Still another woman who thought she knew what he needed. Meg couldn't resist. "And Ted returns your feelings?"

"We're getting there." She lowered the camera again. "At least I hope so. I'm a realist. Maybe it won't happen the way I want, but I'm like my father. I don't back down from a challenge. I believe Ted and I have a future, and I intend to do everything I can to make it happen." She gazed directly into Meg's eyes. "Cards on the table. I want you to leave Wynette."

"Do you now?" She saw no reason to tell Sunny she'd have been on her way if Sunny hadn't stopped her. "And why is that?"

"It's not personal. I think you're good for my father. He's been depressed lately. Getting older and all that. You've taken his mind off it. The problem for me is, you're holding Ted back. He'd never admit he's leaning on you, but it's obvious."

"You think Ted's leaning on me?"

"I see it in the way he looks at you, the way he talks about you. I know you and Lucy Jorik were best friends. You're a reminder of her, and as long as you're around, it's going to be very hard for him to move forward."

So smart, and yet so dumb.

"I'm also a big believer in women watching out for women," Sunny said. "Being around him so much isn't good for you. I've heard from more people than I can count that you're over him, but we both know that's not quite true. Face it, Meg. Ted's never going to go for you. The two of you have nothing in common."

Except famous parents, a privileged upbringing, a pa.s.sion for ecology, and a high tolerance for the absurd, something Sunny would never understand.

"Ted is comfortable with you because you remind him of Lucy," Sunny went on. "But that's all it will ever be. Staying here is holding you back, and it's making my relationship with him more complicated."

"You certainly are blunt."

She shrugged. "I believe in being honest."

But what Sunny called honesty was nothing more than a callous disregard for any feelings or opinions that weren't her own.

"Subtleties have never worked for me," she said, proudly flying the flag of her self-importance. "If you're willing to disappear, I'm willing to help you get started with your jewelry business."

"Blood money?"

"Why not? You aren't a bad investment. By incorporating genuine relics in your pieces, you've stumbled on a nice little niche market that could be very profitable."

"Except I'm not sure I want to be in the jewelry business."

Sunny couldn't comprehend anyone turning her back on a viable business, and she barely concealed a sneer. "What else are you going to do?"

She was about to tell Sunny she'd handle her future her own way when she heard tires spinning on gravel. They both turned as an unfamiliar car braked to a stop behind them. The sun was in her eyes, so she couldn't see who was driving, but the interruption didn't surprise her. The good citizens of Wynette wouldn't leave her alone with a Skipjack for long.

But as the car door opened, her stomach sank. The person getting out of the dark sedan was Spence. She turned to Sunny. "Take me back to town."

But Sunny's eyes were on her father as he approached them, his Panama hat shadowing the upper half of his face. "Dad, what are you doing here?"

"You told me you were taking pictures today."

Meg had no reserves left to deal with this. "I want to go back to town now."

"Leave us alone," Spence said to his daughter. "I have a few things I need to say to Meg in private."

"No! Don't leave."

Meg's alarm confused Sunny, whose welcoming smile for her father faded. "What's going on?"

Spence angled his head toward his daughter's car. "I'll meet you back in town. Go on."

"Stay where you are, Sunny," Meg said. "I don't want to be alone with him."

Sunny looked at her as if she were maggot-infested. "What's wrong with you?"

"Meg's a coward," he said. "That's what's wrong with her."

Meg wouldn't be his helpless victim yet again. "Sunny, your father a.s.saulted me yesterday."

Chapter Twenty.

a.s.saulted?" Spence gave a rough bark of laughter. "That's a good one. Show me a mark anywhere on you, and I'll give you a million dollars."

Sunny's customary composure had vanished, and she regarded Meg with revulsion. "How could you say something so vile?"

More cars were b.u.mping down the gravel lane, not just one, but a whole stream, everyone sensing trouble. "s.h.i.t," Spence exclaimed. "A man can't take a c.r.a.p in this town without everybody showing up to watch."

Kayla jumped out from the pa.s.senger side of a red Kia being driven by one of the waitresses at the Roustabout. "What are y'all doin' out here," she chirped, rushing toward them as if she'd just stumbled on a roadside picnic.

Before anyone could reply, Torie, Dexter, and Kenny disgorged from a silver Range Rover. Torie's Hawaiian print sarong clashed with her plaid bikini top. She had wet hair and no makeup. Her husband wore a dark blue business suit, and Kenny raised a hand decorated with a Spider-Man Band-Aid. "Afternoon, Spence. Sunny. Nice weather after yesterday. Not that we didn't need the rain."

Zoey leaped from a navy blue Camry. "I was on my way to a science curriculum meeting," she said to no one in particular.

More cars fell in behind hers. The whole town seemed to sense a catastrophe in the making, and they were all determined to prevent.i.t.

Dexter O'Connor gestured toward the landfill. "You're a lucky man, Spence. So many possibilities."

Instead of looking at him, Spence kept his angry gaze on Meg, and the relief she'd felt at the appearance of all these people began to fade. She tried to tell herself she was wrong. Surely he'd let this go. Surely he wouldn't press this in front of so many people. But she'd known from the beginning that he couldn't tolerate having anyone get the best of him.

"The contracts aren't signed yet," he said ominously.

A collective expression of panic fell over the faces of the onlookers. "Dad ..." Sunny put her hand on her father's arm.

Torie took charge. Tightening the knot on her sarong, she marched toward Spence. "Me and Dex are planning to throw a couple of steaks on the grill tonight. Why don't you and Sunny join us, that is if you don't mind kids, or maybe we'll ship them over to Dad's house? Sunny, have you ever seen emus close up? Dex and me have a whole flock of them. Basically, I married him so I could pay my feed bill. He isn't as crazy about them as I am, but they're the sweetest creatures you ever met." Torie went on to deliver a breathless and very lengthy monologue describing the care and feeding of emus and their benefit to humankind. She was stalling for time, and since everybody kept glancing down the lane, Meg didn't have any trouble figuring out why. They were waiting for a knight in a powder blue pickup to appear and save the town from disaster.

More vehicles streamed into the lane. Torie was running out of emu material, and she cast an imploring eye at the others. Her brother reacted first, slipping one arm across Spence's shoulders and gestured toward the landfill with the other. "I've been giving a lot of thought to the routing."

But Spence turned away from him and studied the growing crowd. His gaze returned to Meg, and the way his eyes narrowed told her it was payback time. "Turns out, that might be a little premature, Kenny. I have a reputation to consider, and Meg here was just telling my daughter something pretty shocking."

Dread kicked her in the stomach. He wanted revenge, and he knew exactly how to get it. If she stood her ground, she'd hurt so many people, but the thought of backing down made her ill. How could doing the right thing feel so wrong? She dug her fingers into her palms. "Forget it."

But Spence wanted his pound of flesh for every wound she'd inflicted on his ego, and he pressed. "Oh, I can't do that," he said. "Some things are too serious to forget. Meg says I- What was that word you used?"

"Let it go," she said, even as she knew he wouldn't.

He snapped his fingers. "I remember. You said I a.s.saulted a.s.saulted you. Do I have that right, Meg?" you. Do I have that right, Meg?"

A murmur went up from the crowd. Kayla's glossed lips grew slack. Zoey pressed her hand to her throat. More cells snapped open, and Meg fought down her nausea. "No, Spence, you don't have it right," she said woodenly.

"But that's what I heard you say. What my daughter heard you say." He jutted out his chin. "I remember going swimming with you yesterday, but I sure don't remember any a.s.sault."

Her jaw didn't want to move. "You're right," she murmured. "I got it wrong."

He shook his head. "How could you get something so serious wrong?"

He was going to hammer her into the ground. The only way she could win was by letting him win, and she struggled to hold herself together. "Easy. I was upset."

"Hey there, everybody."

The crowd turned in unison as their savior ambled forward. He'd arrived unnoticed because he'd been driving the dark gray Benz they all tended to forget he owned. He looked tired. "What's going on here?" he said. "A party I forgot about?"

"I'm afraid not." Even as Spence frowned, she could see he was reveling in the power he held over all of them. "I sure am glad you showed up, Ted. It seems we have an unantic.i.p.ated problem."

"Oh? And what's that?"

Spence rubbed his jaw where the day's stubble cast a blue-black shadow. "It's going to be hard for me to do business in a town where a person can go around throwing out false accusations and getting away with it."

He wasn't going to cancel the deal. Meg didn't believe it. Not with Sunny giving him those pleading glances. Not with an entire town lined up to fawn over him. He was playing a cat-and-mouse game, flexing his muscle by humiliating her and letting them all see who was in charge.

"I'm sorry to hear that, Spence," Ted said. "I guess misunderstandings can happen anywhere. The good thing about Wynette is that we try to fix our troubles before they get too big to cause problems. Let me see if I can't help straighten this out."

"I don't know, Ted." Spence gazed toward the empty landfill. "Something like this is going to be hard to get past. Everybody's counting on me to sign those contracts tomorrow, but I can't imagine that happening with this false accusation hanging over me."

Tense murmurs rippled through the crowd. Sunny didn't see through her father's game, and her face was a picture of dismay as she envisioned her future with Ted slipping away. "Dad, we need to talk about this privately."

Mr. Cool pulled off his ball cap and scratched his head. Did anyone but her see his weariness? "You have to do what you think is right, that's for sure, Spence. But I'm betting I can help fix this if you'll just tell me what the problem is."

Meg couldn't stand it any longer. "I'm the problem," she declared. "I insulted Spence, and now he wants to punish the town for it. But you don't have to do that, Spence, because I'm leaving Wynette. I'd be gone by now if Sunny hadn't stopped me."

Ted shoved his hat back on his head, and even as he glared at her, his voice was calm. "Meg, why don't you let me handle this?"

But Spence was out for blood. "You think you can just drive away with no harm done after making such a serious accusation in front of my daughter? That doesn't work for me."

"Now hold on here," Ted said. "How about we start at the beginning?"

"Yes, Meg," Spence sneered. "Why don't we do that?"

She couldn't look at Ted, so she focused on Spence. "I've admitted that I lied. You were a perfect gentleman. There was no a.s.sault. I ... made the whole thing up."

Ted spun on her. "Spence a.s.saulted you?"

"That's what she told my daughter." Spence's words dripped with contempt. "She's a liar."

"You a.s.saulted her?" Ted's eyes blazed. "You son of a b.i.t.c.h." With no more warning than that, Mr. Cool launched himself at the town's last great hope. Ted's eyes blazed. "You son of a b.i.t.c.h." With no more warning than that, Mr. Cool launched himself at the town's last great hope.

A gasp of stunned disbelief went up from the crowd. The plumbing king sprawled to the ground, his Panama hat rolling away in the dirt. Meg was so shocked she couldn't move. Sunny let out a strangled scream, and everyone stood in frozen horror as their unflappable mayor-their very own Prince of Peace-grabbed Spencer Skipjack by the collar of his dress shirt and dragged him back to his feet.

"Who the h.e.l.l do you think you are?" Ted shouted in his face, his own features twisting in dark fury. Ted shouted in his face, his own features twisting in dark fury.

Spence lashed out with his foot, catching Ted in the leg and sending them both tumbling back into the dirt.

It was all a bad dream.

A bad dream that turned into a full-fledged nightmare as two familiar figures emerged from the crowd.

She was imagining them. It couldn't be. She blinked, but the awful vision wouldn't go away.

Her parents. Fleur and Jake Koranda. Staring at her with appalled faces.

They couldn't be here. Not without telling her they were coming. Not here at the landfill witnessing the greatest personal disaster of her life.

She blinked again, but they were still standing there, with Francesca and Dallie Beaudine right behind them. Her mother, gloriously beautiful. Her father-tall, craggy, and ready to spring.

The brawlers were on their feet, then back on the ground. Spence had Ted by a good fifty pounds, but Ted was stronger, more agile, and fueled by an anger that had transformed him into a man she didn't recognize.

Torie clutched her sarong. Kenny released a blistering obscenity. Kayla started to cry. And Francesca tried to run to the aid of her precious baby boy only to have her husband s.n.a.t.c.h her back.

No one, however, thought to restrain Sunny, who wouldn't let any man, not even the one she fancied herself in love with, attack her beloved father. "Daddy!" With a cry, she threw herself on Ted's back.

It was more than Meg could stand. "Get off him!" "Get off him!"

She ran to intercede, slipped in the gravel, and fell on Sunny, trapping Ted beneath them both. Spence took advantage of Ted's temporary captivity and sprang to his feet. Meg watched with alarm as he drew his leg back to kick Ted in the head. With her own shriek of rage, she twisted to her side and slammed into him, knocking him off balance. As he fell, she grabbed Sunny by the back of her designer blouse. Ted would never hit a woman, but Meg possessed no such scruples.

Torie and Shelby Traveler eventually pulled Meg off a sobbing Sunny, but the town's peace-loving mayor was out for blood, and it took three men to restrain him. He wasn't the only one being held back. Meg's mother, Skeet, Francesca, and the fire chief all had to work together to contain her father.

A vein throbbed in the side of Ted's neck as he struggled to free himself so he could finish what he'd started. "You even think think about going near her again, and you'll regret it." about going near her again, and you'll regret it."

"You're crazy!" Spence shouted. "You're all crazy!"

Ted's lips thinned with contempt. "Get out of here."

Spence s.n.a.t.c.hed his hat from the ground. Oily hanks of black hair hung over his forehead. One of his eyes was beginning to swell shut, and his nose was bleeding. "This town always needed me more than I ever needed it." He slapped his hat against his leg. "While you're watching this place rot, Beaudine, think about what you gave up." He slammed his hat on his head and gazed at Meg, his expression venomous. "Think about how much that n.o.body cost you."

"Daddy ..." Sunny's dirty blouse was torn, she had a sc.r.a.ped arm and a scratch over her cheek, but he was too wrapped up in his own rage to give her the comfort she craved.

"You could have had it all," he said, blood trickling from his nostril. "And you gave it up for a lying b.i.t.c.h."

Only her mother throwing herself at her father kept him from leaping on Spence, while the men holding Ted back nearly lost their struggle to contain him. Dallie sauntered forward, his eyes steel blue chips. "I advise you to get out of here while you can, Spence, because all it'll take from me is a nod, and those ol' boys keeping Ted from finishing the job he started out to do are going to let him go."

Spence took in the sea of hostile faces and began backing toward the cars. "Come on, Sunny," he said with a bravado that didn't ring true. "Let's get out of this s.h.i.thole."