Diana Anderson - Entering Southern Country 01 - Famous in a Small Town by Diana Anderson Page A

else you got on your mind?” Justin asked as he waved his hand to shoo away gnats swarming near his face.
    “Right now, nothing. I’m just as baffled as you are.” He dropped his arms to his sides and headed back toward the road. “I need some coffee.”
    Justin took quick steps to catch up with Cal’s long strides. “I’ll make us a pot when we get back to the office.”
    Cal cut his eyes at Justin. “That’s all right. I think I’ll stop by the diner.”
     
    * * *
     
    “You had a visitor this morning.” Janie filled Cal’s cup to the brim. She replaced the coffee decanter, turned back toward him, and then placed her elbows on the counter. She rested her chin in her hands.
    Cal took a sip and then lowered the cup. “Here? Who?”
    “Not here. I went by your place to fetch your dirty laundry.”
    “Mom, I told you that you don’t have to do my—”
    “I do what I want to do. Now, you want to know who it was or not?”
    “Go on.” He took a sip of his coffee and watched her over the rim of his cup.
    “Callie—Mrs. Wallace, was snooping around on your front porch.”
     He lowered his cup. “Callie? Snooping?”
    “Yup!”
    “What was she looking for?”
    “I think a spare key. She was looking under that flowerpot that’s under your spare bedroom window.”
    “She say what she was there for?”
    “No, but I think I took her by surprise. She left in a hurry. She was dressed to kill too.”
    He brought his coffee cup to his lips and eyed her. “She’s always dressed to kill.”
    Janie raised her brows at him. “Son, you apparently ain’t seen nothin’ yet. That woman was out to get more than access to your house. She’s after you. You might want to watch yourself.”
    He took a sip and then set his cup down on the counter. “She hasn’t been after me in years.”
    She looked off in thought for a moment and then looked back at him. “Her daughter’s back. As I recall, the last time Agnes was in town, Callie went after you. Sounds like Momma might be a tad bit jealous of her daughter.” She looked down at the counter. “Or maybe, she’s trying to keep you two apart for some reason.”
    Cal and his mother made eye contact before she turned and grabbed the coffee decanter and topped off his coffee.
    “She changed her name,” Cal said, watching his mother.
    She set the decanter back on the hot plate and turned back toward him. “Which one? Her surname or—”
    “Both. She calls herself Raven Sawyer now.”
    A crease formed between her brows. “Raven Sawyer?” Her jaw dropped. She leaned on the counter. “She moved to New York City, right?”
    He nodded. “Last I’d heard.”
    Janie dropped her gaze to the counter. “Well, I’ll be.” She looked back at him.
    “What?”
    She straightened and held up her index finger. She walked a few feet away, reached under the counter, and grabbed her purse. She pulled out a paperback novel, dropped her purse back under the counter, and walked back.
    “This explains a lot. I thought the town in this book sounded familiar and with the author’s name, it’s got to be her.” She held the book out to Cal.
    He eyed the book and then his mother. “What?”
    She looked at him under raised eyebrows. “You need to read this.”
    He took the book and looked it over. He read the title. Shattered Lives. “It’s a romance novel.” He shook his head and held it out to her. “No thanks.”
    She held her hand up. “Read the author’s name.”
    His lips thinned. He shook his head and brought the book back for another look. “Rav …” He read the name, and flipped the book over, and then read the back jacket. After he’d read it, he opened the front cover and then flipped to the back. “There isn’t a picture of the author. And it says here that this is a work of fiction.”
    “She didn’t dare put her photo on there. Now that I know who wrote it, it’s not fiction by any means.”
    “What makes you say that?”
    “Read it, and you’ll