“Oh my goodness!” Emma gasped. “What did I say? Are you okay?”
“I… I have to tell you…” She now wanted to tell Emma and the longer she waited, the more Emma would be upset with her. “There was an accident. At the printing press.”
Emma’s face went white. She sat up, pulling her hair out of Annette’s hands. It slid out easily because Annette was so stunned that she wasn’t holding on to them tightly. Both women were staring at Mary.
Mary hurried to continue when it looked like Emma might burst out crying.
“John was hurt. But he’s not dead or anything. He’s alive and kick… well, he’s alive. But I think he might have hurt his back. He slipped on some paper.” Mary didn’t want to tell the woman it was because she’d dropped the papers. She hadn’t done it on purpose. But she certainly felt guilty, like she had tossed them down right in front of John to see what would happen.
Emma pushed herself off the chair, on her feet in moments. She was pulling the bib from around her neck, her face frantic.
“Oh, Mary, thank you for coming and telling me! Is he still there? Is he at the clinic?”
“He’s… still there at the printing press, I think.”
Emma didn’t hesitate to grab her shawl and her purse. She scurried through the door and was gone without another word. Mary watched her go, a deep feeling of regret boring into her. She hadn’t confessed. And now, when one of the men told Emma it was Mary’s fault John was hurt, her friend would be angry with her.
The heaviness of her shame made Mary’s chest tight. She was finding it difficult to breathe.
“You need to sit down, Mary. You’re taking this very hard. Are you sure John is okay? You look like you’re carrying a real heavy burden.”
Mary was astounded by the kindness and the knowledge in Annette’s voice. She was gesturing to the chair Emma had vacated. “Right here, honey. Sit down. Take a load off.”
Mary dropped in the chair and looked at her friend with guilt in her eyes. “It’s my fault John was hurt,” she blurted out. Tears came to her eyes and she shook her head, dropping her face down. She immediately felt Annette’s hand on her back, rubbing her comfortingly.
“Oh, Mary,” Annette was saying. “I’m sure you didn’t do it on purpose. I’m sure it was an accident. You tell me it wasn’t an accident. Because it really sounds like something you’d do, hurting a man somehow. You’re just so big and strong.”
Mary heard the sarcasm in her friend’s voice. She couldn’t help snickering a bit. It wasn’t the kind of thing she’d do. Everyone knew her. She wasn’t a mean person in any way.
“Emma is going to be so upset with me.” Mary sniffed, barely able to hold back the tears. “When they tell her…”
“Why would they tell her?” Annette said. “What do you think they will say? You mean Philip and John, right? Two men who are your friends and one that cares about you more than as just a friend? Come on. They won’t make you into a bad guy.”
“I was arguing with Philip about the bland nature of the articles in the paper that’s coming out tomorrow. He sent out an early edition to me and a few other people. He has to print one for the mayor so he prints one for me and John and the Jacobs family.”
Annette nodded, never taking her eyes from Mary’s face. Mary could tell how closely the woman was paying attention.
“I had one of the papers in my hand. I put my arm down and some of the middle part slipped out and spread on the floor near us. I still had the cover in my hand, you know the top page. I didn’t bother to get it up. It was only a minute or so later that John came out carrying a piece of equipment and slipped on the papers. He went down hard. Hit his head and his back. Philip had to help him get to the couch in his office.”
Mary’s voice cracked with emotion. She pressed the fingers of one hand against her forehead, massaging her temple with her thumb. “Oh, I wish that had never happened. I can’t believe I hurt John! I was responsible for it. It was my fault!”
Annette shook her head. “No. It doesn’t sound like it was anyone’s fault. You aren’t to blame. It was an accident.”
Mary knew what her friend was saying was true. But it still hurt to know she wouldn’t be informed if John was all right or not.
At that moment, the door of the salon opened and Matthew came in. His eyes opened wide when he saw Mary.
“Did you see Mrs. Hanover in here?” he asked, anxiety in his voice.
“She was here,” Mary responded. “I told her what happened. She should be on her way there. I’m surprised you didn’t see her.”
Matthew looked weary. “It’s because there’s so many people out here. I think Mr. Ranyard is getting up on the soapbox. He’s out there rallying people up. Trying to get interest in his running for mayor, I think.”
Mary blinked at the young man, chills running up her spine. “What?” It was all she could say at first. Annette pushed on her shoulder gently.
“There’s your story, Mary. You’ve got to go out there and see what’s going on. You can write down what you see. Mark it down for history. Getting rid of Hanover. Bringing in new leadership.”
Mary turned her eyes up to her friend as she stood up. “He’s not supposed to lead us,” she said firmly. “He’s supposed to represent our needs to the federal government and make decisions that benefit the city. He’s not there to lead us anywhere.”
One side of Annette’s lips rose up in amused admiration.
“You’re so right about that, Mary,” she said, affectionately.
Chapter 34
Mary followed Matthew back out into the street. She opened her eyes wide, taking in the throng of people that had converged on the small business section of Glenwood.
“Oh my,” she said under her breath. She looked at Matthew. “How is John? Is he walking? He didn’t lose consciousness, did he?”
Matthew shook his head. “He’s okay. Up and talking. Making the boss laugh. Mr. Jenkins seems like he’s really mad. But John makes him feel better. He’s talking you up, Miss Ross.”
Mary stared at Matthew. “What do you mean?”
Matthew gave her a coy look, grinning on one side of his mouth. “Miss Ross. John and I like you with Mr. Jenkins. You make him smile. You put him in a good mood. Even when he doesn’t realize it. Since he met you, John says he’s never seen Mr. Jenkins smile so much. I know I just started working with him but I can tell how happy he is, too.”
Mary shook her head. “I don’t think you should be talking about things you’re too young to understand.”
Matthew snorted with a laugh. “Oh, Miss Ross!” he exclaimed. “I’m sixteen. I know plenty about what love feels like. I might not be experienced, but I’m old enough to know when I find a girl attractive. I know what my type of girl looks like, though it really depends on the feelings I get when I’m around her. You know; if I laugh and smile a lot or if I’m worried and anxious. Because you know, sometimes when I’m worried and anxious that a girl won’t like me the way I usually am, it’s kind of a sign that I’ll keep feeling that way. Like if I think she’s going to judge me before we are even together, how will I feel afterward, when she starts to meet the real me? The Matthew I am behind closed doors.”
Mary couldn’t believe the young man was so wise. She turned wide eyes to stare at him with amazement. “Matthew,” she said in a breathy voice. “You are so wise to think that way.”
Matthew nodded. “Yeah, my pa says I’m really smart. Another reason he didn’t want me in school. He kept trying to tell me all I needed to do was get the books and read them myself, that I could teach myself. I thought he made a lot of sense sometimes because I could probably do that and make money for my family with the rest of my time. But I really like learning from you, Miss Ross. You have a… a way of teaching that makes things easier for me to understand. When I was gone for that week or so, I tried doing the reading my pa wanted me to do and… well, I couldn’t ask anyone about words I didn’t understand and… one w
ord can change the entire meaning of a sentence. You know?”
Mary smiled comfortably. “Yes, Matthew. I know what you mean. I’m so glad you think of it that way. The world will be a better place with an educated you.”
Matthew gave her an admiring look. “Thanks, Miss Ross. That means a lot. Anyway, here’s why I probably missed her going to the printing office. Plenty of people to block my view.”
“You go on back to the printing office and tell Philip what’s going on.”
Matthew nodded. “You want me to tell him where you are?”
Mary’s heart ached. She did want him to get Philip for her. But it was probably too soon. He was probably still angry. The last thing she needed was for him to come out and confront her again, and tell her to stop trying to write worthy articles for the paper.
He wouldn’t say that to her. He would never say that.
Would he?
Regardless, she wanted to observe this mayoral campaign from the front of the crowd. If she had paper, she would be writing down everything she saw. But she would have to be very observant and remember everything.
There were people everywhere. She watched Matthew scoot through the crowd, touching the shoulders of people in his way so he could get through the crowd.
Mary counted at least fifty people in the street. There were a few children, but they held onto the hands of their mothers, looking around in confusion. Mary felt sorry for them. They had no idea what was happening and looked frightened. Except for one precocious little girl, who had wise eyes for her five years. She was standing next to her mother, her arms crossed, watching the men standing around her as if she understood everything they were saying.
“What do you think of this?”
Mary was surprised to turn and see Mrs. Edwards standing next to her. The woman’s voice came out as pleasant, which was an additional shock.
“I’m kind of excited about it, to be frank with you, Mrs. Edwards.”
The older woman nodded. “Yes, it’s all very exciting. I would be happy to have Hanover removed from office. He has made things so hard since he took over. I don’t know where he’s funneling all the money to but it sure isn’t the school.”
Mary nodded. “I agree. I’ve been talking to Philip about it, too. We’ve been talking for a month about finding someone else to take the mayor’s place. It seems Paul decided after the big storm when the mayor was nowhere to be found.”
Mrs. Edwards grunted softly. “I was shocked he didn’t levy a heavy tax on us all to pay for repairs.”
Mary had to agree with the woman. Not only was Mayor Hanover absent when the storm was happening, he’d let everyone make repairs by helping each other and not making everyone pay for it from their pockets.
“Do you know Paul Ranyard?” Mrs. Edwards asked in a genuinely curious voice.
“Not very well,” Mary admitted. “But almost anyone would be better than Hanover. A trained monkey would be better.”
Mrs. Edwards snorted with laughter. Mary had never heard the woman utter a moment of humor since she’d begun working with her. She wondered if the troubles in the budget had been wearing the older woman down. Maybe the relief of extra funding would ease the woman’s hard nature. Even a little would be good.
For the children’s sake, if no one else’s.
“It’s time for change!”
Mary looked back at the crowd to see that Paul Ranyard had stepped up onto the porch of the barber shop and was addressing everyone in the crowd.
“I know him,” Mrs. Edwards said, her voice low. Mary glanced down at her. She was looking at Paul with affection in her eyes. “He’s a good man. Good to his wife. Good to his children. I think he would be an excellent mayor. He was good to my Lily when she was alive. I know he is a compassionate man.”
Mary stared at Mrs. Edwards for an extra moment. She’d never heard about the woman’s daughter, who was apparently deceased. Her heart warmed with affection and sympathy.
“I didn’t know.”
Mrs. Edwards turned misty eyes to Mary.
“No, I’m sure I never told you.”
“Well, he has my vote now,” Mary said, firmly. She looked back at the man standing above everyone else, calling out for support in his bid to take over the mayoral role in Glenwood. She appreciated what he was saying.
“You won’t regret it,” Mrs. Edwards said. She suddenly grabbed Mary’s arm and pulled her gently toward the crowd. “Let’s get closer. I want to hear everything he’s saying.”
Mary and Mrs. Edwards went to the edge of the crowd.
Several men stepped aside to let them in closer but soon they weren’t able to move, surrounded by their cheering friends and neighbors. There was no one there booing what Paul Ranyard was saying.
Mary looked around, observing how many faces she recognized. There were almost four thousand people in Glenwood. Paul would have to go through all parts, visiting farms and ranches, talking to everyone. It would be beneficial if he was able to put advertisements for his campaign in the newspaper.
Philip had to know it was a good idea. Mary didn’t think for a moment that he would want to do anything to keep Hanover in office. He wanted the man out of the position as badly as she did.
If he wasn’t able to print a newspaper, he wouldn’t have any influence on the minds of the people. Hanover could say and do anything he wanted. Most people would never be aware of it. Word of mouth was good but having it in print was even better. There would be proof of corruption. Not just hearsay.
The longer she listened to Paul working up the crowd around him, listening to their cheers, the more Mary felt good about the situation. She and Philip would find a way to get Paul’s message out. She would ask everyone she knew for money to pay for whatever fines Philip had to pay, just in case the mayor called in his debt.
Mary wanted to go to the printing office. She wanted to talk to Philip. But he was probably still angry and John was most likely still in pain. He would be in pain for a while, if what Matthew said was true.
It was going to be a while before she could comfortably talk to Philip again. He’d been so angry with her. So rude to her. But she didn’t blame him. Because of her, John was out of commission. Everything would fall on him now. Even if he tried to train Matthew quickly, the paper would probably be delayed by a day or two.
Philip would hate that blow to his reputation. Mary knew enough about his professional ethics to know that. He wanted to be reliable. He wanted his paper to be trusted, to tell the truth, and to be there on time for everyone to read.
Her heart slammed hard in her chest when she glanced to the side and saw Philip standing with Matthew, watching Paul. He had a look of approval and satisfaction on his face. His large arms were crossed over his broad chest.
She looked away from him, trembling nervously. She wanted to go and talk to him. But she knew he was angry with her. She didn’t think she could take the rejection. If he was angry with her in front of everyone, she would be humiliated beyond belief.
To avoid that, Mary took a step backward and left the crowd behind, hurrying toward the schoolhouse with tears in her eyes. She would sit on the front porch of the schoolhouse and consider her options.
She was willing to give Philip a chance to get over his anger at her. She would apologize again the next time she got a chance. She just hoped he would give her that chance.
If he really cared about her the way she thought he did, he would take her back into his heart.
Chapter 35
His Rainbow After the Rain Page 21