It's All Relative: Miss Fortune World: SS Beauty, #13

By Kamaryn Kelsey

It's raining family in Ann Arbor. Sady gets a surprise visit from a relative she didn't know existed. And Matt is entertaining his mother while dealing with the fallout from the bomb he dropped when she unexpectedly showed up on his doorstep.

Amanda takes matters into her own hands to help Matt's mom, Ellen, while Sady returns to the place her adventures started- Sinful, Louisiana. She joins her cousin on a trip to explore an unsolved mystery from the 1930s. A jealous Matt follows and gets caught up in the adventure with them.

Meanwhile, in Michigan, Amanda handles her first case with her usual sarcasm and sass- much to Harry's dismay and CJ's amusement.

• Language: English
• Publisher: J&R Fan Fiction
• Release date: Sep 5, 2018
• ISBN: 9781536507485

Book preview

Author's note:

This is Book 13 in the SS Beauty series and is not intended to standalone. Huey Long was an actual person, but other than his name and the dates of his shooting and death, the events in this book are fictional and creations of the author's imagination including the basement, which houses in Sinful likely would not have.

This is a work of fiction. Other than Jana DeLeon's original story elements, the characters and names are creations of the author's imagination.

The series is not about Fortune Redding, Sinful, and the Swamp Team. SS Beauty is Sandy-Sue Morrow and the series is about her and the life she makes for herself. She tires of her European vacation and comes home early, to Morrow's dismay. Wondering about her inheritance in Sinful, she takes a bus trip to check it out.

Morrow sends Matt Meadows, who has done security work for him in the past, to keep an eye on her and to keep her from crossing paths with Fortune, and blowing Fortune's cover.

At this point in her life, Sandy-Sue decides she's leaving the past behind, along with her name. She shortens it to Sady (sometimes she uses Sassafras or Sassy, the name she first gave Matt in book one of the series.) I took the liberty of giving Morrow a first name, John, since he makes appearances throughout the series and it didn't make sense for Sady to refer to him as Uncle Morrow.

After the adventure in Louisiana, Morrow sends Sady to work for two former operatives, now retired and operating their own business, Knight Investigations in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Harry and CJ Knight are a husband and wife team.

Amanda Keller, saucy and smart mouthed neighbor, soon becomes Sady's best friend. She likes to give Matt a hard time about anything and everything. After losing her job at the university, she joins the investigation company.

Matt Meadows, Sady's love interest in the series, has stayed in Michigan. After Morrow repeatedly sends him back to Michigan to keep on eye on his niece, he realizes it will continue, so he makes the move as well.

Character descriptions:

Sady Morrow- Tall, slender, with long brown hair and big brown eyes. She often uses beauty pageant skills on the job. She is sweet, and sometimes goofy. However, she's intelligent and can be tough, when necessary.

Matt Meadows- Tall, dark, and handsome. He has blue eyes and unshaven stubble. Hence, Amanda's nicknames for him, Stubbles or Blue Eyes. Frequently grumpy because of Amanda's constant picking. Matt sometimes uses Sady's pet name, Sassafras.

Amanda Keller- Short, full-figured, black, and beautiful. She grew up in an exclusive suburb of Detroit. She has a smart mouth, a high tolerance for alcohol, and a full social dating calendar. She likes handsome men and isn't shy about saying so.

CJ Knight- Short in stature, with clipped gray hair, green eyes, and an even shorter fuse. CJ is impatient and lethal with her hands. Even though she's small, she keeps them all in line.

Harry Knight- Hot dang handsome with Siberian Husky light blue eyes, a stunning white smile, and good build. Amanda calls him Handsome, and he is- even though he is bald. Harry looks out for his team and plays the big brother/ father to Sady.

The stories behind the supporting characters are developed throughout the series.

Chapter 1

Ellen Meadows watched her son, Matt, engage in a verbal sparring match with Amanda Keller. Plainly, there was more going on than they would admit. Ellen knew it was connected to the woman next door. She saw the look on the brunette's face when Matt dropped his Hell, no! at her inquiry of Sady's friendship with Matt. Ellen also saw the look of panic on his face when he realized what he said.

Just like his father, Ellen thought with a shake of her head. Which means he could argue with Amanda for hours when in this mood. Best to head it off before it's out of control. Within minutes Ellen move Amanda out the door, with a promise to come down and enjoy a glass of wine with her.

The look Matt gave his mother said traitor. Ellen hid her smile and dug through her handbag. Matt, since you don't have a girlfriend at the moment, I thought I'd tell you about Charlene. She handed him a photo.

She only has two children, since her dirt-bag husband ran out on her after less than five years of marriage. Don't they look like a nice family? she asked him.

Seriously, Mom? Instant family? Just insert husband and stepfather here? he asked. Just how many chins does she have, anyway? It must be hard to keep them all up.

He turned to grab her luggage, and she smacked the back of his head with a grin. One down, and who knew how many more before he broke? Ellen thought about which woman in need of a man she would present tomorrow. 

Matt took his mom's bags to the guest room and dropped them with a sigh. The latest parade of ugly women was just starting. He could have chopped the head off that scary beast if he'd thought before he opened his mouth... and hurt his best friend in the process. He wondered how long Sady would be mad.

Pizza's getting cold, Ellen called from the kitchen. She put plates on the table and laughed at the look on his face. I know you don't use plates for pizza, Matthew, but humor me, okay? Now, do you have any beer?

Matt gave her a look of surprise, and she said, We're not so different as you might believe. Although, I think you're more like your father.

Mom, I don't know if that's an insult or a compliment, he replied.

Consider it both.

Are you here to psycho-analyze me? he asked suspiciously.

Ellen gave a snort of laughter. I gave up on that years ago. Like I said, you're too much like your father.

She smiled at her son, who looked so much like his dad. Tall, with dark hair, and a natural tendency to be lean and muscular. Unlike me, she thought. Short and a few pounds overweight, she looked like the nice mom she was. What she really wanted was to look like the nice grandma she desired to be. Matt inherited her blue eyes though, along with the naturally long lashes. Yes, he was a good looking man, just like her husband. He was also completely obtuse at times... like his father.

As they ate, she asked Matt about life in Michigan, his work, his friends, and things in general. He asked about his dad, her friends, and her flight. Ellen skated around the subject of her husband.

What are your plans for tomorrow? Ellen asked.

I'm free to spend the day with you, except I have to go help my boss lay out camping equipment to dry. We just finished a job.

Oh, you went camping? How was that? Did you have a good time? Ellen probed.

Matt's brows dropped. It rained. That's all he'd say about the camping trip. Ellen decided to get the details from Amanda.

***

Matt didn't need to wait long to see if Sady was still mad. Saturday, when the crew met at the Knight's to lay out the wet camping gear, she ignored him. Ellen came along to meet Matt's co-workers. Sady apologized to Ellen for her abrupt behavior when they met and invited her for an evening at Amanda's.

Ignoring the look of suspicion on her son's face, Ellen accepted. Between what Amanda blabbed, and what Sady didn't say, Ellen would piece together the story. She left Matt fuming at the Knight's house and rode back to the apartment with Sady and Amanda. The ladies enjoyed the evening and more than one bottle of wine.