Last Chance Beauty Queen (Last Chance #3)(30)
Author: Hope Ramsay

Momma followed her down the hall. “Honey, everyone’s talking about this. You danced every dance with him. You were… well, I’m not going to repeat the ugly things Lillian said even though Lillian thinks this Englishman walks on water. Apparently his being a lord only takes him so far.”

“Momma, I kissed him a few times, and you can argue that he bought those kisses. As for the dancing, well, he went to cotillion classes as a kid, and let’s face it, Dash is a terrible dancer.”

“So you still like Dash.”

Caroline gritted her teeth. This was not a good time to clue Momma into the whole Lasso Fiasco. “I’ve known Dash all my life,” she said.

“Good. I’m so relieved. Tomorrow you and Dash need to be seen around town together, maybe go to the demolition derby together, you know. This talk about you and the Englishman, well, I don’t think your daddy or your brothers like it much.”

“Momma, you don’t have to worry about me and the Englishman. We just danced is all.”

“All right. I’m glad we had this talk, honey.” Momma gathered Caroline into her warm embrace, filled with the scent of the lavender body lotion she always wore.

Caroline always felt safe in Momma’s arms. She loved her parents deeply. She knew good and well that having any kind of fling with the Englishman who’d come to buy up Daddy’s land was something she could never do, even if he were The One that Miriam had forecast for her.

Which he wasn’t.

Too bad her libido didn’t believe in Miriam Randall and her forecasts.

Senator Warren’s phone call awakened Caroline at eight-thirty the next morning. Early phone calls from the senator were not unusual. On any given workday, Caroline was likely to be up at five-thirty and heading to the gym. The senator often called her before breakfast.

But Caroline had gotten in really late the night before, and everyone had decided to let her sleep in.

Except her boss.

“Senator,” she said in a rusty voice after she fumbled for her phone and pressed the talk button. “What can I do for you?”

“I’ve decided to let Cissy help Lord Woolham.”

“What?” Caroline’s brain kicked into gear.

He chuckled. “Don’t sound so surprised. The truth is, she’s come up with an excellent plan for salvaging the situation.”

A strange, confusing emotion darted through her. She didn’t quite like the idea of Cissy being the one to help Hugh with his quest. “What plan?” she asked, her voice sounding just a little too urgent.

“Oh, she’s hooking up with Hugh for breakfast this morning, and the two of them are going to make the rounds of all the local officials. I think they were also going to visit with Cissy’s sorority friend, whatshername—Hettie Johnson?”

“Hettie Marshall.” Caroline sat up and threw her feet over the side of the bed, confusion resolving itself into serious concern. The last thing she wanted was Cissy Warren talking to Hettie.

Hettie had to be handled carefully. After all, it looked like her husband, the largest employer in the county, was up to no good. And a person like Cissy, who talked without thinking, could really upset the balance of things in Last Chance. “What time were they going to meet with her, do you know?”

“Um, no, I don’t. Is there a problem?”

“Yes, Senator, there are multiple problems here. The land Hugh bought is a wetlands, and he’s going to have to get permits to develop it, even if my father agrees to sell the golf course. And the woman he’s going to meet with is the chair of the Committee to Resurrect Golfing for God, in addition to being the wife of the man who sold Hugh the wetlands in the first place. For an inflated price, I might add.”

“I had no idea.” He sounded concerned now, too.

“Senator, this could be a real touchy situation.”

“I’m so sorry. I should have checked with you before giving her the green light, but you know how she can be. She’s got a real bee in her bonnet about this fellow. I didn’t want to discourage her. I mean he’s precisely the kind of man I’d like to see Cissy settle down with, if you know what I mean.”

“Yes. I do.” And of course, that was the difference between what Senator Warren expected of his daughter and what Caroline’s parents expected of her.

Not to mention the whole Miriam Randall forecast.

“So,” the senator said, “would you mind finding them and making sure Cissy doesn’t put her foot in it? And while you’re at it, if you could play matchmaker, that would be a huge help.”

Yeah, it probably would. Cissy had enough money to fund just about any project Hugh could dream up. Which meant they were probably made for each other.

“Sure,” she said, but her voice lacked enthusiasm.

The senator chuckled. “I know you’re not a matchmaker. But you have been known to work miracles from time to time.”

“I don’t make miracles. Only God does that, Senator.”

“Well, you could give Him a run for the money. Which is the other reason I’m calling—I need you to hurry up and get this problem with the factory taken care of because Andrea has tendered her resignation. It was waiting on my desk this morning when I got in. I guess she’s decided to run off to Montana and marry that cowboy sooner rather than later. So it looks like I need an administrative assistant in Washington before the election. I know you’ve wanted that job for a long time.”

Caroline’s heart skipped around her chest. “Uh, yes, I have.”

“Well, I’m about to make your dream come true, and I’m going to give you a ten percent raise to go along with the new responsibilities. But I need you in DC just as soon as you can get there. Andrea wants to be on a plane to Big Sky country in two weeks.”

“Senator, I’m so—”

“Just say yes, Caroline.”

“Yes. Yes, yes, yes.” She was so relieved. Apparently getting pulled off a parade float by a demented cowboy had not wrecked her career. Now she just needed to be professional, handle Cissy and Hettie carefully, and she’d be in Washington before the month was out.

“Good,” the senator said. “I need you in DC. Now you go fix that problem for that Englishman and see if you can give Cissy some help corralling him. Then get on back here to Columbia and start packing your bags.”

After disconnecting with the senator, Caroline made one call to Miriam Randall that netted a wealth of information. Cissy had shown up early, roused Hugh out of bed, and taken him off to the Kountry Kitchen for breakfast. They had a meeting scheduled with Hettie Marshall at 9:00 a.m.

Caroline didn’t have a minute to spare. She threw on one of her suits, pulled her hair back into a ponytail, and headed out to the home Jimmy and Hettie had built on a rise of rolling farmland just north of the town limits.

She pulled Stone’s beat-up pickup onto the long, circular drive, took one look at the big antebellum monstrosity, and immediately felt out of her league. The shiny red Corvette parked in the drive didn’t make her feel any more sure of herself.

Cissy Warren’s car was preemo-cool. Hugh was sure to lust after it, which was all for the good. He needed Cissy. Cissy wanted him. And Caroline needed her job.

Of course, how she was going to sort through that muddle to make sure that Last Chance got a factory remained to be seen. One thing was for certain—Hugh and Cissy could really screw things up for Hettie. The Queen Bee might not know what her husband was up to. And someone had to break that news gently.

Caroline killed the engine and set the brake. A gardener came running over just as she was getting out of the car. He opened his mouth, took one look at her business suit, and shut it. He gave Stone’s pickup the once-over, then shook his head and went back to pruning the azaleas.

Good thing Caroline had dressed for success today. Otherwise she might have been forced to use the service entrance.

She hurried to the big double doors and rang the doorbell, feeling the chip on her shoulder swell. A few moments later, the maid ushered Caroline into a bright parlor upholstered in yellow damask, filled with Civil War–era antiques, and occupied by Hettie Marshall wearing Carolina Herrera.

And next to her on the priceless sofa sat Cissy Warren, in a pale pink Armani ensemble. Lord Woolham stood by the fireplace dressed in one of his beautifully hand-tailored business suits.

His hair had tumbled down his forehead, his eyes looked sleepy, his mouth looked kissable, and his body looked hotter than a billy goat in a pepper patch. Caroline experienced an erotic rush that left her feeling completely flummoxed.

She needed to get over him. Right now. She concentrated on the fact that she was the only person in this room wearing ready-to-wear. It didn’t help.

“Caroline,” Cissy said from her place on the sofa, “whatever are you doing here?”

“Your father called me. I thought I would join the meeting.”

Cissy gave Caroline the stink eye.

Meanwhile, a spark of humor reached Hettie’s eyes as she glanced at Caroline and then at Hugh, who was standing there looking down at the Persian rug. “I gather you two had a pretty busy afternoon yesterday,” she said.

Hugh coughed.

Caroline’s face flamed. “Well, you know how it is come festival time.”

“Yes, I do,” Hettie said.

“Did I miss something?” Cissy asked.

“No,” Hugh and Caroline said in unison. Their gazes collided and then went their separate ways.

“Did you know that Cissy and I were sorority sisters?” Hettie said into the sudden, awkward silence.

“No, ma’am, not until this morning. The senator mentioned something about it,” Caroline said.

Hettie gestured toward Cissy and Hugh. “They’ve come to try to convince me to give up my chairmanship of the Committee to Resurrect Golfing for God. Are you here for the same thing?”

Caroline gave Hettie a bold, direct stare. “No, I’m not.”

Cissy made a strange noise that sounded like she might be about to burst a blood vessel. Hettie merely smiled a deep and genuine smile. “No?” the Queen Bee said.

“No. I’m not going to convince anyone that building a factory over on the south side of town makes sense, because the land Hugh bought over that way is swampy and would require a boatload of wetlands permits and reclamation. It would cost a fortune to develop that land.”

“Really?” Cissy and Hettie spoke in unison. Both of them stared at Caroline like she was from outer space.

“Yes, really.”

Hettie’s mild gaze sharpened. It snapped to Hugh. “Did you know this?”

“Caroline did mention it, yes.”

Hettie paled and glanced over toward Cissy, who clearly had been left in the dust. “I see.”

“I don’t see at all,” Cissy said. She looked up at Hugh. “If the land is worthless, why’d you buy it?”

Hugh shrugged. “It’s not worthless. It’s just going to be very expensive to develop. And it was my partner who purchased the land. So now I’m stuck with land I can’t really sell and can’t develop either. And of course, there is Elbert’s golf course.”