Tied With a Bow and No Place to Go (Tizzy/Ridge Trilogy Book 3) by Ann Everett

can
eat one of those with ice cream. The ladies said they were delicious. Did y’all
get Molly home okay?”
    “I drove her, and Rayann followed in Molly’s car. She was
drunk on her butt and would have never gotten in the house without our help.”
Synola stepped to the cabinet and removed three juice glasses, then sat on the
stool next to Rayann.
    “Can you believe those three ex-wives used to be friends? I
hope nothing like that ever happens to us,” Rayann said.
    “It won’t. We’ve never slept with the same man. That’s where
their trouble started.” Synola poured drinks.
    “Jinx talked to me after everyone left and I’ve made a decision,”
Rayann said.
    Synola and Tizzy gave her their full attention.
    “After Jinx does the first surveillance and finds out where
Dwayne’s going, I’ll follow him the next time.” Rayann drew her lips into a
tight line. “That is, if Jinx catches him with another woman. Y’all were right.
I need to confront him. This is my problem.” She scowled, then gulped her
drink.
    Tizzy opened the bag, produced two chocolate cake squares,
and handed each of her friends one along with a napkin. “We won’t let you do
this alone. If another woman is involved, Synola and I will be with you when
you face him.”
    “You got that right,” Synola said around a bite of cake.
    “If he is cheating, I’ll bake a batch of Keep Your Hands Off
My Man Macaroons and we’ll make that hussy eat them until she pukes,” Tizzy
said. They laughed as she emptied her glass, then refilled it.
    “Oh my Lord, this cake is fabulous,” Rayann said. “Why
aren’t you eating one, Tizzy?”
    “I’ll wait and have some with Ridge.” She glanced at her
watch and stepped to the oven to check on the casserole. Her phone chimed.
“Ridge just texted. He’ll be home in fifteen minutes.” She removed steak from
the fridge and brought it to the counter.
    Rayann helped herself to another piece of cake and Synola
topped off their glasses again.
    Tizzy put the skillet on the burner and added shortening.
While it melted, she cracked an egg into a bowl, added milk, and then stirred
to combine. Once done, she dredged the meat in flour, dipped it in the egg
mixture, back in flour and put it in the skillet to fry.
    Synola started on her second piece of cake. “We must get
this recipe from Nana.” She drained the last of her drink and stood, unsteady
on her feet. “Let’s play some music!” She picked up the television remote and
surfed channels and found one featuring high-energy dance numbers. She pulled
Rayann off her stool and they whirled around the kitchen, arms flapping, hips
swaying, laughing like little girls at a slumber party.
    Tizzy watched them with pure delight. Given the events of
the day: death, arguments, Vienna, she was ready for fun. She added the last
piece of steak to the skillet, removed the corn from the oven and drained the
potatoes. When the next song came on, she got caught up in the party atmosphere
and danced over to the table with plates and silverware.
    Synola hip-swayed to the counter and helped herself to a
third piece of cake, broke the square in half and shared it with Rayann.
    Rayann twirled around, lost her footing, the corner of the
counter breaking her fall.
    “You two better sit before you hurt yourselves,” Tizzy said.
    They both sat and Synola laid her head on the counter top.
“I’m dizzy.”
    “Me, too.” Rayann rested her head next to Synola’s.
    “What the hell is going on?” Ridge shouted from the doorway.
“I could hear that music when I turned onto our street.”
    Tizzy grabbed the remote and pressed the off button. “Sorry.
We’re winding down from a rough day. You want a drink? They brought leftover
cocktails.”
    Synola tried to lift her head, but couldn’t manage it.
    Rayann rolled her eyes up at Tizzy. “That steak smells
sooooo wonderful.”
    He walked around the counter and kissed Tizzy and then
looked across at Synola and Rayann. “Are