Barbecue and Bad News (15 page)

“That’s true.”

“I picked out some letters from what you sent over. I’ll drop those off for you while I’m in town.”

“Thanks. I appreciate you doing that. Maybe now Andrew can actually write something. I swear he’s been sitting out there in that cube staring at the computer screen ever since you left. Not sure he’s going to be cut out for this. Not your problem, though.”

She hoped that would remain the case.

“Now get to work and write me those stories.”

“I’m on it. Thought of an interesting angle yesterday about the ratio of men to women in small towns. Could be fun.”

Evelyn let out a happy shriek. “Oh, my goodness. That could be great, like a twenty-first-century
Looking for Mr. Goodbar
, only more like looking for Mr. . . .”

“Mr. Feed and Seed?”

“That’s hysterical.”

Not talking stories was nearly impossible for the two of them.

“I’ve got to run. I’ll drop that stuff off to you tomorrow.”

Savannah hung up the phone. She and Franklin had never really gotten along. He was way too big for his britches. She’d found out the hard way when she’d given in and gone out on a date with him. Big mistake. He was always on shaky ground with Evelyn. He’d tried a couple of times to better his reputation by trying to sully hers. Thank goodness, Evelyn knew better. Savannah could do without his tacky come-ons too. The guy would never give up. Hopefully, she could stay out of his sights at the dinner.

He’d give his eyeteeth to be in Evelyn’s good graces . . . or better yet, Savannah’s eyeteeth!

Savannah worked on the second article for GINN for a little while, but the truth was she couldn’t get her mind off that police blotter entry that Scott had told her to forget about. It kept nagging at her. She glanced at the clock. She had just enough time to get to that class over at Happy Balance. She was already in her yoga pants. She could totally still make it. Work, or research?

She didn’t even need to flip a coin to decide. She jumped from her chair and got the rest of her clothes to match the pants, then ran down the stairs. Mike was just getting ready to climb the stairs when she hit the bottom step.

“Where are you off to in such a big hurry?”

She hopped to the landing. “I’m going to check out the yoga class.”

“Oh, you’ll probably like it. My girlfriend’s best friend runs the place.”

That caught Savannah’s attention. “Really? What’s her name?”

“Jenny. She and Brooke moved here from Virginia Beach not long ago.”

Just as Jack had said. “I’ll have to look for her.”

“Good luck with that class. I went down there one night. I thought that slow yoga stuff would be for sissies, but I have to tell you it about kicked my ass.”

“I’ll let you know how it goes.”

He grabbed the railing and began to head upstairs. “You do that.”

She stepped out onto the sidewalk wondering if she should have stuck to the Scrabble smoothie plan.

It was only a short walk to the yoga studio, but she didn’t know if she’d need to register, so she didn’t dawdle. When she grabbed the handle of the heavy wooden storefront door, there must have been at least twenty people already there. A few sipped smoothies while the die-hards were already on their mats stretching or meditating. She wandered through the space, checking out the artwork on the walls. None of them seemed too extra special. In fact, most were just sayings and quotes with silhouettes of people in various poses. Unless you called the corpse pose a threat, she wasn’t seeing anything to worry about. Maybe Scott was right. She shrugged off the nagging doubt and focused on the opportunity to give something new a try.

“Can I help you?” asked a pretty gal dressed in black yoga pants and a nearly transparent flowing, colorful top over a black camisole. The top was so wispy it made her look as delicate as a butterfly.

“Yes. I’m just in town visiting. I’ve never done yoga, but always wanted to try. I thought I’d do that today. Here.”

“Perfect! I’d love that. I’m Jenn. I own the place.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Savannah. You must be Brooke’s best friend.”

“You know Brooke?” Her face lit up.

“Not exactly. I’m renting the apartment next to her boyfriend. He mentioned it.”

“Mike is amazing. Come with me. I’ll show you the locker room so you can put your keys and stuff away. Then, we’ll get you a mat, and trust me . . . you are going to love this. Don’t overextend, just move however your body lets you.”

“I’m probably going to make a fool of myself.”

“No! Oh, no. You just get into your zone. Trust me, the people around you just fall away when you get to the right place. No one is watching you. No one is judging you. I promise.”

“I might have to live here then.”

“I know what you mean.”

Savannah cast a sweeping look around the space. “You’ve got some nice artwork in here.”

Jenn looked around. “I wanted to create something peaceful and uplifting.”

“You’ve accomplished that.”

“Thanks.” Jenn turned and backed into the door to the locker room, pushing it open with her rear end. “This is the locker room. All of the lockers have a key already in the lock for you. Just take one.” Jenn dug a melon-colored wristband with her logo on it from her pocket. “You can just slip the key right into the little pocket on this. My gift to you just for showing up to try.”

“Thank you. That’s a great idea.” Savannah slipped off her shoes and put them in the locker. “That mural is amazing.” And this time it wasn’t just small talk. The painting covered every square inch of the wall and extended right up to the ceiling into one of those sky murals that made you forget you were inside, like the ones at the Venetian in Vegas.

Jenn sucked in a breath. “Long story about that.”

“Must have cost a fortune.”

“Nope. Barely cost a thing, actually.” Jenn scrunched her lips and stared at the mural. “That should have clued me in that something was wrong. I thought I was being a brilliant barterer. It is pretty, though. You should see the one in the men’s locker room. You think this is amazing. That one is . . .” Her voice trailed off and she didn’t even finish her sentence. “Come on.” Jenn led the way to a rack full of yoga mats. “Pick one.”

Savannah picked out a purple mat and followed Jenn back out front. She wondered if the murals had anything to do with that message. She cursed herself for getting caught up in the idea that there was something behind that police blotter entry. Scott had already said it was nothing, and he sure did have his thumb on the pulse of this town.

“Do I need to fill out any paperwork or anything?”

Jenn shook her head. “No. Just enjoy your afternoon with us and catch up with me at the smoothie bar afterwards. Deal?”

“Deal.”

“Class starts in about five minutes.”

Savannah hung back. “I’ll be right there. I just want to enjoy this painting for a moment.”

Jenn gave her an awkward smile, then one of the other ladies grabbed her and they walked out of the locker room together talking about the intricacies of something that must have been a yoga move, because it wasn’t anything she’d ever heard of before.

Leaning against her locker, Savannah examined the painting. It was truly beautiful art. There wasn’t one evil thing about it that she could see. Even the colors were peaceful. Colorful hot air balloons filled a perfect sky. Different shapes and colors. There were the regular lightbulb-shaped ones, and fancy ones, like one that looked like a sunflower, another that looked like Darth Vader, and one that looked like a cabin that was so intricate that she wondered if they could really even fly a balloon with so many chambers.

As the room began to empty, Savannah headed out to the main room and took a spot in the far back corner.

An hour later Savannah felt like she’d had one of the best workouts she’d ever been through, and yet there hadn’t been one pounding running move or one grunting lift. She hit the locker room, took a quick shower, and then memorized that mural as she toweled off. No matter how she tried to twist the bright colors or images into some sort of symbolism, it didn’t make sense that this would upset anyone. Even the clouds were playful shapes. The one in the far right that had a stormy color to it looked like a squishy, soft stuffed bunny. She gathered her things and went out to the smoothie bar.

A huge container of cucumber water sat on the end of the brightly colored counter, where Jenn and another gal were pushing smoothies across to a few of the people who had been in the class and a couple of folks who seemed to have just stopped in for one.

Jenn waved to Savannah. “I made one of my special JB smoothies for you.”

“JB?”

“Jenn’s Balance.” She winked as she handed the bright-purple concoction across the bar. “What’s the use of having your own business if you can’t name some cool stuff after yourself?”

“Thanks,” Savannah said, and took a sip from the neon pink straw. “Very good.” She took another sip. “You know, I have an amazing recipe for a protein brownie. They’d be perfect for in here.”

“Well, aren’t you just a little Rachael Ray or something.”

“No, but Momma would have given that little girl a run for her money. There was a time when my favorite thing was to be in that kitchen with my mom.”

A short brunette walked into the studio wearing a pair of jeans and a suit jacket. “Hey.” She joined them at the bar. “What’s up?”

“Brooke, meet someone new in town. This is Savannah. She just moved in with your boyfriend.”

Brooke’s eyes went wide.

“Not like that,” Savannah said, trying to stop the joke before it went too far, besides the writer in her would die to hear her side of the story of that abduction. Looking at the pretty girl, she couldn’t even imagine something so awful happening to her. “You must be Mike’s girlfriend. I’m renting the apartment next to his.”

Brooke extended her hand. “Nice to meet you. We’re pretty new to town still too.”

“Oh, I didn’t move here. I’m just renting the apartment for a week.”

“Mike mentioned he had a neighbor and that he’d kind of blasted you half out of the apartment your first morning there.”

“It was no big deal. I was up; in fact, it was pretty good timing. I’d just been working and thinking I needed some music when he started rocking out. There wasn’t a radio in there, so it worked out kind of nice actually.”

Brooke winced. “He does love that classic rock.”

“It was fine. I like my rock a little more Southern, but he happened to pick the right song for my mood that morning.”

“Me too,” Brooke said. “If you like country music, you ought to come down to the barn dance this weekend.”

“You should come,” Jenn said.

“Maybe I will.”

“Everyone will be there.” Brooke hopped up on one of the stools.

Savannah said, “A lot happens in this little town of yours. I was at the parade this weekend.”

Jenn smiled wide. “Is Hillcrest Joyful Kixx not the most beautiful creature you’ve ever laid eyes on?”

Brooke nudged Jenn. “That’s just because you own part of him.”

“Really?” That piqued Savannah’s interest. She’d always thought only the rich and famous owned racehorses. “I overheard someone saying y’all are moving him here to Adams Grove. That’s pretty cool. Do you live on a farm nearby?”

Jenn poured a glass of water. “Oh, I live upstairs. No room for a racehorse here. I just own a piece of him. My boyfriend and I recently bought interest in him. Cody Tuggle’s mother raised him. She has several racehorses. She’s moving her whole operation here.”

“A piece of a racehorse is still more than most people ever even dream of owning,” Savannah said.

Jenn’s lips pursed. “Come to think of it, maybe I should have asked which piece. I probably own an elbow or something.”

“Maybe you’re better off not knowing,” Savannah said.

They all laughed, and Savannah was enjoying getting to know Brooke and Jenn. She really didn’t have any girlfriends her age, and this had turned out to be relaxing and fun. Maybe it was the yoga that had her so chilled out.

“You mentioned you’re new in town. How did you and Mike meet?” she asked Brooke.

“I was doing farm visits. I’m the extension agent here. Mike was watching over the farm where Cody’s mom is going to be moving. There was an instant attraction.” Brooke looked starry-eyed.

“I was talking to someone the other day who said there are way more men in this town than women. That must have worked out for you.”

“For Jenn too. We both met guys since we’ve been here. Maybe you should stick around.”

“Or not. I’m not sure I’m the relationship type. I’ve been married before.”

Brooke nodded. “I know exactly what you mean. My first marriage was a disaster. I thought if I ever got out of it, I’d never even date again. But I guess you have to be careful about those ‘never’ statements. They have a way of biting you in the butt and proving you wrong.”

“I don’t think that will happen in my case,” Savannah said. “But I won’t say never . . . just so I don’t jinx it.”

“Good plan,” Brooke said.

“So that was pretty lucky that your horse won the Derby. That’s a big deal,” Savannah said.