The Family Feud: The Family Feud / Stop The Wedding?!. Carol Finch

name was Oswald, but after that whole Lee Harvey fiasco, the name had been cropped off to Oz. Then someone had the bright idea to change the image to a magical city. In Jan’s opinion—which obviously counted for zilch in her hometown—combining the tale of Oz with the peanut capital of the world didn’t quite fit. But the Chamber of Commerce was advocating the transition for the sake of tourism. Next thing Jan knew the school system would be renamed Munchkinland. Goober Pea Tavern would become Wicked Witch’s Saloon—or some such nonsense. If Morgan’s two shops combined to become Tin Man’s Supply Shop she would lose all the respect she’d recently gained for him….

      The thought caused Jan’s hand to stall over the door latch. It dawned on her that she’d gained tremendous respect for the man she’d held a grudge against for a dozen years. Through all her family chaos Morgan had been her anchor, the calming waters beside the whirlpool of emotional undercurrents that kept sucking her under. Well, except for the kiss—which carried the impact of a thermonuclear bomb—he’d delivered last night, she amended.

      Jan climbed from the car and reminded herself that she didn’t have time to delve into these feelings for Morgan that kept ambushing her at inopportune moments. She had to speak to her mother before the poor woman’s resentment festered up and exploded like Kendra’s had.

      Before Jan reached Sylvia’s Boutique, three women, with their hair in curlers, scampered from the salon and bore down on her. Gina Thompson, owner and proprietor, led the brigade.

      “Janna, hon, we want a word with you,” Gina insisted.

      Jan bit back a groan as she appraised Gina’s dyed copper-red hair, thick coat of makeup, false eyelashes and trendy clothes that suited her age of fifty no better than John Mitchell’s outrageous attire. She smiled faintly and nodded a greeting to the women. “Is there a problem?”

      “Absolutely,” Gina confirmed. “You aren’t going about this business of getting your folks to kiss and make up the right way. The other girls—”

      Jan presumed that anyone under the age of eighty qualified as a girl.

      “—think that since John is flaunting Georgina in Sylvia’s face that she should return the favor. We’ve selected a man to serve as the jealousy factor for Sylvia. We want you to approach your mom with the idea,” Gina went on. The curler brigade nodded in perfect agreement. “We’ll send Stanley Witham over to the boutique. He’s a lonely widower and he could use some female companionship. This’ll work splendidly.”