“And they had three kids—Alan Jackson, Dolly Parton, and Tommy Lee.”
My mouth dropped. “Oh, no.”
Her grin spread across her face. “Oh, yes.”
“Why didn’t I meet them at your wedding?”
She hesitated. “They couldn’t go. Uncle Melvin had a family reunion in Louisiana they had to attend. Dolly was supposed to be a bridesmaid, but her grandma on her dad’s side threatened to disown her if she didn’t show up for the forty-sixth annual Muston Family Fish Fry. Her granny’s half-owner of a shrimp boat, so you can see Dolly’s dilemma.”
I didn’t see the dilemma, but I wasn’t about to ask. Instead, I shook my head, still stuck on their names. “I get the country singers, but Tommy Lee . . . ?”
She shrugged. “Granny says Aunt Thelma went through a rebellious hard rock stage.” She lowered her voice and leaned forward. “We don’t like to talk about it.”
“Okay . . .” I wanted to point out that his name made it pretty hard to keep something like that under wraps, but I let it drop.
“And would you know, Tommy Lee is this meek little thing in his late teens, and Alan Jackson is in his mid-twenties and hell on wheels.”
“And Dolly Parton?”
“She’s the middle child and a blend of both of the boys. A little wild sometimes, but she always runs home. Still, Aunt Thelma’s worried.”
“What’s she gonna do?”
“She’s gonna wait a day or so for her to turn up before doin’ anything.”
I shook my head. I had enough troubles of my own. I didn’t need to get mixed up in someone else’s. “Say, you don’t happen to know a bookkeeper, do you? Violet kept the books, and I don’t have the time to do ’em myself even if I did understand them.”
“My Aunt Wilma would have been great, but she’s in prison now, so she can’t be of any help.”
“You’d recommend your imprisoned aunt? Seriously?”
Her forehead wrinkled in confusion. “Why not? She was the best bookkeeper in northern Fenton County, although her reign at best was short-lived.” Her eyes lit up. “Oh! You think she embezzled money or something.”
I gave her a sheepish half-shrug. “It crossed my mind.”
Neely Kate shook her head. “Aunt Wilma might be a lot of things, but she ain’t no thief.”
“Then what’s she in prison for?”
“There was an . . . unfortunate incident involving the first best bookkeeper. Which is how she took the crown for a time.”
I was afraid to ask how she’d advanced her position, let alone who was responsible for ranking the county’s bookkeepers. Some things about Neely Kate’s family were best left to the unknown.
“Yeah, it was a real shame when she got locked up. Totally changed my career path.”
That caught my attention. “How so?”
“I was studying accounting at the community college in Magnolia so I could go into business with Aunt Wilma. I was already working for her around my class schedule.” She sighed. “I needed a job when she got locked up.” Her lips pursed. “And that’s the sad story of how I ended up working in the Fenton County Personal Property Tax department.”
“You know bookkeeping?” I asked in surprise.
“Yeah. I was one semester shy of graduating with my associate’s degree. I’m a bit rusty, but I do most of my family’s taxes.”
“Perfect! Do you think you can look at my accounting? Well, I mean the nursery’s.”
“Is it on QuickBooks?”
“No. Violet gave me a ledger.” I slid my chair over to a file cabinet and opened a drawer, pulling out the blue book.
After I handed it to Neely Kate, she opened the cover and scanned a couple of pages before closing her eyes and groaning. “No wonder your money was a cotton-picking mess.” She sat up, pinning me with her gaze. “Not to mention that using a ledger rather than a spreadsheet would make it about ten times easier for your sister to skim money out of the company.”
“So, can you look at it for me?”
Neely Kate scowled.
“Please? Just help me out until I find someone else since your Aunt Thelma’s incarcerated.” I paused. “Say, when’s she gettin’ out?”
She turned a few more pages. “From the looks of this mess, it won’t be nearly soon enough.”
“But you’ll do it? I’ll do anything you want.”
“Anything?” she asked with an evil gleam.
Any other person would take advantage of my offer, but Neely Kate wasn’t like most people. I wasn’t worried.
“You have to go to bingo night with me and my grandma next week.”
Neely Kate had been trying to coerce me to go for ages. “Fine. But I’m not putting out any lucky charms.” According to Neely Kate, her grandmother brought so many tiny stuffed animals and knick-knacks for good luck, it took her ten minutes to set them up around her bingo cards.
She shook her head. “No can do. Granny’ll have a conniption. You know how superstitious she is.”