It's All Relative Read online

  It's All Relative

  Miss Fortune World: SS Beauty, Volume 13

  Kamaryn Kelsey

  Published by J&R Fan Fiction, 2018.

  Copyright © 2018 by Kamaryn Kelsey

  All rights reserved.

  This story is based on a series created by Jana DeLeon. The author of this story has the contractual rights to create stories using the Miss Fortune world. Any unauthorized use of the Miss Fortune world for story creation is a violation of copyright law.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author and the publisher, J&R Fan Fiction, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Also by Kamaryn Kelsey

  Mercy on the Bayou

  Sour Honey

  Miss Fortune World

  The Identity Inquiry

  Catch a Falling Spy

  The Treasured Letter

  Miss Fortune World: Mercy on the Bayou

  Wrong Turn

  Shot in the Park

  Spare Ribs and Cold Cuts

  Miss Fortune World: SS Beauty

  On The Bayou

  Bound For Hell

  In The Shadow

  Fast and Blue

  Adventures In Babysitting

  Down On The Vegas Strip

  On The Mountain Of Hope

  In-Laws, Outlaws, and Uninvited Guests

  When Worlds Collide

  On The Wagon

  Snapped, Cracked, and Popped

  City Girls Don't Camp

  It's All Relative

  The Missing Morrow

  Boot Camp Beauty

  Miss Fortune World: Wholly Moses!

  Murphy's Flaws

  Up In Smoke

  Filthy Stinking Rich

  Mo's Motel

  Cast and Catch a Fortune

  Dubious Deliveries

  Dirty Deeds

  Triple Threat

  Pandora's Shoebox

  Oh, Shoot!

  The Murphy Girls

  Tricks and Trouble

  Hit the Road, Jo!

  Out of the Storm

  PB & J

  Pary Barry & John- The New Neighbor

  Pary Barry & John- Who Can You Trust?

  Pary Barry & John- The New Job

  Pary Barry & John- Partners

  Pary Barry & John- The Team

  Pary Barry & John- The Body Drop

  Pary Barry & John- Now We're Cooking

  Pary Barry & John- Running Away

  Pary Barry & John- Life's Lessons

  Pary Barry & John- Pigmalion

  Pary Barry & John- He Says, She Says

  Pary Barry & John- Who's That Girl?

  Pary Barry & John- The Ex Games

  Pary Barry & John- The PJ's/ Mr. & Mrs. Smith

  Cookbooks and Crooks

  Pary Barry & John- Targeted (#6) & BLT (#7)

  Pary Barry & John- The Honeymoon (#17) & Designer Family (#18)

  Standalone

  Introduced by Karma

  Crazy Like Me

  I Love You- What's Your Name?

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Also By Kamaryn Kelsey

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

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Meanwhile... | Back in Michigan

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

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  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. Sady and Amanda were still going strong when Ellen called it a night. Sneaking into Matt's apartment, she giggled to see he was up and waiting for her, pacing.

  "Mom, it's after two in the morning! I see Amanda's evil influence is already at work," he complained.

  Ellen patted his hand. "Just don't wake me up too early," she told him as she headed for the guest room.

  Matt stared after her with his mouth open. That was it? What happened to his real mother? He shook his head and decided maybe he should have been drinking as well.

  Sunday morning was quiet and Ellen didn't crawl out of bed until almost noon. After one look, Matt handed her a cup of coffee. She placed one hand on her head and took the coffee with the other. Not speaking, she smiled her thanks and sat down carefully. Two cups of coffee later, she was coherent.

  "Well, I had a nice time with the girls," Ellen told him.

  Matt’s brows dropped. Sitting home, wondering what they talked about, hadn't been a fun evening for him. "I'm glad you had a good time," he replied with a touch of sarcasm.

  Ellen ignored the tone and continued. "Your friends are very nice."

  He kept the scowl on his face. "Yeah, sure. What did they say about me?"

  Ellen lifted her brows. "We didn't discuss you, Matt. Quit being paranoid. Now, I'll get dressed, and you take me somewhere nice to eat." Matt nodded- yep, that was the Ellen Meadows he knew and loved.

  Over lunch, Ellen pulled another picture from her bag. "I have someone else I'd like you to meet. I realize that a woman with two children probably isn't the best choice for a man in your position. How about Gertrude? Her father's a pastor, and she's the lead singer in the choir. He told me those spots on her face are just a nervous condition that she'll outgrow." She held out the photo.

  Matt gave his mom an incredulous look. "Mom, she must be at least fifty! I hope her father's done some good deeds in his life, or he's going to burn for lying about his own daughter." That earned him another smack on the head while Ellen chuckled to herself. She could keep this up for a month!

  After lunch, Matt showed Ellen the sights around Ann Arbor, and that evening Harry and CJ invited them for dinner. Ellen complimented Harry on his cooking skills.

  "He didn't learn them from me," CJ confided. "It was a necessary survival skill- poor Harry. Better him than me though," she finished with a grin.

  "It's well past survival skill now," Ellen smiled. "Harry, you cook like a pro."

  Modest Harry, embarrassed by the compliment, changed the subject.

  "How long are you planning to stay, Ellen?" he asked.

  "Until my son kicks me out," she said with a straight face. Then she snickered and added, "Just kidding, Matt! Can you put up with your mother for a week?"

  Over Matt's look of protest, CJ said, "Matt, why don't you take the week off? You have a week of paid vacation coming, and I'm sure your mom would enjoy spending the time with you."

  Harry turned his head away at the confounded look on Matt's face. Then he slapped Matt on the back. "Enjoy your week," he told him.

  "Thanks a lot," Matt replied. Ellen exchanged a smile with the Knight's, then Matt turned to his mom. "Hey, Mom- won't Dad miss you?"

  Wrong question! Everyone at the table discerned that. Ellen's face turned dark with anger, and her mouth tightened. "He's on another fishing trip with his buddies. I doubt he'll even notice."

  Tactful Harry stepped into the silence. "How about some dessert, Ellen? I not only cook, I bake." Ellen gave him a grateful look and the awkward moment passed, for the time being.

  As the Meadows left, CJ told Matt to bring Ellen by the office so she could see where he worked. He narrowed his eyes at CJ, but agreed.

  "I like your friends," Ellen observed as Matt drove her to his apartment. "They must be fun to work with."

  Matt found himself smiling. "Fun and frustrating." Then he told her about Amanda's RV escapade, and how he ended up on the wrong end of it. Ellen laughed, and Matt was happy to hear it. The comment she made at supper had him wondering about his parent's relationship. They didn't sound like the happy couple he remembered.

  Chapter 2

  Monday morning, Amanda looked up from her desk in the reception area of the Knight's PI office. She gave the man a once over- not quite six feet, slender side, decent looking with brown hair and gray eyes. Probably in his mid 30's. While she scoped him, he assessed her with a look of humor and intelligence.

  "Did I pass?" he asked with a grin.

  "For now," Amanda replied, unabashed. "What can I help you with?"

  "I'd like to see Sandy-Sue Morrow, please," he requested.

  Amanda's brows dropped, and she tilted her head
to gaze from the corner of her eyes. "Why?" she asked flatly.

  "It's a personal matter," the man replied.

  "Uh, huh. So what's your name?"

  The man hesitated, and Amanda said, "Listen, I can't just go tell her that some strange guy wants to see her. Give me a name and I'll see if she's available."

  He sighed and said, "My name is Ryan Greer, and before you ask she doesn't know me."

  "Then why do you want to see Sady... Sandy-Sue?" Amanda frowned.

  From the hall, CJ asked, "Is there a problem, Amanda?"

  Amanda turned with a huff. "Yeah, this guy came in asking to see Sandy-Sue Morrow."

  CJ's brows rose, and she stepped into the front office. "Is there something I can help you with?"

  "Not unless you're Sandy-Sue." Ryan was determined to see Sady.

  "You're going to need to be more forthcoming than that," CJ said. She was just as adamant.

  Ryan smiled. "I'm Sandy-Sue's cousin... step-cousin might be more accurate."

  "Get out of town!" Amanda yelled. "Our girl doesn't have any family but an uncle."

  "I'd be happy to explain," Ryan offered. "If I could see her."

  "Take him to the conference room," CJ told Amanda. "I'll get Harry and Sady."

  "What about Sandy-Sue?" Ryan asked. Amanda explained the name change to Ryan as she led him down the hall.

  CJ stepped into Harry's office. "Red alert, Harry. There's a guy here claiming to be a relative of Sady. Morrow will kill us if he has an ulterior motive. We're joining him for the meeting."

  Harry followed CJ, and they stopped at Sady's office. "Meeting in the conference room," CJ said. "Now." Sady looked at Harry, shrugged, and followed them.

  Ryan stood when she entered, and she gave everyone a look of confusion. Ryan glanced at CJ, and she nodded.

  "I'm a distant relative, Sandy... Sady. I've been searching for you for several months." Ryan held out his hand and Sady shook it reluctantly, then she plopped onto a chair.

  Amanda stood with her hands on her hips. "Okay, now we need the proof or I'm gonna bounce you to the door. No one messes with our girl, understand?"