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After the server left, Sam bowed his head for a moment, then picked up his fork and knife to cut into his tagliata di manzo con rucola.
“Do you still go to that little church near your apartment?” Jocelyn said as he began eating.
“Yes, when I’m in New Orleans.” Sam sliced off a piece of his peppered steak. “I know you used to live here for a while. Tell me about Loomis. Help me understand the place.”
“Let’s just say it isn’t your typical warm, friendly Southern town, at least now. The town’s division is more pronounced than when I lived here before. Thankfully Leah and Shelby greeted me the first week I moved back here and went out of their way to include me among their friends. Otherwise this would have been a lonely nine months.”
“So I shouldn’t expect smiles and waves when I walk down Main Street?”
“There are a few friendly people, but many try to emulate the matriarchs of our two prominent families, the Renaults and Pershings. Charla Renault and Lenore Pershing hate each other, hence the town’s division. They put the Hatfields and McCoy feud to shame.”
“Could Leah and Earl have gotten caught up in this feud somehow?”
“I don’t think so. They move in different circles.”
“Has it been hard establishing a new practice?” Sam asked, then sipped his ice water with a lemon slice.
“I became reacquainted with Charla’s daughter, Ava Renault. Being her friend has helped me build a practice fast. There are plenty of people in this town who need help.”
“So it may be difficult to get much out of some of them?”
“Not for you. I’ve seen you at work. You’re very good at interviewing reluctant witnesses.”
He inclined his head. “Thank you. I’ve seen you, and you aren’t too bad yourself.”
“What’s your first impression of Loomis?”
He angled toward her. “You want to know the truth?”
“Always.”
“Creepy.” He suddenly pulled back as though he realized he was too close. “But I’ll deny it if you tell because I won’t get a thing out of anyone if they know I feel that way.”
She reflected back to that day she’d arrived in Loomis and had almost left immediately. It had changed in the twelve years since she’d been gone. Or maybe what had changed was her perception, since she was an adult now and viewed things differently. “You just have to look beyond the glares and frowns,” she said with a little chuckle. “But if you meet Charla Renault or Lenore Pershing, you’ll see why there’s a certain tension in the air when you hit the outskirts of the town.”
“So they take the feud between their families seriously?”
“Most definitely, although Charla has been at a disadvantage since the car accident. She is confined to a wheelchair. I’m not sure—” laughter drifted to her, and she peered over her shoulder at the couple entering the restaurant “—that’s stopped her much.”
“Even though you don’t think Earl or Leah were caught up somehow in the feud or socially involved with the Renaults or Pershings, did they have anything to do with either family in some other way?”
“Leah used to work for Charla’s son, Dylan, four years ago before she became a secretary for the mayor. I imagine that’s why the mayor was the one who called you. Leah was—is invaluable to him.” She made a small gesture to indicate the couple weaving their way through the maze of tables to a private corner, off to the side of the rest of the customers. “That’s Dylan with Angelina Loring.”
Impeccably dressed in a charcoal silk suit with a black tie, Dylan waved the waiter away and sat without helping Angelina into her chair. He immediately flipped his menu open, burying his head behind it. His date pouted, glaring at him.
“Ah, one of the redheads I need to interview.”
“She’s a beauty queen and doesn’t let anyone forget that she was Miss Magnolia several years ago. She has her sights on becoming Dylan’s wife, but she has her work cut out for her. I don’t see that man settling down anytime soon.”
Sam chuckled. “You’re a fountain of information, and you’ve only been back nine months.”
“The good people of Loomis love to gossip, and if giving you a sense of the town helps Leah in any way, then I’ll gladly impart what I know.”
Sam peered at the man and woman a few tables over. “Are there any other ties between Earl and Leah and the two prominent families?”
“Other than the fact that Earl paid rent to the Pershings for the building his pawnshop is in, no. They own most of the property along Main Street so being Earl’s landlord isn’t that unusual.”
“There’s not any real connection then?”
“No. They did all go to Loomis High School. I knew many back then. There was definitely—”
Raised voices intruded. Jocelyn glanced toward Dylan and Angelina. The beauty queen shot to her feet, tossing her napkin onto her plate. Tears sprang into her eyes. She said something to Dylan in a fierce whisper that wiped the smug expression from his face. Grabbing her black clutch, she started for the door. Dylan grasped her arm, stilling her exit and drawing her close to him. His words were lost but not the steely look in his eyes. Angelina wrenched her arm from his clasp and stalked toward the front door with her head held as high as if she were walking down a runway.
Jocelyn shivered as Dylan’s hard gaze swept across the other diners, as though daring them to say anything.
Dylan Renault was not a man to cross.
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