Best She Ever Had (9781617733963) by Shelly Ellis Page A

withdrew a cash advance of three hundred dollars at an ATM in Great Falls last night,” Dawn said. She shrugged. “Nothing else after that. Sorry, I don’t have more.”
    â€œThat’s okay,” Keith assured. “We’ll pick up the trail somewhere else.”
    â€œI think I found something,” Lauren ventured quietly. “I saw a purchase for two plane tickets for Delta Airlines dated last night.”
    Cynthia grabbed her chest. She gulped for air. “ Plane tickets? You mean . . . you mean they’re flying somewhere?”
    Lauren nodded. “Another purchase was for a hotel in Las Vegas.”
    Cynthia slowly lowered her forehead to the wooden surface. “Oh, my God! So she is going through with it! My only daughter is going to get married at some tacky drive-thru chapel on the Las Vegas Strip!” She closed her eyes. “Why is this happening to me? Why is this happening?”
    â€œCalm down, Cynthia,” Keith said. “At least we know where she’s going . . . and we may be able to stop her before she goes through with it.”
    â€œHow?” Cynthia shouted, raising her head and glaring at him. “Clarissa won’t even answer my phone calls! She knows I’m going to tell her to come home. I’d probably have to physically stop her from putting a ring on her finger, and how the hell am I supposed to do that? I won’t make it to Vegas in time!”
    â€œWell, maybe the boy’s parents can stop them,” Keith insisted. “Maybe they can talk him out of it.”
    All the sisters fell silent.
    â€œWhat do you mean, baby?” Stephanie asked as she finished the last of her sandwich.
    â€œI got a hit on the name Jared Walker,” Keith explained. “He got a speeding ticket in Chesterton three months ago. It listed his name, but it also listed the name of the person who owned the car. It had the car’s registration. It was a Ford Taurus registered to Korey Walker of Langley Court. I bet one hundred bucks he’s the boy’s father.”
    Cynthia blinked. She gazed at Keith, dumbfounded. “What name did you say?”
    â€œKorey Walker.” Keith paused. “Why? Does the name sound familiar?”
    Cynthia’s lips tightened and so did her fists. Her puffy eyes narrowed into thin slits. It was such a common last name, she hadn’t even considered the possibility that this boy could be Korey’s son, but it seemed that was the case.
    â€œYes. Yes, the name sounds very familiar. Give me the address on that registration. I need to pay someone a visit.”

Chapter 9
    K orey raised his gaze from the PVC pipe. The wrench in his hand hovered in midair.
    â€œWho the hell is that?” he murmured as he slowly climbed to his feet.
    Someone was ringing his doorbell over and over again and pounding on the front door, making the frame rattle.
    He set the wrench on the laminate countertop and wiped his wet hands on a dish towel.
    His bathroom sink had been clogged for the past two days, and no amount of Drano or snaking seemed to do the trick. He had finally decided to break out his toolbox and had just started a bit of DIY plumbing when he heard the sound of screeching tires in his driveway. Now it sounded like the police were at his door with a battering ram.
    He ran down the hall and looked through the front door’s peephole. His eyes widened in shock. Cynthia Gibbons stood on his welcome mat, screaming like a crazy woman.
    â€œOpen up, damn it!” she yelled. “Korey, I know you’re in there! Open up the door!”
    He quickly undid the locks and swung his door open. “What the hell . . . Damn, woman, where’s the fire?”
    She looked like she had just stumbled out of bed. Her hair was pulled back into an askew ponytail, and she wasn’t wearing any jewelry or her usual heart-stopping attire, only a blue blouse that was buttoned the wrong way and wrinkled jeans.