Hot in Hellcat Canyon Read Online Free PDF Page A

who—”
    “No, no, let me tell, let me tell!” Annalise begged all of them, with limpid eyes.
    Casey and Kayla could compete with each other but they could hardly compete with a limpid-eyed ten-year-old.
    They clapped their mouths shut, albeit reluctantly.
    Eden put her hand on Annalise’s shoulder and said, “Go on, baby. Tell everyone.”
    “Grandma, John Tennessee McCord ate a hamburger in here and he said it was the best ever and stopped to pet Peace and Love and he gave Mama his autograph and I spelled for him!”
    “I thought I saw him walk by my store!” Kayla crowed.
    “I thought I saw him walk by my store!” Casey said, as if Kayla hadn’t said a word.
    “I thought I recognized him from somewhere!” Sherrie was all radiant satisfaction. “He’s that actor from Blood Brothers ! That boy is beautiful . Didn’t you think so, Glenn?”
    “Ah, Sherrie, I wish you wouldn’t ask me questions like that,” Glenn was pained. “He’s a good-lookin’ kid, sure.”
    John Tennessee McCord . . . John Tennessee McCord . . . John Tennessee McCord.
    Britt was sure she’d heard that name before. It seemed significant. It was a very actory name, that was for sure.
    She just couldn’t remember ever seeing his show.
    She knew what she’d be doing tonight after work, though.
    “He’s probably stopping by on his way to Felix Nicasio’s wedding in Napa, at the end of August,” Casey said knowledgeably. “He was the director of Blood Brothers. All the A-listers are going. They’re meeting at a secret location and going there on a bus . And his ex is supposed to be there, too.” Casey got all the gossip mags in her salon, and she supplemented these with TMZ.
    That wedding was more than a month away.
    “Baby girl, let me see that autograph,” Sherrie commanded Annalise. “Britt, did you know he wrote something on your tag?”
    Britt hadn’t noticed yet.
    All the women clustered around to read it.
That’s for saying “enigmatic.”
    Britt felt a slow flush paint her all the way to her hairline.
    “Oooohhhh . . .” the women collectively sighed.
    “And see? The handwriting is the same. That’s him, all right.” Sherrie was satisfied with her sleuthing.
    “Did you really say ‘enigmatic’ to him?” Casey was astonished. “Gosh. I would never have thought to do that, Britt.”
    She was full of admiration. She and Britt were always just a little diffident around each other. Like two shy kids who think they might want to be friends but didn’t quite know how to go about it.
    “Wow. I didn’t know you had any game, Britt,” Kayla said admiringly.
    “ Game? ” Britt was astounded. She laughed. “I didn’t know saying ‘enigmatic’ was game .”
    She hadn’t known that Kayla gave much thought to her at all. But she’d clearly been walking around thinking Britt couldn’t possibly have game.
    “He’s not going to forget you. And the best game is the kind you don’t even know you have,” Kayla said sagely.
    Which actually sounded sort of wise, once Britt figured out what she was trying to say.
    But Casey rolled her eyes so hard it was a wonder they didn’t fall out and bounce across the floor.
    “I’m gonna let you keep that tag, hon,” Sherrie said. She gave Britt a pat on the arm and an enigmatic smile of her own.
    Annalise got in the last word. “He’s gonna stay here, he said, cuz he’s filming here and his truck is broken!”
    “Yeah, yeah, he’s a miracle,” Glenn groused. “Those hamburgers aren’t going to deliver themselves to the diners, more’s the pity. If only I’d thought to hire someone who carried plates to tables . . .”
    Britt folded the tag and stuffed it in her jeans, and whirled gracefully to accept hot plates from a glowering Giorgio, who could really hold a grudge if she let something he’d cooked get lukewarm.

CHAPTER 3
    T here were only three bus benches on J. T.’s long, long, sweaty walk, but it felt a bit like a gauntlet straight of