Divas Do Tell Read Online Free Page B

wears her dark hair over her shoulders and big, chunky jewelry that she makes herself. Today she had on turquoise earrings, necklace, and a couple bracelets. She also had a big glass of wine in one hand. I immediately crossed to the wet bar and found all the necessary items to do the same. Cindy has a nice wine cooler tucked under the small sink and a rack of glasses. The downstairs has a walk-out to the yard that looks over the lake. Double French doors open onto a deck. A door leads down to a cellar that’s apparently the kids’ playroom since that’s where Gaynelle had put the pit bull. Most of the houses on the lake have a basement, some that can be used as a storm cellar and some with walk-outs.
    Carolann Barnett, who hired me to supplement my meager savings by selling lovely lingerie in her shop, came to give me a big hug and recommend the peanut butter fudge. “Homemade,” she assured me with a smile.
    I like Carolann a lot. She has crazy red hair that looks like a four alarm fire, wears New Age tops and skirts and funky little boots, peace signs on gold chains around her neck, and has one of the biggest hearts in all of Marshall County.
    “What wine do you recommend to go with the fudge?” I asked as I eyed the bottles in the cooler. “White or red?”
    “Zinfandel. It’s a good compromise.”
    I smiled and poured a generous amount in my glass. Gaynelle and Sandra Dobson, who is a nurse in her real life, already had wine and chocolate. A table had been set up with more chocolate offerings as well as other goodies, and we were standing next to it and discussing the fallout from the book when Cady Lee and her sister Dixie Lee came down the stairs. Instant hush fell over the room. I could swear I heard Bitty almost swallow her tongue.
    Dixie Lee was just as blonde as her sister, though taller and more slender, and her clothes draped her like only really expensive clothes can do. Diamonds glittered in her ears and at her throat, and a wave of perfume that was probably made of handpicked rose petals crushed by bare feet and poured into crystal bottles wafted out in a soft silky cloud. I stood mesmerized.
    “Surprise!” she exclaimed, while Cady Lee wore a nervous smile, and her left eye began to twitch. Dixie Lee seemed oblivious to the obvious. She strode into the den with all the confidence of a Georgia Tech linebacker.
    Right behind them Cindy’s head bobbed like an anxious full moon. I could tell she expected some kind of explosion. She underestimated Bitty. Or perhaps overestimated her. Instead of exploding, Bitty put a smile on her face and went into pure Belle mode. That’s much worse than an explosion, believe me.
    “Why, Dixie Lee Forsythe, no one told me you were going to be here. This is a surprise.”
    “I didn’t let Cady Lee tell anyone. I wanted to surprise all of you.” Dixie Lee’s smile was nearly as fake as Bitty’s.
    “Well, welcome home. You have most of the town talking about you. Again. Of course, that was back in your teenage years when girls weren’t expected to be so . . . fast.”
    “I was just lucky enough to mature early. I see that your breast implants are still perky. Wherever did you find such a wonderful plastic surgeon?”
    I nearly fainted. While I knew Bitty’s breasts were made full by Mother Nature, there have been a few reckless people tacky enough to suggest otherwise. Bitty gets quite testy at the implication.
    This time she just smiled, looked Dixie Lee square in the eye, and said, “No plastic surgeon would ever be able to match what God gave me, but Martha Swift knows one who works miracles with face lifts. Remind me, and I can look up her number for you.”
    “Oh, honey,” purred Dixie Lee, “I wouldn’t dare risk having my face turn out like yours.”
    “Sugar, I wouldn’t worry about that nearly as much as I would those wattles under your chin. I wouldn’t go out in the woods during turkey hunting season if I were you.”
    “Oh, I’m not