Mama Gets Hitched Read Online Free PDF Page A

it have killed them to plant something native? Some saw palmetto, or marlberry for the birds?
    Maddie said, “You know that’s not the way I mean it, Mace. You’re free to do any job you want. It’s just that this one is kind of icky, isn’t it?”
    “Icky? You’ve been spending too much time with your seventh-grade girls. You’re starting to sound like a twelve-year-old.”
    I punched on the radio. The country station was playing Carrie Underwood’s “All-American Girl.”
    “Besides, Maddie, trapping’s only part-time. It brings in a few bucks to add to my pay from Himmarshee Park.”
    The manicured fairways of the golf course stretched out on both sides as we drove into the subdivision. Stopping to wait for a golf cart to cross the road ahead, I tracked a flash of brightly colored sportswear on the driver’s side. Before, when this land was wild, I’d watched the wings of birds in flight and the white tail flags of leaping deer.
    “Remember all the animals we’d spot out here when we were kids, Maddie?”
    “No.” Maddie changed the radio to her favorite, Dr. Laura. “That was you communing with the woodland creatures, Mace. I’ve always been partial to civilization.”
    A tasteful wooden road sign pointed the way to the golf course’s clubhouse ahead.
    “You want to stop by the eighteenth hole? See if you can wrestle another nuisance gator out of a water hazard?”
    I looked over to see if Maddie was making fun of me.
    “What?” she asked, eyes all innocent.
    “Just that you called me Gator Gert for two months after that job. And making those mating grunts every time you saw me got real old, too.”
    “Sorry, Mace. I couldn’t resist. Truth is, we were proud of you. There aren’t too many women alligator trappers in Florida …”
    “Our cousin’s the official trapper. I just helped.”
    “The point is you’re skilled. Which came in pretty handy last summer when Mama got herself into that mess with the murder.”
    I glanced at Maddie again. She looked serious.
    “I mean it, Sister. I hate to think what would have happened to Mama if you hadn’t been there.”
    “We’re not going to hug now, are we?”
    “Not a chance.” Maddie grinned. “Speaking of Mama, I hope she doesn’t get herself into trouble again. She was there when Ronnie’s body was found.”
    “Yeah, but I’m the one who found him, and I can vouch for her whereabouts.”
    Maddie’s hero Dr. Laura was belittling a caller. I punched the button back to the country station. Joe Nichols sang “It Ain’t No Crime.”
    “I’m not sure exactly where Carlos and I stand these days. But I’m pretty sure he knows Mama and I wouldn’t conspire to murder her neighbor.”
    “Speaking of Carlos, what’s up with you two, anyway? We’re all sick to death of you going back and forth, forth and back. Y’all need to either go, or get off the pot.”
    “Elegantly put, Maddie.”
    “I thought he’d be your date to the wedding. Now Mama tells me you asked her to invite him separately. Why’d you do that?”
    “Quiet. I’m looking for the address.”
    She snorted, meaning she wouldn’t give up.
    “Okay, fine. I didn’t want the added pressure of being a couple at the wedding. All sorts of expectations go with that. What if we break up for good? Carlos will be in all the wedding pictures.”
    Maddie was silent for a moment. “That’s ridiculous, Mace. Given Mama’s track record, even the groom could be out of the picture before the wedding album is bound. You’re making excuses. Lame ones, too.”
    I slammed on the brakes. “Dammit, I passed it. I told you I needed to concentrate.”
    Backing up, I scanned addresses. You could tell the leisure pursuits of the residents by their mailbox designs: some were shaped like largemouth bass; the others looked like golf balls perched on tees. I passed two bass before I came to a ball.
    “Looks like we’re here.” I pulled into a circular driveway, parking behind a silver