Trouble's Brewing by Eva Marie Everson, Linda Evans Shepherd Page B

borrow.”
    “Donna! Are you going on a trip?”
    With my keen peripheral vision, I noticed that when Clay heard Donna’s name, he took a step closer. The look in his intense brown eyes told me his secret. Donna! Clay’s got the hots for Donna! I smiled.
    Donna answered, “I’m thinking about taking off for Los Angeles with Vonnie. It seems she has some unfinished business there.”
    “No kidding? Los Angeles. Imagine the two of you there.”
    “Lisa Leann, I’m just driving past your shop.”
    I looked up, and sure enough, there she was in her sheriff ’s Bronco. I waved. Clay turned around and watched her pass.
    “Don’t tell me that you’ve got Clay Whitefield in there.”
    “I do. Clay just made me a little business offer.”
    “Oh boy. Listen, you can’t say anything to him about my trip with Vonnie.”
    “Why not?”
    “He’s got his pad of paper out, right? He’s writing something down about our conversation right now. Right?”
    I looked up, then turned my back on Clay. “Well, Donna, yes, as a matter of fact. What’s all this about?”
    “Clay’s been nosing around about the David Harris situation. I can’t let him expose Vonnie, not yet, anyway. She’s much too fragile for that.”
    “I see.” I turned and looked back at Clay. He was a nosey one. “Don’t worry, Donna, I’ll take care of it. And yes, you can borrow my luggage. However, with my daughter’s due date coming up, I’ll need it back within a few months as I’ll be heading for Texas to lisa leann help her care for the new baby. But the two of you won’t be gone that long, will you?”
    “No, no, just a few days. Hey, appreciate it. Well, look at that. A tourist just ran the town’s stoplight. Gotta run.”
    I hung up but could still hear Donna’s siren whoop as she pulled her speeder over. I turned back to Clay. “Now, where were we?”
    Clay stood with his arms folded, a smirk on his face. “Oh, was that Donna? She and I were talking earlier today. Told me she was going to see David Harris in Los Angeles with …” He paused for good measure and grinned all the more. “Goldie, I believe she said.”
    Why, that sly dog, I thought as I looked at Clay with admiration. My new friend here was on a fishing expedition and thought he was clever enough to outwit me. So help me if I didn’t giggle.
    Clay was immediately suspicious. “What’s so funny?”
    “Just that you seem to know more about the Potluck sisterhood than me.”
    “Well, this is a small town, and I do share a history with each of those ladies.”
    Now, that comment raised both my suspicions and my eyebrows. “A history? What sort of history? Like in romantic?”
    Clay shook his head. “Those ladies are old enough to be my mother.”
    “Not Deputy Donna.”
    Clay turned his attention to the door, looking to make a quick exit. “No, no, no. She’s like a sister. Uh, I really do have to get on that deadline. And I’m looking forward to getting your first column.”
    I smiled. “And my deadline is?”
    “How about tonight by 5:00.” Clay fished in his pocket for his business card and handed it to me. “You can email it to me. Say, about five hundred words?”
    “And my cost?”
    “The first one’s free. Let’s take this one step at a time.”
    I shook his hand. “Deal.”
    As I watched Clay pull into traffic, my phone rang again. “Lisa Leann’s Weddings.”
    It was Donna. “You say that like you have a rotating marriage policy and several ex-husbands.”
    I had to laugh. “Good point. I’m still trying to find the perfect name, but that obviously isn’t it. What’s up?”
    “I’m down the street in my Bronco, just finishing up this ticket, and I saw Clay drive off. What does he know?”
    “Only that you and Goldie are about to leave for L.A. to see David Harris.”
    “Goldie?”
    “That was his conclusion. I just didn’t correct it.” She sighed. “For Pete’s sake.”
    “Okay, Donna, I did my part, now spill the beans.