Bad Girls Don't by Cathie Linz Read Free Book Online Page A

oldest one in the class. “Turn off the music a minute.”
    Skye did so.
    “Is it true you were arrested for indecent exposure yesterday?” Fanny asked.
    “Of course not,” Nancy Crumpler answered on her behalf. “Hey, did I ever tell you all about the time I was a dancer in Vegas? Now there’s a story.”
    Her comment surprised Skye. “But your sister is a nun.”
    “Yeah, she’s the good sister. I’m the bad one,” Nancy said proudly.
    “I can relate to that,” Skye said. “My sister Julia is the perfect one in the family.”
    “The librarian from Serenity Falls? I heard she took off on the back of a Harley with some bad boy six months ago.”
    “Her one attempt to out-bad me,” Skye scoffed. “Not that that was possible. It takes a certain something to be a bad girl, and Julia just doesn’t have it.”
    “What kind of something?” Fanny asked.
    “Bad girls make things happen,” Skye replied.
    “That’s right,” Nancy agreed.
    Skye swiveled her hips. “Bad girls have coast-to-coast confidence.”
    “They’re cheeky. And some have great cheeks.” Nancy turned her back to everyone and cupped her firm bottom with her hands before giving them all a wiggle to demonstrate. “There’s a reason the sign on Crumpler’s Auto Parts says ‘We Have the Best Parts Around.’ This here”—she pointed to her derriere—“is definitely my best part.”
    The entire class cracked up. Octogenarian Fanny giggled so hard, they almost had to do a Heimlich on her.
    “They’re sassy and saucy,” Skye continued.
    “Are you talking about bad girls or Nancy’s bottom?” Fanny demanded.
    Skye grinned. “Both. Bad girls don’t have a plan for life. They only know what they want right now, and they go after it.”
    “So what do you want right now?” Fanny asked.
    “To get this class moving.”
    “Have you heard when your sister is coming back?”
    “No.”
    “Do you think she knows about your being arrested?”
    “I wasn’t actually arrested.”
    “A lot of people saw you entering the police station in handcuffs.”
    “Handcuffs were involved, yes.”
    “You mean you and the sheriff were just having fun?” Fanny frowned. “That doesn’t sound like him. He’s not the type to have fun. You know his story, right?”
    “I know he’s an uptight pain in the butt,” Skye said.
    “It’s not polite to talk about an officer of the law that way.”
    “She’s already told you she’s a bad girl,” Nancy said.
    Fanny shook her head. “Even so . . . Do you know why Nathan is the way he is?”
    “No,” Skye said. She didn’t want to know anything that might make Nathan more appealing. “And I don’t care.”
    “It’s a tragic story, really. I can’t believe you’ve been in Rock Creek for several months and you haven’t heard about it.”
    “Successful avoidance on my part,” Skye muttered.
    Fanny pursed her lips. “But why would you want to do that?”
    “Maybe tragedy makes her cry,” Nancy suggested. “It makes her mother cry.”
    “Bad girls probably don’t cry, huh?” Fanny looked to Skye for the answer.
    “Not unless they’re after something,” Skye said. “Okay, ladies, let’s get down to business here. Prepare to let your inner diva out.”
    As Skye went through the familiar movements of her dance, she felt the stress gradually leave her body. She ordered thoughts of Studly Do-Right to depart as well, but being the stubborn sort . . . he refused.
    So she imagined him posing nude for some calendar, figuring that should chase him out of her thoughts. No such luck. He made a mighty fine Mr. May.
     
     
    “I’m home!” Skye called out later that afternoon as she walked into her apartment above the deserted Tivoli Theater.
    The entire building had been for sale for over a year. No one wanted to buy it. So the once brilliant movie theater remained dark, as it had for quite a while apparently.
    The realtor who was selling it was in one of Skye’s belly-dancing classes and