“And what are you staring at, you little prude?” Roberta had demanded. “Did you think I’d put on black clothes and abandon men for life because your father died?”

“He’s only been dead two weeks,” Michelle had pointed out with choking pride.

“So what? He wasn’t even that good in bed before he got sick,” she scoffed. “We lived in San Antonio and he had a wonderful practice, he was making loads of money as a cardiologist. Then he gets diagnosed with terminal cancer and decides overnight to pull up stakes and move to this flea-bitten wreck of a town where he sets up a free clinic on weekends and lives on his pension and his investments! Which evaporated in less than a year, thanks to his medical bills,” she added haughtily. “I thought he was rich...!”

“Yes, that’s why you married him,” Michelle said under her breath.

“That’s the only reason I did marry him,” she muttered, sitting up to light a cigarette and blow smoke in Michelle’s direction.

She coughed. “Daddy wouldn’t let you smoke in the house,” she said accusingly.

“Well, Daddy’s dead, isn’t he?” Roberta said pointedly, and she smiled.

“We could make it a threesome, if you like,” Bert offered, sitting up with his shirt half-off.

Michelle’s expression was eloquent. “If I speak to my minister...”

“Shut up, Bert!” Roberta said shortly, and her eyes dared him to say another word. She looked back at Michelle with cold eyes and got to her feet. “Come on, Bert, let’s go to your place.” She grabbed him by the hand and led him to the bedroom. Apparently their clothes were in there.

Disgusted beyond measure, Michelle went into her room and locked the door.

She could hear them arguing. A few minutes later they came back out.

“I won’t be here for dinner,” Roberta said.

Michelle didn’t reply.

“Little torment,” Roberta grumbled. “She’s always watching, always so pure and unblemished,” she added harshly.

“I could take care of that,” Bert said.

“Shut up!” Roberta said again. “Come on, Bert!”

Michelle could feel herself flushing with anger as she heard them go out the door. Roberta slammed it behind her.

Michelle had peeked out the curtains and watched them climb into Bert’s low-slung car. He pulled out into the road.

She closed the curtains with a sigh of pure relief. Nobody knew what a hell those two made of her life. She had no peace. Apparently Roberta had been seeing Bert for some time, because they were obviously obsessed with each other. But it had come as a shock to walk in the door and find them kissing the day after Michelle’s father was buried, to say nothing of what she’d just seen.