“JJ Mickelson.” His face was flushed, and his eyes were narrow. His tie was loose, his shirt wrinkled, and a piece of his hair flopped down over his forehead. He looked exhausted. And very angry.

“What do you mean, Byron? JJ left town.”

“Do I have to search this house for the son-of-a-bitch?”

“Byron! He’s gone!”

“That’s what you’re telling everyone, then?” His eyes were ice.

“What are you talking about?”

“I went to the hardware store after work to pick up the paint for your bathroom. I was going to do something nice for you! And I ran into that red-haired woman who’s in the quilting group with you—Judy, I think her name is.”

Dolly’s knees went weak.

“She had some very interesting things to say. Such as that you’d told them all that JJ Mickelson had hired you. You told me the church had arranged it and it was volunteer work. She said the church had nothing to do with it.”

“I—I’m sorry, Byron. I—”

“She also told me that he’s ‘handsome as the devil’ and that she didn’t see how any woman could spend as much time with JJ Mickelson as you had, and not—what were her words—’succumb to his charms.’”

“She—she hates me—she’s exaggerating. She has a crush on you!”

“You’re making a fool of me in this town. Have you been screwing him?”

“Byron! No! I have not! And how dare you? I saw you! I saw you on Friday night with that woman!”

“What?”

“Don’t pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about. I saw everything.” She mimicked the ice-blond woman’s way with a cigarette. “The way she led you out by the hand.”

He looked at her. “Do you mean you saw Mrs. Swanstrom?” he said finally.

“I don’t care what her name is. The point is, I’m not going to stand for it.”

“You’re not going to stand for what?”

“Don’t pretend you don’t know what I mean.”

“For God’s sake, don’t be an idiot, Doll. I sold her a car last week. Friday night she was just telling me she couldn’t figure out how to get the glove box open. She wanted me to show her how to open it.”

“You expect me to believe that? The way it looked?”

“It’s the truth, Doll. I swear.”

As his words sank in, she felt her rage collapsing into shock.

He said, “You don’t honestly think I’d—?”

She pressed her hand to her throat. “A woman like that leads you out back that way,” she said. “What else could I think?”

“If you knew me at all, Doll, it would never even cross your mind.”

“But the way it looked—”