie (top pick)
The Lullaby Sky
“I really loved and enjoyed this story. Definitely a good comfort read, when you’re in a reading funk or just don’t know what to read. The secondary characters bring much love and laughter into this book—your cheeks will definitely hurt from smiling so hard while reading. Carolyn is one of my most favorite authors. I know without a doubt that no matter what book of hers I read, I can just get lost in it and know it will be a good story. Better than the last. Can’t wait to read more from her.”
—The Bookworm’s Obsession
The Lilac Bouquet
“Brown pulls readers along for an enjoyable ride. It’s impossible not to be touched by Brown’s protagonists, particularly Seth, and a cast of strong supporting characters underpins the charming tale.”
—Publishers Weekly
“If a reader is looking for a book more geared toward family and long-held secrets, this would be a good fit.”
—RT Book Reviews
“Carolyn Brown absolutely blew me away with this epically beautiful story. I cried, I giggled, I sobbed, and I guffawed; this book had it all. I’ve come to expect great things from this author, and she more than lived up to anything I could have hoped for. Emmy Jo Massey and her great-granny Tandy are absolute masterpieces not because they are perfect but because they are perfectly painted. They are so alive, so full of flaws and spunk and determination. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.”
—Night Owl Reviews (five stars and top pick)
The Wedding Pearls
“The Wedding Pearls by Carolyn Brown is an amazing story about family, life, love, and finding out who you are and where you came from. This book is a lot like The Golden Girls meet Thelma and Louise.”
—Harlequin Junkie
“The Wedding Pearls is an absolute must-read. I cannot recommend this one enough. Grab a copy for yourself, and one for a best friend or even your mother or both. This is a book that you need to read. It will make you laugh and cry. It is so sweet and wonderful and packed full of humor. I hope that when I grow up, I can be just like Ivy and Frankie.”
—Rainy Day Ramblings
The Yellow Rose Beauty Shop
“The Yellow Rose Beauty Shop was hilarious and so much fun to read. But sweet romances, strong female friendships, and family bonds make this more than just a humorous read.”
—The Reader’s Den
“If you like books about small towns and how the people’s lives intertwine, you will love this book. I think it’s probably my favorite book this year. The relationships of the three main characters, girls who have grown up together, will make you feel like you just pulled up a chair in their beauty shop with a bunch of old friends. As you meet the other people in the town, you’ll wish you could move there. There are some genuine laugh-out-loud moments and then more that will just make you smile. These are real people, not the oh-so-thin-and-so-very-rich that are often the main characters in novels. This book will warm your heart and you’ll remember it after you finish the last page. That’s the highest praise I can give a book.”
—Reader quote for The Yellow Rose Beauty Shop
Long, Hot Texas Summer
“This is one of those lighthearted, feel-good, make-me-happy kind of stories. But, at the same time, the essence of this story is family and love with a big ole dose of laughter and country living thrown in the mix. This is the first installment in what promises to be another fascinating series from Brown. Find a comfortable chair, sit back and relax, because once you start reading Long, Hot Texas Summer, you won’t be able to put it down. This is a super fun and sassy romance.”
—Thoughts in Progress
Daisies in the Canyon
“I just loved the symbolism in Daisies in the Canyon. As I mentioned before, Carolyn Brown has a way with character development with few if any contemporaries. I am sure there are more stories to tell in this series. Brown just touched the surface first with Long, Hot Texas Summer and now continuing on with Daisies in the Canyon.”
—Fresh Fiction
ALSO BY CAROLYN BROWN
CONTEMPORARY STAND-ALONE ROMANCES
The Sometimes Sisters
The Strawberry Hearts Diner
The Lilac Bouquet
The Barefoot Summer
The Lullaby Sky
The Wedding Pearls
The Ladies’ Room
Hidden Secrets
Long, Hot Texas Summer
Daisies in the Canyon
Trouble in Paradise
Lily’s White Lace
The Wager
That Way Again
THE CADILLAC, TEXAS SERIES
The Blue-Ribbon Jalapeño Society Jubilee
The Red-Hot Chili Cook-Off
The Yellow Rose Beauty Shop
THE LUCKY PENNY SERIES
Wild Cowboy Ways
Hot Cowboy Nights
Merry Cowboy Christmas
THE BROKEN ROAD SERIES
To Trust
To Commit
To Believe
To Dream
To Hope
THE BURNT BOOT SERIES
Cowboy Boots for Christmas (Cowboy Not Included)
The Trouble with Texas Cowboys
One Texas Cowboy Too Many
A Cowboy Christmas Miracle
THE LUCKY SERIES
Lucky in Love
One Lucky Cowboy
Getting Lucky
THE HONKY TONK SERIES
I Love This Bar
Hell, Yeah
My Give a Damn’s Busted
Honky Tonk Christmas
THE SPIKES & SPURS SERIES
Love Drunk Cowboy
Red’s Hot Cowboy
Darn Good Cowboy Christmas
One Hot Cowboy Wedding
Mistletoe Cowboy
Just a Cowboy and His Baby
Cowboy Seeks Bride
THE THREE MAGIC WORDS TRILOGY
A Forever Thing
In Shining Whatever
Life After Wife
THE OKLAHOMA LAND RUSH SERIES
Emma’s Folly
Maggie’s Mistake
Violet’s Wish
Just Grace
THE BLACK SWAN TRILOGY
Pushin’ Up Daisies
From Thin Air
Come High Water
THE DRIFTERS & DREAMERS TRILOGY
Morning Glory
Sweet Tilly
Evening Star
THE LOVE’S VALLEY SERIES
Choices
Absolution
Chances
Redemption
Promises
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
Text copyright © 2018 by Carolyn Brown
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.
Published by Montlake Romance, Seattle
www.apub.com
Amazon, the Amazon logo, and Montlake Romance are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc., or its affiliates.
ISBN-13: 9781503902350
ISBN-10: 1503902358
Cover design by Laura Klynstra
To my editor,
Megan Mulder.
With much appreciation
for continuing to believe in my stories!
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Chapter One
Jennie Sue Baker could almost hear the rumors buzzing around the small town of Bloom, Texas, when she stepped off the Greyhound bus in front of the Main Street Café that Monday at noon. On a slow day, gossip hung over the town like smoke in an old western honky-tonk. On a good day, in the opinion of the community, it obliterated the sun.
Today would definitely be a good day for Bloom, but to Jennie Sue, the target of all those rumors, it would be downright miserable.
She wiped sweat from her brow and then picked up the single suitcase that the driver set out on the sidewalk beside her. Glancing around as the bus pulled back out onto the highway, she expected to see her mother’s pearly-white Cadillac parked nearby, but it wasn’t anywhere in sight.
She set the suitcase down and seriously considered sitting on it. It wasn’t her mother’s fault—not really, because she hadn’t called her until an hour ago, and Charlotte was never on time for anything except her hair appointments. That was because the beauty salon was the breeding ground for the best talk in town.
Well, her mama had better hurry, because Jennie Sue Baker sitting on a suitcase on Main Street would stir up more than anything the beauty shop could dream up.
The smell of greasy burgers, bacon, and fries wafted across the street from the café. Her stomach reminded her that the package of crackers from a vending machine she’d had for breakfast had long since disappeared. Dragging her suitcase across the street, she was so focused on the café that she didn’t notice the vehicle pulling up to the curb only a few feet from her. When the driver honked, she jumped and glared at the car before she realized that it was her mother. She couldn’t see Charlotte’s face through the tinted windshield, but she could sure enough feel the icy-cold aura coming from the car when she opened the back door and shoved the suitcase inside.
“I’ve come up with a perfect story,” Charlotte started the moment that Jennie Sue was buckled up.
Jennie Sue wasn’t surprised at the first words out of her mother’s mouth, but she was disappointed. “Hello to you, too, Mama. It’s really good to see you. You look as beautiful as ever. Has it really been six months since I’ve seen you?”
“Don’t sass me,” Charlotte snapped. “We talk and text every week. And speaking of the last time I saw you, it doesn’t look like you’ve done anything to lose that extra ten pounds you’re carryin’ around.”
“I’d been in the hospital. Besides, I like food,” Jennie Sue said.
“Evidently,” Charlotte sighed. “Do you like looking like a homeless woman, too? When word gets out that you came in on a bus dressed like that, I won’t be able to hold my head up.” She eased the car out onto the street. “I bet Cricket was watchin’ from the café. Nothing escapes that girl’s eye.”
“I’m not a movie star, Mama, and I didn’t see any paparazzi fighting to get pictures of me. This is Bloom, not Los Angeles. I’m not that important.” She shifted in her seat. “So Cricket is still working at the café? She was working there when we were in high school.”
“In this town you are, and yes, she is. She don’t seem to have much ambition except when it comes to spreading gossip. Her brother, Rick, came back to Bloom a couple of years ago after the army. Folks say he’s pretty scarred up from a bomb that went off close to him. Now he’s just a farmer.” Charlotte slapped the steering wheel. “Dammit! There’s Amos closing up the bookstore. He’s probably on his way to the library to open it up this afternoon. And he carries tales to Lettie and Nadine Clifford.”
“They are still alive? Aren’t they over ninety?”
Charlotte nodded. “I think one of them is ninety and the other one is a little younger, like eighty-seven or eighty-eight. But, believe me, they’ll both live to be a hundred and spread chitchat every day of their lives, especially if it has anything to do with me or my ancestors. Those old biddies should have died years ago.”
It would be easier to alter the way the wind blew on any given day in West Texas than it would be to ever get Charlotte to change her mind, so Jennie Sue shifted the subject. “Okay, Mama, what’s this perfect cover story?”
Charlotte turned down the lane to the Baker estate. “You are only here on a visit. Percy is out of the country with his job, and your little sports car is in the shop for repairs. It’s simple, but I think it will work. No one needs to know that Percy left you or that you had a baby—or worse yet, that you’ve been holed up like a hermit since then.”
“That’s partly right. I am just here for a short while. I’ve gotten my degree and now I’m ready to work. I’m going to ask Daddy for a job,” she said.
“The hell you are!” Charlotte’s voice got shrill like it did just before she went into one of her famous fits.
“Yes, I am, and if he hasn’t got one for me, I’ll put out résumés and find one somewhere else. And, Mama, why not just tell the truth when someone asks? That’s what I plan to do. I don’t care what people think or say,” Jennie Sue said.
“You most certainly will not!” Charlotte fumed. “I’m going to have to ease into this to keep my name out of the mud.”
Jennie Sue could feel a headache coming on strong. She pinched the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger. “It’s going to come out eventually, Mama.”
“Keep your hands away from your nose. If we’re careful, no one will know. We covered up all that about the baby last Christmas, and that was bigger than this. Where are the rest of your things?” She glanced at the single suitcase in the back seat.
A pang of guilt stabbed Jennie Sue in the heart. She hadn’t stepped up and taken charge of her stillborn child’s funeral like she should have done. She’d let her mother railroad her into not having a service, and she hadn’t even been to Emily Grace’s grave site. This was the first time she’d been back.
“That’s all of it in the back seat. The feds only allowed me to take one suitcase full of personal clothing, and they went through every item to be sure I wasn’t sneaking anything out that coul
d be sold later. The apartment, my car, and the furniture are frozen until they locate Percy, which I doubt they’ll ever do,” Jennie Sue said past the lump in her throat.
“I thought when you signed the divorce papers, you kept your apartment and your car. And he was supposed to be giving you an alimony check,” Charlotte said.
“Turns out everything was still legally in his name. The last two alimony checks bounced. I had a few dollars put away in a savings account, but that dwindled pretty fast.” When her mother parked the car in front of the house, Jennie Sue tried to distract her. “What happened to Lester? That’s a new gardener over there.”
“I hated to let Lester go, but he’d gotten too old to keep up with the grounds. This new kid is right out of college, with a degree in architectural horticulture. He’s a big flirt, too, so you stay away from him. God almighty, the gossip would be devastating if you even looked at him cross-eyed,” Charlotte said.
Jennie Sue ignored her. “You haven’t gotten rid of Frank and Mabel, have you?”
“Lord, no! I couldn’t live without Mabel. She’s my right arm. She’ll be excited to see you, but stick to the story, even with her. Those damned Clifford sisters are her cousins, and she tells them stuff behind my back.” Charlotte got out of the car and tossed the keys at an elderly gray-haired man who came out of the garage. “Dust it off, Frank. There was construction going on down the street from the beauty shop.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Frank grinned at Jennie Sue.
In a couple of long strides, she crossed the distance between them and wrapped the old guy up in a fierce hug. “I’ve missed everyone so much.”
“Not as much as we have you, girl. And I got the first hug. Mabel is going to be so jealous.” He stepped back. “Bet you surprised your mama. How’d you get here? Fly into Dallas? Nicky, would you get that suitcase and take it inside for Miz Jennie Sue?”
“I came by bus and I believe I did surprise her. She was at the beauty shop when I called. And thank you, Nicky. We haven’t met.” She stuck out her hand to shake with him.
“I’ve only been workin’ here a few weeks,” Nicky said.
“Stayin’ awhile?” Frank glanced at the single suitcase Nicky was removing from the back seat of the car. “Or is this just an overnight trip?”
“I’m stayin’ for a long time,” Jennie Sue answered.
Small Town Rumors Page 1