“Earth to Sarah Booth!” Jitty was done with Alex Forrest and back to her normal self, wearing my favorite jeans and my new silk blouse. She’d adorned herself with a string of red and green Christmas lights. She felt free to help herself to whatever I had.
“I’m here.”
“Just mooning over that man again, aren’t you?”
“Maybe.” It didn’t do any good to lie to Jitty. She could smell the truth like Sweetie Pie could jump the scent of a villain.
Jitty preened a little, and the red and green lights glowed brighter. “You got it bad for that man.”
“Maybe.”
“Is he going to put a ring on it?”
“Maybe.”
“Do you want a ring?”
That question stopped me short. I’d had one engagement ring in my sordid romantic history, and my fiancé had almost broken my heart asunder. “I like things just fine the way they are right now. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Coleman and I were adults with no dependents and no real family. No one—except Jitty—cared if we lived in sin or not. Most of my friends had engaged in sin and were experts at it. Not a single one of them ever mentioned the m word.
“Don’t you want what Libby and James Franklin had?”
Jitty could be a downright devil when she set her mind to it, and this was one of those times. “Mama and Daddy came up at a different time. They wanted children. They wanted a legacy.”
“And you don’t?”
This was sacrilege to Jitty. She had badgered me for months to get pregnant and produce an heir so that Dahlia House would remain in the Delaney family and she would have someone to haunt after I passed on. Watching the effects of pregnancy on Tinkie, I wasn’t so certain I wanted to sign up for that experience firsthand. I didn’t know a thing about birthing—or raising—babies, and I kind of intended to keep it that way.
“Sarah Booth, you don’t want to have a baby girl and give her the gifts Libby gave you?”
Now Jitty was hitting me in my weak spot. “I don’t know that I can. I lost too much, Jitty. I don’t know that I can risk losing a child.”
She stepped back and gave me a long look. “That I can understand.”
My jaw almost hit the floor. Jitty was never understanding. This new development made me wary. Did I have a fatal illness? Was something going to happen to Coleman? Or Tinkie? Or one of my pets? “What’s wrong with you?”
She laughed. “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make her drink.”
That was one of Aunt Loulane’s favorite sayings whenever she thought I was being muleheaded. “I am not being stubborn. I have a right to protect my heart. Smart people do that.”
“Uh-huh.”
I had to get out of this corner. “Tinkie is cooking up a little trip for all of us to take. I’m going to be gone a few days.”
“You’re leavin’? At Christmas?”
I had her attention now. “Before Christmas, and only across the state. We’re going to stay at an exclusive B and B—we’ll have the entire place to ourselves. And we’re going to participate in a bunch of Christmas activities.”
“Where are you goin’?”
“Columbus, the birthplace of Tennessee Williams and home of the W, where Eudora Welty went to school to get her college degree. It’s a beautiful little city.”
“You’ll be back for Christmas Eve?”
A twinge of guilt bit me like a nasty flea. “Of course I’ll be home for Christmas Eve.”
“That man goin’ with you?”
“Yes, he is. And Tinkie and Oscar, Cece and Jaytee, Harold, and even Millie is going to take some time to go with us. It’s Tinkie’s Christmas present to all of us.” Tinkie Richmond was my partner in the Delaney Detective Agency, and her husband, Oscar, ran the bank in town. Cece was a journalist, Jaytee a hot blues musician, Harold worked at the bank with Oscar and was Zinnia’s premier party-giver, and Millie was the best cook in the Southeast and ran the café named for her.
Jitty rolled her eyes. “I see trouble comin’ down the road at a fast gallop. You think you can all load up and go somewhere and not get in big trouble?”
“We’re going Christmas shopping and to attend a tree lighting and a Wassail Fest. We’re celebrating. We don’t have a case, so we won’t be in any trouble. We’re going to be festive.”
“That strikes fear in my heart.” Jitty dramatically clasped her chest.
I left the sofa and went to the kitchen to stir the gumbo. It was the perfect temperature. I buttered some crispy French bread and turned the oven to preheat. Coleman should be walking in the door.
“What did you get me for Christmas?” Jitty asked.
“You’re a ghost. What could I get you for Christmas?”
“I’ll make a list. Before you go.”
“Be quick, we’re heading out in the morning. And I have plans for tonight!”
“You’re a wicked girl.” Jitty grinned her approval. “Keep that man happy.”
“Those are my intentions.”
I heard a truck pulling up at the front of the house and Jitty disappeared in a swirl of snowflakes that melted before they hit the floor. Coleman was home and I had a special little gift just for him. It was going to be a long, pleasurable night.
2
Coleman loaded our luggage into the trunk of the honking big limo that Tinkie had insisted on renting. We were the last couple to be picked up. Oscar, Harold, Jaytee, Millie, Tinkie, and Cece were already in the car.
“You’re sure DeWayne doesn’t mind feeding the animals?” It was hard for me to let go of control when it came to my beloved cats, dogs, and horses. DeWayne Dattilo was Coleman’s oldest deputy, and
