Jaclyn began laughing, too. "I think we're f.u.c.ked-up," she whispered.

"From the cat s.h.i.t paste?"

"The tea, Clarice's tea. She's like totally herbal." Jaclyn took the last bite of her pancake and started in seriously on the chips and dip. "I bet there was pot in our tea."

Morgan laughed and nearly choked. "No, silly, you put the tea in the pot."

"That's what I mean. There's pot in the tea."

Morgan shook her head. "You're not making any sense."

Jaclyn looked confused then. "Your eyes are so dark right now, almost black."

"Your eyes...are very pretty. Do you want to dance with me?"

Morgan opened her eyes and stared up at the ceiling fan in the den. Slowly, she raised her head and noticed Jaclyn lying nearby on the floor with a bag of Oreos clutched to her chest. She smelled awful, but she felt more rested than she had in years, and she didn't itch anymore. "Hey," she whispered and tugged on Jaclyn's foot.

Jaclyn patted the bag on her chest. "There's more in the pantry, go get 'em."

Morgan tugged on Jaclyn's foot more persistently. "Jaclyn."

Jaclyn's hair was a mess as she raised her head up and looked around. "What time is it?"

"I don't know, but how'd we get here?"

Jaclyn looked panicked and yelled for Austin. He walked out on the landing upstairs. "Ma'am?"

"Are you okay?"

"Are y'all okay? You know square dancing really is square. Y'all looked like a couple of dorks trying to do-si-do, and you broke the lamp just for the record."

Jaclyn looked at it and frowned. "I did that?"

Austin nodded. "You danced with it, remember?"

"Uh...yeah," Jaclyn said in a whisper.

"I had dinner while y'all were napping, and I cleaned up the kitchen. Whatever Ms. Clarice put in that paste really messed y'all up."

Chapter Twenty-five.

"Well, I'm not sure how I'm going to get to sleep tonight since I feel like I could run a marathon right now," Jaclyn said as she and Morgan swung lazily in the porch swing.

"Do you really think there was marijuana in that tea?"

Jaclyn grinned. "Sweetie, you don't know Clarice. I'm sure that some of her...goofiness...is just part of her personality, but she's smoked weed as long as I've known her. There are no pain relievers or antacids in her house. She handles all ailments with herbs, and her favorite is weed."

"I've never met a sixty-something pothead," Morgan said with a laugh.

Jaclyn looked at her in amus.e.m.e.nt. "How old do you think she is?"

Morgan shrugged. "Early sixties at least."

"Try seventy-one."

"Oh, bulls.h.i.t."

"I s.h.i.t you not."

Morgan sat up straight. "She walks and moves better than we do."

"Because she's discovered the fountain of youth in those herbs. Ida and Betsy are the only ones brave enough to go into her house. Betsy says she has all kinds of plants and weeds hanging from strings to dry. Have you noticed her skin? It's as smooth as a baby's b.u.t.t. Whatever she's putting on her face, I'd like to try. And she has a strict diet. Clarice Minden has never eaten a hamburger. Matter of fact, she doesn't eat any meat at all except for the rare occasion when she'll have some wild turkey, and I don't mean the booze."

"You have lovely skin," Morgan said as she ran her fingers across Jaclyn's cheek. "Don't do anything to it."

Jaclyn took her hand and kissed her palm. "Are you feeling better?"

"Yeah, the bites don't itch, and the b.u.mps are going down. Whatever Clarice mixed up in that jar is a wonder drug. I didn't think I could go the whole day smelling like that, but the nap enabled me to wear it longer. Thanks for letting me use your shower."

Jaclyn sniffed at the skin of Morgan's neck. "You smell good now. The stench didn't linger."

The feel of Jaclyn nuzzling her neck sent a jolt through Morgan. "I...should probably go home, you're turning me on."

"Is that so bad?" Jaclyn breathed against Morgan's skin.

"Right now, yes, since I have more spots than a dalmatian. When we make love for the first time, I want it to be perfect." Morgan's face colored when Jaclyn drew back and looked at her like she was crazy. "I know that sounds silly, but I'm still covered in b.u.mps that gross me out. I don't want that to be what you remember." Morgan sighed as she studied Jaclyn's face. "I really like you, and I'm glad we talked yesterday."

"Me too. You have a lot more restraint than I have. I actually find the b.u.mps attractive."

"Not really," Morgan admitted with a smile. "I talked about going slow and savoring the moment yesterday, but my mind was quickly changing before I got swarmed by ants. I'm even thinking about putting more of that stinky stuff on tonight, so I can heal faster."

Jaclyn c.o.c.ked her head to the side. "Aw, you'd stink for me? No one has ever offered to do that before."

"You've never met anyone like me," Morgan said with a c.o.c.ky grin. "You'd be surprised at the lengths I'd go to please you."

The look of arousal that swept over Jaclyn's features kept Morgan's grin in place. Jaclyn swallowed hard and said, "That's very true, I've never met anyone like you."

Morgan kissed her long and slow, allowing the kiss to make promises before she pulled away and stood. "I'm gonna go home and get smelly."

"You do that," Jaclyn said with a s.e.xy smile.

"Don't overreact, you say." Celeste took a deep breath, and Morgan knew she was about to be on the receiving end of a tirade. "You rolled around in fire ants while playing hide-and- seek like a five-year-old, went to the hospital, had this woman rub cat s.h.i.t all over you, then you drank some drugged-up tea made by a hippie, danced, then pa.s.sed out. Did I miss anything?"

"It smelled like cat s.h.i.t, but it wasn't. At least I hope not." Morgan looked at her arms. "Whatever it is really did a number on my skin, and the b.u.mps have almost gone down completely."

"What the h.e.l.l are you doing down there?"

"Um...you just summed it up, I think."

"Morgan, this ain't normal behavior."

"But I'm having a good time. I feel relaxed for a change. I know it sounds foolish, but-"

"I'll tell you what's foolish. It's getting involved with someone while you're on vacation, and that's what you're doing."

"Right now, it's home," Morgan argued.

"Home? Look clearly at your situation. You're hiding out in the woods like a wounded animal needing to heal. Stanton asked me again about you the other day. Kevin said when Stanton submitted his preliminary budget for next year, it still accounted for your salary, not what he's paying Dalton. You know how he is; he cuts every penny he can. That's why the other departments have m.u.f.fin carts, and we have a vending machine that has more roaches than snacks. Doesn't that tell you anything?"

"It tells me that he's put wiggle room in the budget. If Dalton doesn't pull through, he has more money to negotiate with someone else for the job. That might not necessarily be me."

"But he keeps asking about you, and we know it's not because he's concerned for your welfare. Have you gotten a hit on any of your resumes?"

"No."

"Have you sent out any more?"

Morgan had not opened her laptop in days. It sat on the bar between the den and kitchen collecting dust. "No."

"Then maybe you should be proactive. Email Stanton and ask him how things are going. Keep yourself on his mind."

"He canned me, remember? I don't really care how things are going."

"Morgan, in your situation, you need to consider kissing some a.s.s. Good jobs are scarce."

"I know." Morgan felt her frustration rising. She loved Celeste, but she regretted making the call and wondered why she'd done it. Perhaps because she knew Celeste would help her keep her feet on the ground and her head out of the clouds. "How's Keesha?"

"On my last nerve. She bought a two hundred-dollar flat iron. Two hundred dollars! There was nothing wrong with the old one, and this isn't for work. Flattened the s.h.i.t out of her hair, though." Celeste smacked on something she was eating. "Tell me about this hayseed that's got you all torn up."

Morgan felt warmth spread from her head to her toes when she thought of Jaclyn. "I've never felt like this before. I know it sounds silly, but just holding her hand makes me feel...complete."

"Do you hear yourself?"

"Got that off of a greeting card," Morgan said with a laugh. "She makes me forget the s.h.i.tty situations that got me here in the first place. Had I met her in Atlanta, I would've been just as smitten. She just fits. I don't know any other way to describe it."

"h.o.r.n.y."

"If it was only that, we'd have slept together by now, but I'm trying to take things slow. I am keeping my head in that regard because I want to know if this is something real, and I'm not being driven by hormones. With every minute I spend with her, I'm just drawn to her more. I love her laugh, her smile...I sound just like you when you met Keesha." Morgan's imitation of Celeste was flawless. "Her eyes, they're so d.a.m.n beautiful. She's got the cutest little laugh. This is the one, I just know it."

"b.i.t.c.h," Celeste said with a laugh. "You wanna know what 'the one' is doing right now? She's going through our closet looking for stuff to sell on eBay to cover the cost of that flat iron. And guess what? The pile consists mostly of my things," Celeste said loudly enough for Keesha to hear. "I have to go now because she's gonna put my s.h.i.t back!"

"Good luck."

"You keep your head on straight, girl, remember what's important. You had a great career that afforded you a lot of things, and you may get it back. You think about that while you're out there drinking pot and playing in the swamp."

"Okay."

"Promise."

"I promise to keep my head out of the clouds."

"And out of the hayseed's pants. Love you, bye." Morgan heard Celeste say, "Oh, h.e.l.l no, hooker," before the call ended.

"Seriously, aren't we a little old for this?"

Ida waved Betsy off. "It's a blast, and I've never felt so free in all my life. Harlan and Clarke are at the bar watching football. It's a full moon, don't let it go to waste."

"It's time to celebrate." Clarice took Betsy by the arm and led her deeper into the woods. "Just give it a try. You'll love it."

Betsy, who had not partaken of the marijuana that Ida and Clarice had enjoyed, saw no sense in taking off her clothes and running around in the dark. Had either of them been in their right minds, they wouldn't have, either...well, maybe Clarice would because she was kinda crazy. The whole notion was downright stupid and senseless in her opinion. Women their age after all had no business running anywhere. "Why don't I stand guard over your clothes?"

Ida giggled like a teen. "Where're they gonna go?"

At times, they played bridge when the boys were at the bar, or they'd just gossip about things going on in town. Ever since Clarice started talking to the leaves, things got strange. Betsy couldn't deny she enjoyed the whimsy of silly incantations and drinking whatever potion Clarice brewed up, but the more she indulged Ida and especially Clarice, the wilder her two friends became. "I'm not getting naked."

Chet had all the beer and liquor one man could drink. Jaclyn let him take whatever he wanted when he pulled her out of a pinch at the store. But there was nothing like moonshine, and his last jug of the magical elixir had gone dry. He'd not fired up the old still in ages but decided to take advantage of the cool November evening. The ticking and gurgling of the still relaxed him as he sat beneath the stars and watched the fire beneath the kettle.

He'd dozed for a while when movement caused him to stir. Images in the pale light flashed before him as his sleepy eyes came into focus. One drew near screaming wildly like a banshee. Chet's feet flew up as he tried to move and kicked the big boiler. Precious fluid drained out onto the ground, and Chet began to run as it rushed toward the fire. He wasn't exactly sure of what he'd seen, but as his brain implored him to run, he thought that one of the banshees may've been wearing a girdle. Then came the big boom.

Morgan dropped the coffee cup she was rinsing into the sink as the panes in her windows rattled. The skies had been clear a few minutes earlier when she'd sat out on her deck, so the sound couldn't have been thunder. She raced through the cabin and threw open the front door. Orange light filled the woods in the distance behind Clarice's trailer. She jogged down the driveway, trying to imagine what had just exploded.

Jaclyn ran toward her with her cell phone pressed to her ear, Austin followed behind in his pajamas. "Are you okay?" she asked when Morgan met them on the road.

"I'm fine." She pointed at the woods. "Are there houses back there?"

Jaclyn shook her head as she chewed her lip. "No, but Chet..." Jaclyn gave Austin a shake. "Stay with Morgan, go inside until I get back."

Morgan grabbed Jaclyn's arm before she could run away. "Wait a minute. Where are you going?"

"Chet, he could be hurt." Jaclyn wrenched her arm from Morgan's grasp and ran.

"Austin, go to my place," Morgan yelled as she tried to keep up with Jaclyn.