Read Online The Red-Hot Chili Cook-Off by Carolyn Brown - Free Book Online Page A

even see Alma Grace or hear her either. She’d just been demoted from heaven to hell.
    Floy’s skinny shoulders popped up a couple of inches in a shrug. “It’s the only chair open right now. If someone gets sick, we might make a place for you toward the front.”
    Alma Grace pushed her chair back. “I’ll make it easy for y’all. Just give my chair to someone else and I’ll sing with the congregation this year. Have a nice lunch.”
    She picked up her cupcakes and poppers on the way out, put them in her car, and was about to get inside when she remembered the wings and halo had been bought from her personal checkbook, not the church’s money. She marched straight back to the choir robe room to get them. She looked in the closet but they were gone. She checked everywhere but she couldn’t find them. Those rotten women had taken her position and stolen her wings, too.
    ***
    Patrice looked up when Alma Grace stormed in the back door. She slammed the cupcakes and pepper poppers on the kitchen table and slumped in a chair. Josie opened the cupcake holder and rubbed her hands together.
    She grabbed a cupcake and peeled the paper off the sides. “I love peanut butter cupcakes. I can gain five pounds just smelling them. And poppers, too. What happened? Did they call off the church thing?”
    â€œNo, they fired me. If I can’t be the Easter angel, they aren’t going to eat the food I took to the meeting,” Alma Grace said.
    Carlene dropped her spoon and it rattled across the floor. “They did what?”
    â€œFired me! To make it less of an embarrassment, they changed the bylaws and now the Easter program committee head can only have that office two years running. Since I’ve had it a lot longer, I’m out. Just like that and they stole my wings and my halo. Kim gets to wear them.”
    â€œWhy?” Carlene asked.
    Patrice swallowed the first bite. “Floy probably already had Alma Grace on probation for going in with us to buy a sexy panty store. That was a big enough blot on their sweet little sanctimonious self-righteous asses. They sure couldn’t deal with a divorced cousin. Dear God, that would singe their wings for sure. Am I right, Alma Grace?”
    â€œYou’ve got to be kidding me,” Carlene gasped. “Wait until Aunt Sugar hears this. I’ll be taking my name off the Easter egg committee.”
    Patrice giggled. “Aunt Sugar might even cuss or change churches but you will not take your name off that committee. We’ve got to have an inside woman or they’ll line all of us up before the firing squad.”
    Alma Grace pointed a long slim finger at Carlene. “This is your fault. I love you because we’re kin folks. I respect you because we are business partners. But right now I don’t like you. Why’d you have to leave him before the Easter program? Couldn’t you have stuck around until it was over? Maybe by then you would have ironed things out. You did promise to stay with him through bad times and good times and it’s only been two days and look what a mess you’ve made. And Patrice is right, if you leave the committee, it’ll look like they’ve won, so you have to stay.” Tears streamed down her face, making wet circles as they landed on her cute little white shirt.
    â€œIf you have got to blame someone, then blame Lenny, not Carlene,” Josie said.
    â€œI do blame him but he could repent and make things right. And I hope Kim is too fat for my wings and I’m mad at you for ruining that book because it might have helped Carlene go back to him but now he’s been to see Carson so he’s not going to repent,” Alma Grace whined.
    â€œHe’s been to see Carson!” Patrice raised her voice. “Carlene just left yesterday, for God’s sake. What are you going to do now, Carlene? He’s already retained Carson.”
    â€œGuess she