“You make the rest of us women in Ryker look bad, Miss Marla. How about coming out in your sloth clothes now and again, just to give us hope.”

The woman shuddered. “I don’t own sloth clothes!”

“Why am I surprised.”

“Getting back to Mary Howard, I’m about done with her rubbish, especially considering what I now know.” The woman then looked left and right before returning her eyes to Piper.

“You got gossip for me, Miss Marla?”

“I do, Piper, and you go on and use it however you wish.”

“Okay, shoot. I haven’t had anything juicy lately. This town is getting boring.”

“I played cards last night with Lisa Bicknell. Her husband Geoff used to be a bad one until she got hold of him.”

“His sons are pretty bad too.”

“Sssh.”

“Sorry.”

“Anyway, Lisa was telling me that Geoff had a few too many one night and started rambling about that horrid man Tim Trainer. Supposedly he and Tim were friends.”

“Not sure my uncle had friends, Miss Marla. More a pack of assholes is what I hear.”

“Piper, I will not have you using that word in a public setting.”

“Sorry, Miss Marla,” Piper said, chastened as Miss Marla pointed her schoolteacher finger.

“Anyway, Lisa told me that Geoff started on about it after all that bad business went down with Tim Trainer coming back to town and doing the dirty work for that horrid woman who wanted to hurt our Bailey.”

Piper made the appropriate noises to move the woman along. That time had affected them all, but they’d moved on, and she had no wish to revisit it… ever.

“Well, Lisa said that Geoff said he and Mary Howard used to be an item.”

Piper blinked, trying to work through what she’d heard. “Geoff and Mary Howard?”

Miss Marla tsked. “No, Mary Howard and your uncle. Pay attention, Piper.”

“I’m trying, but you need to elaborate.”

“You used that word perfectly in the sentence, Piper, well done.”

“It’s my word of the day. Now back to the story.”

“Apparently it was when Mary was in her late teens, which would explain the animosity toward your family a great deal more than what happened with Joe and Dylan. Lisa said that Mary was in love with Tim Trainer and wanted him to marry her. He refused, which probably only fueled the anger toward your family after Dylan left. Nothing worse than a woman scorned, dear. Then Tim got attached to the horrible woman who was the boys’ mother, and that infuriated Mary further, so Geoff said.”

“Well hell.” Piper whistled.

“I’ll let that slip,” Miss Marla said, patting her arm. “Must go now, dear, I need to get Mandy’s bread before it’s sold out.”

Holy crap, Mary Howard… or whatever the hell her maiden name had been, and Piper’s uncle.

“They’re beans.”

“What?”