Neely Kate took a defensive stance as if they were about to duel. “July 1st.”
“Oh, my goodness.” Hilary placed her hand on her chest. “Mine’s a week later. July 8th. Wouldn’t it be amazing if we had our babies on the same day?”
“What?” Neely Kate gasped.
Hilary ignored her less than enthusiastic response. “Just think about it . . . our babies are gonna grow up together!”
“So you’re planning on staying in Henryetta?” I asked.
“I’ve rented a house a couple of blocks from here. It’s quite charming. I think the owner is going to let me buy it.” Her right eyelid twitched, and her eyes hardened. “I’m not going anywhere.”
To heck with it. I’d give civility a shot some other day.
I put my hands on my hips. “Why in tarnation do you think I care if you live here or not?”
Her grin tightened. “I just want you to know where things stand between me and Joe.”
“I don’t give a flying fig how things stand between you and Joe.” My voice rose higher. “I’m livin’ with Mason Deveraux. Why would I care?”
“Just in case you get an urge to see if the grass is greener in my backyard.” She took a step closer. “I’m warning you—I won’t put up with any trespassing.”
“You are unbelievable!” Neely Kate shouted. “Who the hell do you think you are?”
The woman behind the counter, who had reappeared, looked worried. “Can you please keep it down? There are other customers here.”
I shot a quick glance to the homeless-looking guy at the table ten feet from us. He was gripping his take-out cup of coffee so tightly the cardboard was denting. Judging from the expression on his face, he was definitely enjoying the show.
“Neely Kate, darling. You should calm down. You’re in a delicate condition,” Hilary said, her voice smooth as honey.
“I’ve faced a hell of a lot worse than you today, you lizard-tongued monster!” Neely Kate shouted, bobbing her head. “I can take you any day of the week.”
I grabbed her arm. “Neely Kate. Let it go. She’s not worth it.”
She shrugged me off. “No, Rose! She thinks she can get away with whatever she wants, and she does because no one ever stands up to her.” Neely Kate moved closer to Hilary until they were about a foot apart. She had to tilt her head back to look the taller woman in the eye. “You don’t scare me, Hilary Wilder. There’s absolutely nothing you can do to me or Rose, so don’t even try.”
Hilary’s eyes glittered with anger, and her gaze turned to me. “Are you sure about that, Rose?”
The blood rushed from my head.
She knew.
Neely Kate stepped between the two of us. “What are you talking about?”
How did she know about J.R.’s blackmail? Did Joe tell her?
An evil grin lifted the corners of Hilary’s mouth. “Ask Rose.”
“I’m not asking Rose. I’m asking you.”
Hilary’s grin faded. “Don’t pick a fight with me, Neely Kate. I am one person you don’t want to tangle with.” She gave us a final distasteful look before glancing at the woman behind the counter. “These women are verbally accosting me. If this is your usual clientele, I think I’ll do business elsewhere.”
The older woman’s eyes widened in panic. “You two need to leave.”
“What?” Neely Kate screeched.
“You’re shouting and disrupting the customers. You need to leave.”
“No!” Neely Kate shouted. “She’s the one who came in here, riling things up. We were here first.”
An older man stepped out from the back room, a phone pressed to his ear. “No need to make them leave, Opal. I called the police, and Officer Ernie is on his way.”
I tugged on her arm. “Neely Kate, we need to go. Now.”
“No!” She turned to me, her eyes blazing. “It’s not right, Rose! If we leave, we’re lettin’ her win. Again.”
She had a point, but I had no doubt that the Henryetta police would be here in a matter of minutes. The gloating look on Hilary’s face was almost enough to make me stand in solidarity with my friend, but I was a firm believer in picking your battles. Plus, if Hilary knew about J.R.’s blackmail material, I didn’t want to provoke her.
I grabbed Neely Kate’s shoulders. “Don’t think of it as letting her win the war. Think of it as letting her win the skirmish.”
“Listen to your friend, Neely Kate,” Hilary said, pretending to look at her nails.
The look in Neely Kate’s eyes was murderous.
Grabbing her hand, I dragged her toward the door as sirens sounded in the distance. “Neely Kate, you can’t hit a pregnant woman. Let’s go. Now.”
She stopped resisting me and allowed me to shove her into the truck. After I got in and pulled out of the parking lot, Neely Kate turned to me in dismay. “But I didn’t get my ice cream!”
“It’s okay,” I said. “I’ll drop you off at the Burger Shack. But first we need to find Joe.”
“What on earth for?”
“To keep us out of jail,” I said, cringing at the sight of the flashing lights pulling into the parking lot we’d just left.
Chapter Fourteen