Fool's Gold (A sexy funny mystery/romance, Cottonmouth Book 2) by Jennifer Skully Page A

clothes,” Simone said,
remembering her mother’s admonition.
    “I’m sorry.”
    “For what?”
    “I tried to say it wasn’t such a good
idea.”
    “It was a wonderful idea. I loved them.” Some
lucky lady shopping at Goodwill was in for a treat.
    “I know how you really feel, so thanks for
saying that.”
    Simone’s thoughts regarding the care package
were not Jackie’s fault. It would have been blasphemy to mention
that perhaps her sister deserved better than to have to wear size
zero clothing as well. Simone decided to move the conversation
forward. “You’ll never guess what I did tonight?”
    Someone else might have suggested something
outrageous, like a Lady Godiva-like ride through the streets of
Goldstone. Jackie just said, "You know I’ll never guess.”
    Jackie didn’t like guessing games. One could
say the wrong thing, and that made a girl vulnerable. Jackie was
ultra-careful. Living with their mother, she had to be.
    “I watched The Wizard of Oz with a
man. And he was the one who brought over the movie.” Okay, she’d
suggested it earlier in the day, but he didn’t have to take her up
on it. They hadn’t watched much of it either. They hadn’t even
played the jitterbug sequence. Simone didn’t care.
    “Someone in Goldstone appreciates The
Wizard of Oz ?” Jackie didn’t say it the way her mother did,
with that high falsetto I-find-that-hard-to-believe tone. Jackie’s
voice was never steeped with judgment, but always...neutral.
    “He doesn’t live here. He’s visiting his
sister.”
    “I’d like to see Goldstone. At least once.”
Wishful thinking murmured in a wistful tone.
    “You could come for a visit.”
    “Mother’s not going to visit Goldstone.”
    “I meant you could come. Alone.”
    “Oh.” Jackie was only two years younger, but
she’d never lived outside of Ariana Chandler’s household, and
Simone was beginning to think she never would. True, Jackie had her
own suite of rooms with her own entrance. If she didn’t want to see
Ariana for days, or even weeks, she didn’t have to.
    Ariana, however, didn’t raise her daughters
that way. They dined together every night. MOTHER carefully
selected Jackie's clothes, Jackie’s hairstyles, Jackie’s friends,
and Jackie’s opinions. It was Ariana’s way of taking care of
Jackie.
    Simone had dealt with her mother’s
overbearing good intentions by running away to college right out of
high school.
    Which was why she’d also run into a few
problems along the way, her mother had stated flatly. The only
thing Ariana had approved of was Andrew. She’d adored him, his
Stanford degree, his Porsche, his proper East Coast well-to-do
parents, and the way he kissed Ariana’s hand when she’d deigned to
visit twice yearly.
    God, she was depressing herself. That wasn’t
why she’d called her sister. She’d called because Jackie was her
best friend, and, like a starry-eyed teenager, she’d wanted to tell
her sister all about Brax.
    “It doesn’t matter about you visiting,
Jackie. I know you’re really busy and don’t have the time.” She
offered Jackie that excuse. “I only called to tell you all about him .”
    “Yes,” Jackie answered breathlessly, with the
tiniest bit of emotion and excitement in her voice. “Tell me all
about him.”
    For the next few minutes, they oohed and aahed together like the innocent, happy, carefree
teenage girls they’d fantasized about being.
    She was still smiling when she hung up.
Someday she would get Jackie to visit. They could have such fun.
Mr. Doodle would adore Jackie. Simone hugged the phone to her chest
and stared out into the night beyond her porch. Though the moon was
at its smallest crescent, stars sparkled. Jackie should see how
beautiful the desert was at night, without city lights obscuring
the sky or the stars.
    Something moved beyond the end of the lane.
Hers was the last trailer, and the road at that point led up to the
town’s park, a dirt lot with strategically placed