“Okay, next one,” Amos said. “How many of you have read Gone with the Wind more than once, and would you reread Scarlett?”

Jennie Sue’s hand shot up in the air. Anything to get her mind off her inability to touch the ground where Emily was buried. “I’ve read them both multiple times already.” She didn’t tell them that both books and Rhett Butler’s People had helped her keep her sanity when she lost her baby.

“Got anything to add, Jennie Sue, before we go on to the next question?” Amos asked.

“I’m so sorry. I was woolgatherin’. What was the question?”

“Did Scarlett change because she’d lost Bonnie Blue and she wanted to be a good mother to her daughter Cat?”

“I would think that maybe Scarlett must have felt an extra strong bond with her new daughter after losing Bonnie Blue.” Hopefully, she’d answered it well enough without going into detail.

Rick nodded.

“Agreed,” Amos said. “It’s been a great discussion. Anyone got anything to add?”

“Yes, when are we eatin’ the snacks?” Nadine said. “I saw that whiskey bacon over there, so let’s get to it.”

Cricket pushed back her chair and led the way to the refreshment table. “Good discussion, everyone. Did y’all hear that Belinda, one of the Belles, almost didn’t go on that spa trip because she’s been sick? I wonder what’s wrong with her.”

Rick stepped up behind Jennie Sue and whispered, “If we’re going into business together, we need to know the gossip rules. Number one is that you don’t discuss the people who are within hearing distance. Belinda is a safe topic because she’s not here.”

His warm breath on her neck caused tingles to chase down her spine. “What’s the number-two rule?”

“I can see that you aren’t up on the rumor protocol.” He took a couple of steps to the side so he was facing her. “The second rule is to never write anything down or send a text. Phones are fine since no one has a party line anymore, but the best way to spread it is word of mouth. You want plausible deniability.”

“Thanks for explaining it to me. I’ll need to be up on all the regulations.” She kept a serious expression, but it wasn’t easy.

“And the last rule is that whatever comes in must be spread real quick. If you sit on it more than a day, you are committing a sin,” he drawled. “When it comes back to us, we can sugar it up and resell it.”

“Is that a little like reissuing a book? Put a new cover on it and change the title and it becomes new?” she asked.

“What’s been reissued?” Cricket asked. “I wish they’d make a law that all reissued books had to have a little sticker on the front cover so us readers wouldn’t buy something we’ve already got.”

“We’re talkin’ about our rumor business,” Rick said.

“That again? Y’all are crazy.” Cricket turned her back on them.

“Now that you know the rules, you will be held accountable.” His eyes sparkled. “This cake looks really good. I love pralines.”

Cricket’s phone rang, and she fished it from her purse. “Sure I can. Be glad to. See you in the morning.” She turned around. “Elaine needs me to work tomorrow. The high school girl who usually picks up a shift on Saturday has that stomach bug that’s going around.”

“What about the farmers’ market?” Rick asked.

“You’ll have to run it by yourself, brother. We need the money too bad for me to turn down shifts, and besides, Elaine has been so good to us. I can’t turn her down,” Cricket said.

“I love farmers markets. If you want me to, I can help,” Jennie Sue said.

The whole place went silent. Finally, Lettie spoke up. “You think that’s a good idea with all that’s bein’ said?”

“I can’t afford to hire help,” Rick said.

“If we show everyone that we are just friends, then maybe the rumors will stop. And I’ll take out my pay in food. How about another bag of pecans and a watermelon?” Jennie Sue said.

“Girl, you are gettin’ good at this barterin’,” Nadine said. “Clean a house for your rent and now workin’ for produce. I like it. We used to do a lot of that when I was a girl.”

“Don’t get started on the old days, Nadine,” Lettie scolded. “We’ll be here all night if you transport her and Amos back in time.”

“Well, pardon me.” Nadine wiggled her skinny neck better than any teenager that Jennie Sue had ever seen.

Rick moved over to the table with Amos, and they started talking about something called Little Free Libraries. She’d seen pictures of them on Pinterest. Folks put little boxes on posts in front of their houses and filled them with used books. The idea was to take a book and leave a book so there was always something to read. She thought it was a wonderful notion, even with a library in town. The Little Free Libraries were open twenty-four-seven, and folks could always find something to read that way.

“Do you have one of those in your front yard?” Jennie Sue asked, sitting down beside Cricket.

“Yes, we do. It’s Rick’s dream to have them at every house in the whole town. He has this vision of even tourists stoppin’ to use them,” Cricket said, and then leaned over and whispered, “I’m tellin’ you up front, I don’t like the idea of you going to the market with Rick, but he needs help, and I’ve got to do that double shift.”

“It’s not a date and it’s not every week,” Jennie Sue protested.

“Thank goodness,” Cricket snapped, and then changed her tone. “Lettie, darlin’, come over here and sit with us girls. Those guys are all plannin’ Rick’s stand idea.” Cricket turned back to Jennie Sue. “I intend to put out the news that y’all had a big argument at the market and you’ve broken off your relationship.”

“Kind of difficult to break something off that hasn’t even begun.” Jennie Sue’s tone could be every bit as cold as her mother’s.

“That’s not what the talk in town says—I’m nippin’ it in the bud,” Cricket said.

“Be careful,” Lettie said in all seriousness. “You might cause a bigger problem than if you let the whole thing die in its sleep. We all know that they’re just friends, and pretty soon everyone else will know it, too.”

Cricket changed the subject without commenting on Lettie’s advice. “So what’s our book for next month?”

“I’d like to do a mystery this time. Maybe the newest Sue Grafton?” Nadine offered.

“How about instead of the newest, we go back and do the first one, A Is for Alibi, and then do one of her newer ones and compare them?” Cricket suggested.

Jennie Sue didn’t like to read mysteries, and right then, she wasn’t too fond of Cricket. She’d just invent an excuse not to go to the book-club meeting the next month. Maybe by then she’d have a lead on a new job in Dallas or Austin.

Rick tossed and turned for an hour after he crawled into bed. Finally, he got up, made himself a cup of hot chocolate, and carried it back to his room. Cricket was in a snit, but then, she’d never liked Jennie Sue. She might come around someday, but maybe not. It didn’t matter anyway. He could be friends, even long-distance friends, with Jennie Sue, whether his sister was or not.

When he awoke before daylight the next morning, he tiptoed around in the house so that he didn’t wake his sister. Elaine had offered Cricket a ride, but she wouldn’t show until a bit before nine o’clock. While he was being considerate, he also didn’t want another lecture. He just wanted to spend the day with Jennie Sue.

He loaded his truck bed, and an hour later, he parked in Lettie’s driveway, expecting to go up to the door and knock. But Jennie Sue came out of the shadows and got into the truck before he could even shut off the engine.

“Hello. Don’t you just love the smell of early morning?” She held up a brown paper bag. “I brought a thermos of coffee and biscuits stuffed with sausage. They’re those kind you buy in the frozen-food department, but I promise I cooked the sausage all by myself.”