Read Jeanne Glidewell - Lexie Starr 06 - Cozy Camping for Free Online Page B

dead person look like they did when alive, or even better in some cases, there can be some very unhappy family members.”
    After chuckling over Wendy’s remark, Kylie pointed at my daughter’s feet and said, “I absolutely love your boots. If I ever win the lottery, the first thing I’m going to buy is a pair just like them. Well, maybe the second thing, after I buy the biggest, plushest mansion in the country, complete with a huge, elaborate swimming pool, and a fleet of customized Rolls Royces in the eight-car garage.”
    “It better be a big lottery payout or you might not have enough left over for a pair of boots like mine,” Wendy said, chuckling at Kylie’s remarks.
    Just as Wendy finished her sentence, the queen of gasket-blowing walked in the door. Ignoring Wendy, Veronica, and me as if we were grease stains on the linoleum floor, she marched straight up to Kylie and demanded to see the owner. Kylie’s jubilant mood vanished like dollar bills in a strip joint.
    “I’m afraid she doesn’t start working in the office until noon. She’s up late every evening doing paperwork after she locks up the office, which stays open until ten, and often later than that during this annual event,” Kylie answered with as much politeness as she could summon. “Can I help you?”
    “No, you can’t. I have an issue to discuss with her that is way above your pay grade.”
    Remaining calm and collected—almost stoic—Kylie told Fanny Finch to come back later if she needed to talk directly to Emily Harrington. I think I would have been compelled to slap the scowl right off the author’s face. The woman must have been born disgruntled. She was like the tiger that couldn’t change its stripes—a fitting description of Fanny. I was impressed with Kylie’s poise, something I’d have been hard-pressed to emulate.
    Even though Fanny had said she’d speak only to Emily, she launched right into a laundry list of complaints. Between griping about the unevenness of her site and the park’s lack of a payphone, she managed to work in the fact that she was the author of the best selling novel Fame and Shame , a biography detailing the disgraceful truths about Vex Vaughn’s past behaviors and actions.
    I didn’t have a clue who Vex Vaughn was earlier when Wyatt announced he had acquired tickets for us to attend the performer’s concert that evening. This wasn’t surprising, since my tastes leaned toward old-timers like Merle Haggard and Johnny Cash. I’d still be listening to my old Elvis tapes if my car had an eight-track player in it, something the three gals I was with would look at as if they were viewing something from the Jurassic period.
    When I glanced at Veronica, whom I now knew was a fan of Vaughn’s, she had an angry, hateful expression on her face, and fists tightly clinched. When she took a step forward, I thrust myself between her and Fanny as I heard Kylie respond, “I’m sure you are profiting handsomely on the book, despite how it might affect other people’s lives.”
    Fanny replied with venom. “The scumbag should have thought about that when he was taking illegal drugs, getting young women pregnant before dumping them, and racking up one DUI after another. Not only that, but he was arrested for assault and battery several times, and charged with resisting arrest twice. Oh, but I don’t want to give away everything in the book. You’ll have to purchase a copy at my book-signing this afternoon if you want to know all the juicy details.”
    “No, thanks!” Kylie replied. I could tell that she, like Veronica, was a fan of the subject of Fanny’s unsanctioned biography. I wasn’t sure why they seemed so fond of him if Fanny’s description of him was accurate. I listened as Kylie practically spat out her next comments. “I have no desire to read a disrespectful book like that! And one more thing, Ms. Finch. When was the last time you’ve seen a payphone? They’re practically obsolete now that