Down Home and Deadly

toddler, but I was reasonably intelligent. But when I was about six, I hit a growth spurt and gained weight. From then on, I was an embarrassment to Mother. By the time I was a teenager, my weight problem had grown worse and was complicated by that common teen horror, acne. I spent several summers abroad with a nanny. Does that sound like my mother loved me?”
    “Teenage years are hard for everyone,” I answered, remembering the turmoil surrounding my parents and Carly. “Sometimes the best thing we can do about them is forgive and forget.”
    Tiffany ran her hand through her frizzy hair. “It’s not like I haven’t tried. A long time ago, I decided the best way to deal with her is to be myself, only more so. Hence, no makeup, no fancy clothes, no beauty salons. It kills her. And I’ll let you in on a little secret. I have a whole closet full of other clothes. When I go out of town, I dress and act like everyone else. I’ll never be beautiful like my mother, but I’m passable.”
    “Has Ricky seen you in your other guise?” I had to ask.
    She laughed. “Oh yes. On a few special occasions, I’ve pulled out my wardrobe stash and gotten fixed up before we ’ve gone out. Only when we were going out of town, of course. I’ve been to Dallas on business several times since we’ve been dating. A couple of times, he let me get him a plane ticket and hotel room, though he wouldn’t stay at the fanc y hotel I stayed at . He didn’t want to waste my money. And of course, we couldn’t travel down together. I don’t want Mother to have a heart attack, after all.”
    “That’s nice of you,” I said dryly.
    She smirked. “Anyway, I promised Ricky that when we get married, I’ll stop my little prank. But for now, he thinks it’s a good joke on Mother, too.”
    “You and Ricky must have the same sense of humor,” I commented. “Being able to laugh together is a good thing.”
    “Yes.” She frowned faintly. “Though sometimes he is a little flippant about things I feel are important.” She hurriedly added, “Not that I’m criticizing him.”
    “Nobody’s perfect,” I answered. I could almost feel Amelia at my elbow, urging me on. “Where did you and Ricky meet?”
    She rolled her eyes. “That’s a crazy story. I hadn’t been back in town long, and Mother insisted on buying me a new car. Of course, the little hybrid I wanted wasn’t good enough for her daughter, so she got me a gas - guzzling Hummer. Can you believe it? Anyhow, I was cruising through town when blue lights came on behind me. I pulled over to let the officer chase down whatever dangerous criminal he was after, but it was me. Ricky had just joined the force and didn’t realize who I was.”
    I noted that she was as arrogant as Amelia, though in a nicer way.
    “When I told him my name, he asked if I was any relation to the mayor. We had a good laugh when he discovered he’d pulled the mayor’s daughter over for speeding.”
    “You drive a Hummer?” I asked, remembering the little Toyota Prius she’d been driving the day of the basketball game. As different from a Hummer as . . . Tiffany from Amelia.
    “No, of course not. I drove that one a couple of weeks just to humor Mother then traded it for a hybrid. Going green is best for the earth, you know.”
    “So Ricky asked you out when he stopped you?”
    A hint of color flashed across her cheeks. “Actually, I asked him out. The Garden Society had a big do that weekend , and I had planned to go alone. He didn’t know many folks in town, so he was glad to go with me. We hit it off so well, we’ve dated ever since. And I think he may be the one for me. I’ve dated some real losers, but I have a good feeling about Ricky. And it will really tick Mother off if I marry a police officer.” She must have realized how that sounded , because she grimaced. “That’s just the icing on the cake.”
    “Be careful, though. Dressing to aggravate your mother is one thing, but marrying for that reason would be taking things a little too far.”
    A flash of irritation crossed her face.
    Had I overstepped the bounds? After all, this was my boss I was giving advice to.
    “That wouldn’t be the reason. Like I said, it would just be a plus.”
    “I don’t know. It seems like it would be a good idea to come to terms with your mother before you make permanent plans with anyone else.”
    “Is that Dear Pru speaking?” Sarcasm dripped from her voice.
    “I’ve just seen too much