'Til Grits Do Us Part Read Online Free PDF

did last night—down to her spacy expression and the same old stinky sweater with the hole under the arm.
    I, on the other hand, had wasted an hour and a half of precious sleep time scrubbing manure off my tennis shoes and showering several times with antibacterial soap. And then ironing my best silk pantsuit that the dry cleaners had left, wrinkled, in a Kroger’s paper bag with my name scrawled on the side in pen.
    If the Japanese laundry tag didn’t stump them, the kimono-style top with cute side-tied bows probably did. Because they looked like a bunch of Boy Scout knots when I opened the bag.
    Note to self: buy one of those at-home dry-cleaning kits.
    â€œIt’s an interesting theory, Meg, but I don’t know if somebody’s really trying to knock off Ray Floyd.” I stuck
The News Leader
labels on press packets while we talked. “That drunk seemed like a pretty random guy. He didn’t even know his name—much less whose house he hit.” I pressed on a label and smoothed it with my palm. “I guess I’ll see what the intern does with my interview notes when he writes up the Amanda bit.”
    â€œRight. As if you can actually get Matt to do work.”
    â€œTell me about it. His idea of work is rearranging his Facebook icons and making up excuses for why he can’t help me.” If Kevin ever decided to hire Matt Tellerman full-time, so help me, I’d make his life a living nightmare.
    â€œWell, anyway, I have a hunch this Amanda thing is gonna be big.” She nodded toward the blue folder on my desk labeled
Amanda Angela Cummings
. “If I were you, I’d go through that folder and start calling people.”
    â€œI’ve looked at it. Thanks. But I don’t want that story.”
    â€œChicken.”
    â€œIf I have time between trying on wedding dresses and showing my house, I’ll think about it. I’m getting married in August, remember?” I shook my index finger at her, a label waving from the end of it. “Which doesn’t give me time to chase dead-end stories like this one.”
    â€œI’ll say. Why don’t you just elope?”
    â€œDon’t think I haven’t considered it.” I slapped the label on the envelope then rolled up my sleeve and twisted around to see my elbow, swollen with two red dots. “You know what’s really bothering me now? These horrible bug bites.” I scratched at them in frustration. “I must have gotten them last night.”
    â€œChiggers.” Meg nodded firmly. “They’ll getcha every time. And if you were really out there tipping cows, I bet you’re full of them.”
    â€œShhh.” I put my finger fiercely to my lips. “Keep quiet about the cow stuff, okay? So what did you call those bugs?”
    â€œChiggers. They love old logs and rotting wood. During the larval stage they burrow into human flesh and—”
    â€œUgh. Stop!” I clapped my hands over my ears. “Just tell me how to get rid of them.”
    â€œBathe in bleach water.” Meg sipped her tea as if she dispensed chigger advice every day. “That’ll kill the critters. And it’s about the only thing.”
    â€œBleach? Like the kind we clean toilets with?”
    â€œYep. Welcome to the country.”
    I groaned, scratching at my elbow and another welt that had since risen on my knee.
    â€œYou better check for ticks, too, if you were really out in a cow pasture,” Meg added. “They carry Lyme disease, you know.”
    â€œLet’s talk about something else,” I said, feeling crawly all over. “Today’s my birthday. Did you know that? I’m going home early. And my next-door neighbor Stella made this amazing sushi cake and left it on my front porch. She—”
    â€œWait, wait, wait.” Meg put her hands up. “You can’t mean what you just said.”
    â€œAbout my birthday?”
    â€œThe sushi