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settle down and give her some grandbabies.” She grinned impudently. “Those brats of your brother’s can’t be much fun,” she said, then amended politely, “No disrespect intended.”
    Dinah laughed. “They are out of control, aren’t they?They were at the house for dinner night before last and it was all I could do not to suggest we hogtie ’em and leave ’em in the backyard till the rest of us had finished having a civilized meal. If my children turn out like that, please take me out and shoot me.”
    â€œYou couldn’t possibly have children like that,” Maggie said loyally. “You were raised by a Rawlings.”
    â€œSo was Tommy Lee,” Dinah noted, thinking about how oblivious her brother had seemed to his children’s bad behavior during the family dinner. He and their father had been at odds, too. She supposed she ought to sit down with Tommy Lee and figure out what was bugging him, but she knew she needed to get her own life straightened out before she could be a help to anyone else, even her own brother.
    Maggie gave her a disbelieving look. “Maybe your mama influenced Tommy Lee, but men aren’t the ones who teach their children good manners. It’s left up to women. And your sister-in-law’s as sweet as can be, but she wasn’t exactly raised by a woman familiar with Emily Post’s rules on etiquette.”
    Lord knows, that was true enough, Dinah thought. Her brother’s wife had narrowly escaped a troubled past and an uncertain future when she’d met Tommy Lee under circumstances no one ever dared ask about. That the two were head over heels in love had been enough for everyone to look the other way, with the possible exception of Dorothy Davis who made repeated attempts to bring her daughter-in-law up to her own high standards of conduct.
    Unfortunately, all the lessons in the world weren’t going to turn Laurinda into anybody’s notion of a genteel Southern belle. Dinah almost admired the stubborn way she’d clung to her own identity. Standing upto Dorothy Davis took more courage than Dinah had ever had. In fact, her tendency to let her mother push her into doing things was one of the very many reasons she’d been so anxious to escape Charleston. It was bad enough that she’d undergone the torment of a debutante ball, but the prospect of having a lavish wedding to a suitable, hand-chosen man had been more than she could bear. She’d just about literally run for her life.
    Now she was back and within the scope of all her mother’s plans. It didn’t bear thinking about.
    â€œLet’s not talk about Laurie and Tommy Lee,” Dinah begged since thinking about those two had sent her off down memory lane.
    â€œThen let’s get back to you,” Maggie agreed readily. “Why were you over at the Beauforts’ last night, any way?”
    â€œI went looking for Bobby.”
    Maggie’s gaze narrowed with suspicion. “Because?”
    â€œHe’s an old friend, just like you. What other reason do I need?” Dinah asked, aware that a defensive note had crept into her voice.
    Maggie regarded her blandly. “I don’t suppose it had anything at all to do with that ridiculous backup plan you two devised when you graduated from college and turned down his proposal.”
    Dinah winced. That was the problem with sharing confidences with a woman who never forgot anything. Still, she feigned ignorance. “Backup plan?”
    â€œYou know, the one where the two of you get married if no one better comes along. I believe it was to kick in when your biological clock started ticking too loudly. I’m certain it was all on your terms. To this day I have no idea what Bobby got out of it, other than some dim hope that you’d eventually come to your senses.”
    Dinah cringed at the suggestion that she’d manipulated that agreement out of Bobby and that