Excerpt
Ida Belle stood at the bottom of my stairs and called out, “Fortune! Ally’s here! You can go back to bed when you don’t have company.”

“And when will that be?” I asked the question moments later when I joined my friends for breakfast. It was rare when I didn’t have visitors.

“She brought blueberry muffins,” Gertie said, setting plates on the counter.
“If she baked them, then move out of my way,” I teased, noticing the clock. “Do any of you have anything against brunch?”

“Oh hush.” Gertie waved a dismissive hand. “We could’ve met at my house, but then you would’ve missed hearing about Pastor Don’s sermon.”

I frowned. “Did I sleep longer than six hours? I attended Sunday service yesterday morning, remember.”

Ida Belle turned the newspaper around so I could see Pastor Don’s picture on the front page. Before I had a chance to read the headline, she said, “The Sinful Revival started last night. Pastor Don kicked it off.”

“I’m sorry I missed it.”

“Don’t lie,” Gertie said.

“I’m not. You were here at eight o’clock yesterday morning. If I’d known he was preaching last night, I would’ve skipped the early service.”

“Everyone is talking about the revival,” Ally said. “Pastor Don brought out the handkerchief.”

“He does that every other Sunday anyway,” I said, pouring my first cup of coffee.

“This was different,” Ally said. “He threw the good book at them.”

I frowned. “Is that even legal?”