Double Dating with the Dead by Karen Kelley (best fiction novels to read .txt) 📗

Now her mother was a con! “You just wait a minute.” Selena came to her feet, planting her hands on her hips. “Don’t you dare blame my mother for all this.”

Winnie stood. “Don’t worry, Selena. My son is as stubborn as the day is long. Come, Angela, it’s time we opened the store.”

“Mom…” Trent began.

Winnie raised her hand. “No, I won’t let you ruin the rest of my day with your foolishness.”

“Okay, fine.”

As soon as they left the room, he turned to Selena.

“Can you believe my mother?” He walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her.

“Remove your arms,” she said between gritted teeth.

“What did I do?” He stepped back.

“What did you do? You talked like their becoming friends was my mother’s fault.”

“You don’t think your mother’s trying to get close to mine in an attempt to help you?”

Oh, that was it. The straw that broke the camel’s back, the icing on the cake…. “Trent Sanders, you’re an ass. You can’t see that someone like my mother could be friends with your mother.”

“My mother is gullible.” He glared at her.

“Your mother has a brain, and she can think for herself. Maybe you’re the gullible one. Maybe you need to look around and see the world as it is.”

She turned and left the room before he could say another word. She was so going to make him grovel when Dixie and Wesley showed themselves!

Damn it, how could the morning start off so well and turn to utter crap. And now she wasn’t even going to have sex. Double damn!

Chapter 20

Trent wondered how one morning could start off so well only to slide down the drain like dirty water.

Damn it, he wasn’t even going to have sex. He’d thought about mentioning to Selena that they’d both been gung-ho to do a repeat performance of last night, but from the expression on her face, he didn’t think that reminding her would be such a good idea.

Selena knew how he felt, so what the hell was different? Maybe he shouldn’t have called her mother wacky.

Even if she was wacky.

Damn, and now his mother had hired Angela to work in her store. If that wasn’t a scheme to undermine him, then he didn’t know what was. Why couldn’t his mother see what was going on?

He poured another cup of coffee and headed toward the porch.

Trouble was, the more he was around Selena, the less he thought she might be scamming to make money off innocent people. Maybe that was what rubbed him wrong more than anything.

He started to sit in one of the rockers, but at the last minute changed his mind and sat on the rail, leaning back against the post.

If she wasn’t scamming the public, then it meant she really believed in ghosts.

She was crazy.

Oh, great, it was much better to think about her that way. He was having sex with someone who thought she could talk to dead people. Much better situation.

“I see you made it through the storm last night,” Matilda said, startling him so that he almost spilled his coffee.

He set his cup on the rail. “Morning, Matilda. You and Hiram make it okay?”

“Downed a limb in the back but other than that we’re fine and dandy.”

She wiped her hands on her apron and took in a deep breath and looked around. She bent and brushed the petals of a dainty blue flower.

“Isn’t it odd how something so fragile could weather the storm and look all fresh and pretty the next day? Makes you wonder how it survived.” She looked up with a smile on her face. “There are lots of things in this world that a person can’t explain. You just have to open your eyes and accept.”

She’d been talking to Selena again. “I don’t believe in ghosts if that’s the point you’re trying to get across. Sorry.” And he realized he was apologetic. Maybe Matilda had hoped to convince him, but no matter what happened between him and Selena, he would never believe in ghosts. It just wasn’t going to happen.

“How long have you and Hiram lived here?” Rather than get into an argument with her about whether ghosts existed or not, Trent changed the subject.

Matilda placed her hands on her ample hips and looked around. “Hiram and I have lived here for as long as I can remember. Lot of changes been made since we first came to the area. Some good and some not so good.”

She suddenly laughed.

“You know, Hiram rode up to my daddy’s house one day on his horse. We knew each other from church socials and what not. He just up and asked me if I wanted to marry him.”

She must be older than she looked. He knew it wasn’t unheard of that a country boy wouldn’t have a car, and a lot of the World War II generation married really young.

“I guess you said yes.”

There was a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. “Not right off. I made him wait a few days before I told him I’d be his bride. I never regretted a day we’ve been together, though. He’s been a good husband.”

“I’m glad for you both.”

“Once you find the woman you were meant to be with, you’ll know it, too. Won’t matter what she does or what she believes in, either. Not when she’s your soul mate. A soul mate can weather any storm and the love lasts forever.”

Great, now she was matchmaking. He didn’t know which was worse, trying to make him believe in ghosts or getting him hitched to Selena.

“I best be getting back to Hiram. He doesn’t like me to be away from him for very long.”

“It was nice talking with you.” And he meant it. He enjoyed his visits with Matilda.

She turned before going around the corner of the hotel. “You and that girl spoon last night?”

“I…uh…” He could feel the heat rise up his face.

“You make an honest woman of her. Don’t want to ruin her reputation.”