totally thrilled when I married Dwight, and she worries
that I’m going to mess up if I’m not careful.
“Of course not,” I said.
“Because he may be crazy about you, but Cal’s his
son.”
“Like I need a lecture on this? After four years of
family court? After watching Kidd Chapin’s daughter
make him choose between her and me? Hell, Por! I may
be dumb, but I’m not stupid. Cal and I got along just
fine before Jonna died. I’m pretty sure he liked me back
then and he’ll probably like me again once he settles
in. It’s a rough time for him, a lot of adjustments, but
I don’t think he wants to split Dwight and me up. He’s
not a conniver like Amber. Besides, boys don’t usually
think like that. My brothers and their sons have always
been pretty easy to read, even when they were getting
ready to bend the rules or break the law. Unlike my
nieces. Girls are out there plotting three moves ahead.
Remember?”
“Oh, sugar!” she said with a grin, and I knew she
was recalling some of the stuff we used to get into, the
way we could manipulate teachers and boyfriends from
kindergarten on.
She pulled out a pack of Life Savers, the latest weapon
in her diet arsenal and offered me one. The clean smell
of peppermint filled the car.
“Have you talked to your friend Flame since Buck
Harris’s body was identified?” I asked.
“Yeah, she stopped by for coffee this afternoon on her
way back to Wilmington. She said there was no reason
for her to stay, that his ex-wife and daughter certainly
243
MARGARET MARON
wouldn’t save her a seat at any memorial service and she
didn’t want to add to his daughter’s grief.”
“She okay herself?”
“Not right now, but she will be. I’m not going to
say she didn’t really love him, but I’m sure his bank ac-
count helped, so I doubt if her heart’s completely bro-
ken. Besides, Flame’s always known when to cut her
losses.”
“Not a total loss, though, is it?” I said as I dimmed
my lights for an oncoming car.
“Reid told her she was in the will. She didn’t say for
how much though.”
“Dwight kicked me out of his office before I could
get Reid to tell me, but remember when he took your
umbrella this morning?”
“And did
