The Red Hat Society's Acting Their Age by Regina Hale Sutherland

he turned around again, Mia said, “She had a migraine.”
    Leanne stepped forward. “Aggie didn’t want to start the drive to the farm and have a headache hit her like a freight train halfway there.”
    “And so she went to my place to lie down until it passed,” Mia finished, picking up on the lie Aggie had obviously relayed to Leanne over the phone.
    “That’s what Aggie said.” Cade didn’t appear convinced. “Apparently potato chips and rock videos are good therapy for her headaches. Oh, and pizza. A small sausage, pepperoni and mushroom arrived right after I did.”
    Behind Cade, Leanne grinned and turned away. “Well,” Mia said, “Aggie can’t let her blood sugar get low.”
    “Or her cholesterol, apparently,” Cade added.
    She cleared her throat. “So I take it you didn’t find anything?”
    “Does that surprise you, too?”
    “Of course not. Just stating the obvious.”
    Cade started for the swinging doors. “I’ll be watching you, Mia.”
    “You’ll be wasting your time.”
    “You, too,” he said to Leanne when he passed her.
    Leanne winked and smiled at him. “I’m flattered, Cade, but I’m a happily married woman. You know that.”
    Without smiling back, he pushed through the swinging doors and disappeared.
    Air rushed from Mia’s lungs and she staggered back against the refrigerator, one hand pressed to her pounding chest.
    Leanne laughed quietly. “Aggie thought he was the delivery guy from Papa Roni’s Pizza,” she whispered. “That’s why she opened the door.”
    “How on earth did she hide Rachel from him?”
    “She didn’t. Aggie said she was sure we were caught. But the only signs of Rachel in the house were an empty potato chip bag and MTV on the television. She even took her backpack with her. Luckily, Aggie had made her bed earlier.” Leanne chuckled. “Aggie didn’t call us right away because she went looking for Rachel. She didn’t have any luck, but when she returned to the house, she found her in front of the television chowing down on pizza.”
    “Where had she been?”
    “In somebody’s storm cellar a few streets over from you.”
    “The Nelsons’.” Mia sighed. “Sneaky girl.”
    “Lots of experience at it, I’m sure.”
    “So they’re both at the house now?”
    Leanne nodded. “Aggie says she’d better get home soon, though. She told Roy she was working late then running some errands, but that was hours ago. How many errands can you do in Muddy Creek?”
    The phone interrupted their conversation. Leanne reached for it. “Brewed Awakening.” She winked at Mia and pointed to the receiver. “No, Roy, she left a while ago to run some errands.”
    Mia giggled.
    “I’m sure she’s fine.” Leanne paused, then said, “No, she didn’t say what she had in mind for your dinner. It’s not even three o’clock yet.” Shaking her head, she crossed her eyes at Mia. “What are you doing home so early, Roy? Shouldn’t you be farming?” Leanne winced. “Oh, no . . . are you okay?”
    Concerned that Aggie’s husband might be hurt, Mia sobered and stepped closer to the phone.
    “Your finger? Well, maybe she’s out buying Band Aids right now,” Leanne said into the phone, stifling a laugh.
    Relieved, Mia snickered.
    “Did Aggie tell you we’re having a short Red Hat meeting later this afternoon?” Holding the receiver away from her ear, Leanne winced again. Mia heard Roy’s booming voice; he sounded irritated. “Well, it was planned on the spur of the moment,” Leanne told him. “That’s probably why she forgot to mention it. We’ll be finished before dinnertime; we’re just having refreshments.” She said goodbye and hung up the phone. “Speak of the devil.”
    “You’d think the woman was ten years old, the way Roy keeps tabs on her,” Mia said with a laugh.
    “He calls out the cavalry if she’s gone more than an hour and he doesn’t know where she is.”
    “Let’s put the sign on the door and go ahead and close up. It’s