“Your drawl seems thicker here.”

I nod. “Yours, too.”

“I never noticed how huge the house is,” Ami says, still whispering. “Remember those watercolor paintings you did of the mansion and the grounds when you were first learning to paint?”

I nod. I still have them in the back of my closet, to be honest. 

“You used to want to be married here.”

“I had good taste.” A new flare of anger raises my voice to normal and gets me back in the real world. “And Uncle Gus should be ashamed. Willing to sell out his heritage—our heritage.” I grab her arm. “C’mon.”

At the front door, I bypass the doorbell button and grab the handle on the lion’s head door knocker, happy to bang it against the door several times. Somehow the loud, hollow knocking suits my mood more than a delicate chime.

Inside the house, we hear a familiar male voice yell, “Where’s my jacket?”

“The lion is in his den,” I murmur.

A minute later, Mrs. Harding opens the door. “Can I help you?” For every ounce that Uncle Gus is a “good ol’ boy,” Mrs. Harding is “high society.” I always thought the phrase “looking down her nose” was just an expression, but she really does it, her beady eyes glinting. 

I give her my own glare. “We need to see the mayor.”

“I’m sorry, but he’s not here,” she says, beginning to close the door.

© 2007 by Christine Lynxwiler
ISBN 978-1-59789-821-8

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission of the publisher.  This book is a work of fiction.  Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously.  Any similarity to actual people, organizations, and/or events is purely coincidental.  For more information about Christine Lynxwiler, please access the author’s Web site at the following Internet address:  www.christinelynxwiler.com.

Cover Illustration:  Donna Nelson

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