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I’ll get him to whup your ass.”
    Ridge gave a slight chuckle. “He’d enjoy that, because I don’t think he likes me much.
    Bubba smiled. “You’re right, he doesn’t.”
    Ridge dropped the subject and moved on. “What about her husband?”
    Bubba shifted in his seat. “We’d all known each other all our lives. Boone was one of my best friends, and his family was one of the richest in the county. Marlene never passed up a chance to throw it in your face, but not Boone,” Bubba said sadly. “I don’t think money meant much to him.”
    “Anyway, he and Tizzy became boyfriend and girlfriend in the eighth grade. Neither one of ‘em ever dated anybody else. When they went off to college, they lived together. Marlene didn’t approve, but Boone didn’t care. Don’t get me wrong, he loved his sister. God only knows why, but he did.”
    Bubba straightened in his seat. “They got married and didn’t tell anybody. Boone went off to war, and she moved back home with her parents. Long story short, Boone got killed, and shit hit the fan. The Marines notified Tizzy, because she was his wife. Marlene got furious. I have to admit, it was a hell of a way for her to find out about the marriage. At the funeral, Tizzy got the special treatment, not Marlene, and it chapped Marlene’s ass. She made a big scene. Called Tizzy all sorts of names. Accused her of all sorts of things.”
    “What did Tizzy do?” Ridge asked.
    Bubba shrugged. “Nothing. Boone’s death put her in shock. Dan pulled Carl to the side, and he got Marlene under control, but not until she’d made a spectacle of herself. When Marlene found out about the baby, she told Tizzy she wanted a paternity test done to make sure Boone was the father. Hell, neither one of ‘em had ever been with anybody else. Marlene just wanted to make Tizzy’s life miserable.
    “Tizzy was in bad shape after Boone died. She took to her bed. Wouldn’t eat. Wouldn’t talk to anybody. Throwing up all the time. We honestly thought she was gonna die, but then the doctor told her she was pregnant, and she snapped out of it. She bought the Browning house with the insurance money and restored the place. She built next door, and after Gracie’s birth, they moved in. By then, Marlene knew Boone had a will and had left everything to Tizzy. Including his fifty percent of the bank.”
    Ridge swallowed hard as blood rushed to his face. “Marlene Weston owned half the bank and Tizzy Donovan owns the other half?”
    “Yeah.”
    “So you’re saying the two of them hated each other?”
    Bubba acknowledged the question with a grim look. “No doubt, Marlene hated Tizzy for a lot of reasons. First, she took Boone away from her. At least that was Marlene’s opinion. Second, she thought Tizzy could have stopped him from going to war and didn’t. Finally, she believed Tizzy got pregnant on purpose. Because of Boone’s death, Tizzy became a wealthy woman. The inheritance put her on an even playing field with Marlene. Where the bank was concerned, Tizzy had the same amount of power, and Marlene hated that whole idea.
    “But Tizzy didn’t hate Marlene. She didn’t love her either. She might’ve tried to get along with her if Boone were alive. But with him out of the picture, Tizzy didn’t give a rat’s ass about Marlene.”
    Bubba wagged his head. “Wait a minute. You’re not liking Tizzy for this murder, are you? Because, if that’s what you’re thinking . . . you’re way off base. There’s no way in hell Tizzy Donovan could kill anybody.”
    Inside the shop, from the back room, a man appeared. “Who’s he?” Ridge asked.
    Bubba answered quickly. “Freddy Holt. He works for the McAlisters, both at the bakery and the bar. Cleans up and does the floors. He’s in love with Tizzy.”
    Ridge mulled it over a second. “Well, that makes two of you.”
    Whattaya mean, two of you? You think I’ve got the hots for Tizzy?” He gave a whispered laugh. “Man, you’re off base on so