Venus in Blue Jeans by Meg Benjamin Read Free Book Online Page A

“Margaret, dear, I’m sorry. Please don’t distress yourself.”
    Margaret took a breath, mentally counting to ten. It would never do to shriek something rude at the president of the Konigsburg Merchants Association, and it would ruin the impression of suffering womanhood she was trying to convey. “That’s all right, Arthur,” she sniffed. “I’m sure you did your best. And as for letting Docia Kent get involved in our festival… Well, I just hope we don’t all live to regret this.”
    She gathered up Señor Pepe in his carrier and headed out the door again, smiling brightly at Midge on her way by. Let her think she’d managed to talk Arthur around to her point of view. At least Margaret could enjoy a sense of victory for a few minutes, fleeting though it might be.
    She contemplated strategy as she walked back down Main toward her shop. What she needed right now was something to rock Ms. Kent back on her heels a bit. Maybe Docia had won this round, but Margaret wasn’t out of the fight yet. Wine and cheese were just a minor skirmish in the battle for the soul of Konigsburg, which, after all, was what this fight was about. Outsiders were not going to move in on Margaret’s town.
    Ever since Docia Kent had arrived in Konigsburg, Margaret had sensed a rival in the making. It didn’t matter that Docia hadn’t made any moves toward taking over the Merchants Association yet. Margaret knew they were coming. If she’d learned anything from her marketing classes, it was the importance of heading off competitors before they became serious threats. The wine and cheese party was just the beginning, and Margaret had no intention of letting Docia get a foothold in her territory.
    Too bad Cal Toleffson had proven to be such a disappointment. She’d had high hopes for last night. Landing him would have been a major coup, something people would have talked about. Walking into the Liddy Brenner Festival street dance on Toleffson’s arm would have put her right back at the apex of Konigsburg’s social life, where she belonged, as well as reminding Docia Kent just who was in charge here.
    But Toleffson had turned out to be, well, weird . A vegetarian! Of course, Margaret’s mental image of vegetarians looked a lot more like Barney Fife than Cal Toleffson. She’d always thought vegetarians weren’t really… virile . Not eating red meat was supposed to make a man puny. But, well, Cal Toleffson had seemed pretty virile to her, even if he didn’t eat steak, and he definitely wasn’t puny.
    Margaret gave her shop assistant one of her beatific smiles as she headed for the cash register.
    A slightly plump woman in a lime green pantsuit smiled at Señor Pepe as Margaret passed the greeting card display. “What a cute little dog,” she cooed. “I’ll bet he’s a sweetie.”
    “Oh, yes,” Margaret said, absently. “He’s my Precious.”
    But Precious wasn’t exactly what she needed in her battle with Docia Kent. Virile would definitely be better. Maybe she should give Dr. Toleffson another chance.
     
     
    Cal called the clinic as soon as he got back from his run that morning. One of the best things about living in the converted barn he’d found on the edge of town was the dirt roads leading off toward the hills. As long as he stayed out of the way of the pickup trucks that came barreling around the curves without slowing down, he’d had some of the best runs he’d had in years. This morning he’d seen three whitetail deer and a roadrunner within a half-mile of his place. Yet another reason Cal hoped he could actually afford to buy the barn at some point.
    According to Bethany, the day attendant, Nico was still hanging in there. He’d even taken a faint swipe at her when she’d opened the cage to look at him.
    “Game little bugger,” she chuckled. “When he gets back on his feet, I’m leaving him to Armando.”
    Cal breathed a sigh of relief. He really hadn’t known if Nico would make it through the night or