“Are you sure? It was a major disaster the last time.”
Togi nodded. “True, but not your fault. Besides, it would give everyone a chance to get to know you. Make you part of our group. Your sponsor is big on service.”
Maya studied her for a minute. “Okay, I’ll do it.”
She looked up and Kevin gave her a dopey smile.
“What?” she giggled.
“That’s what I call being of service.”
“Glad you think so. If I can give back, I’m happy to.”
“See there, if you don’t like the environment, then be a positive change in it. Those people were there for you when you could barely stand on your own. Now you can do that for someone else just starting out.”
“You’re right.”
He was quiet and then made a confession. “I heard you.”
“What’s that?” She poured oil and vinegar on the big salad.
“The other night when you shared at the meeting. I was outside waiting for you. I was so excited to tell you how I felt. Then I heard you share. You have a great story. You have a lot to give.”
“I thought the people in Blackwood hated me. You saw how they were the other day when I asked her to be my sponsor.” She stabbed the chicken with vigor. “I was wrong. Just shows you how wrong you can be. Like I didn’t think you liked me any other way than just as a friend.”
“There, you were way off base. I’m just saying no one is perfect. You gotta sift through the shit sometimes.”
“You’re wrong. You’re perfect,” she countered.
“I’m not.” He smiled into his coffee. “But I like being in a relationship with you.”
“Can we be official?” she asked affectionately.
“It’s a done deal, sweetheart. You were mine the day I laid eyes on you, only you didn’t know it then.”
“Anything else you know that I don’t?”
Kevin gave her a devious smile she couldn’t dig into since Togi appeared and set a ticket down on their table top.
“I’m just clocking out for the day. Take your time.”
Maya pulled out her credit card. “Go ahead and run it so I can give you your tip.”
“Aw honey, I’m in no hurry.”
“Go ahead so you can close out before you leave.” She pressed her card into Togi’s hand.
Togi left and reappeared.
“Thanks, folks. See you tonight.”
She added the tip and signed it.
Kevin shook his head. “You and Clem with your hundred-dollar tips.”
“I don’t do it all the time.” She tucked the card and receipt into her purse. “However, if I can get away with it, I will.”
Chapter Fifteen
Kevin
Kevin kissed his beautiful girlfriend goodbye and set out to patrol Blackwood. He could hardly focus on his surroundings, being preoccupied with his amazing situation. He replayed every moment he’d spent with Maya.
Reality set in when his radio hissed.
He answered with a “This is Kevin.”
It was Damon again and another Blackwood was at the saloon, very upset. This time it was Clem.
“Has he had too much to drink?” He talked into the radio with one hand and steered with the other.
“I didn’t serve him. I’m not sure what’s going on. He’s emotional and he’s asking for you.”
“I’ll be right there.”
Kevin pulled out of one parking lot and into another. He parked the cruiser and strolled into the saloon, which had only a handful of customers. He leaned on the bar next to Clem, whose forehead sat heavily against the wooden surface of the bar.
“What’s going on?” Kevin asked quietly. There was no need to spread anyone’s dirty laundry around town.
He lifted his head. Clem’s forehead was red where the blood had pooled. “Kaitlin,” he gasped. “She wants to get back together.”
He made sure Clem couldn’t see him when he rolled his eyes.
“That’s a good thing, right?”
“If someone had said my wife wanted to get back together a month after she left me, I would have embraced it, but I just walked through hell.” He rubbed at his bloodshot eyes. “She left me nearly a year ago. I was seeing the light. Just getting used to a life without her.”
“Do you love her?”
Clem nodded. “I do,” he replied like he was reciting his wedding vows. “I can’t do this again. I can’t take the risk. I don’t even know if she’s sure.”
“Take it slow. Maybe this goes nowhere. You’re upset right now because you think you have to sort it out immediately. You don’t have to know right now. Nothing’s changed. You’re safe, you’re sound, and now you have more options.”
Clem smiled and then he laughed. “You have got to be the most rational person I’ve ever met.” He offered his hand for Kevin to shake. “I get what you’re saying. I gotta find a job. I’m climbing the wall in that big house. It’s so damn … empty.”
“Don’t I know it. Caleb has one just like it,” laughed Kevin. “Speaking of… Deena is talking to Maya about the development company and Maya is considering buying back the town.”
A wicked smile spread across his lips.
“That’s interesting. So am I.”
“Geez, you guys live in the same house. Maybe you should talk.” Damon dropped off two cups of coffee and walked away. “The developer has dropped the ball. You and Maya can sort that out so you don’t get consumed with Kaitlin. It’ll keep your head clear, or at least busy.”
“Good idea,” said Clem. “Thanks again.”
“Hey, Clem.” Kevin picked up his coffee and took a sip. No use wasting the gift. “I’m happy to help out.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out his business card. “Let’s do this a different way if you need something again. Call me directly.”
“Sure thing, man. Sorry.”
“No worries.”
Clem stood up and something occurred to Kevin. He gritted his teeth. “You rode your bike again, didn’t you?”
Clem hung his head. “Yes.”
“Dammit,” scolded Kevin.
“Sorry,” he said with a shrug and a laugh.
“I’m serious. I’ll charge you next time. If I could do that now, I would, but I have to find a reason. You shouldn’t ride a bike on I70. It’s too dangerous. Don’t do it again.”
His phone buzzed with a text from Maya. Her cousin-in-law Deena was coming to town to meet about the sale.
“Hey, Clem. Maya is meeting about the sale of the town. Do you want to go?”
Clem’s whole demeanor changed. Moments ago, he was pounding his head against the bar in frustration. Now he was slapping his palms against the surface in excitement.
“I can take you over to where they’re meeting but promise me no more bike riding. They’re calling for a late spring snow.”
“I’m good,” he promised. “It just comes in waves, and I can’t handle it.”
“We can walk over to the town hall and you can keep your bike at the station again until I can bring it over to the house in my truck.” He narrowed his eyes at Clem. “You have a car, use it.”
As they passed the bar, Clem shook Damon’s hand. “I apologize if I was any trouble.”
“We’re cool.”
Kevin bumped fists with Damon. “Catch you later.”
He and Clem walked out of the bar.
Chapter Sixteen
Maya
Maya watched patiently as the Blackwood Corporation lawyer Deena Blackwood, who was a newlywed to her cousin Caleb, snagged a room in the town hall to lay everything out for her. She wanted to go over all she’d found out after reviewing the progress the developer had made since the sale of Blackwood.
Deena brought two copies of a stack of papers with post-it flags on them pointing out the areas in which the development company that had purchased the town was now in default.
Kevin and Clem knocked on the door as she started. Maya
wondered if she’d ever tire of seeing him. Would her heart continue to race each time he was near?
“You going to join us?” she asked him.
He winked and they smiled at each other. They must have stared too long as both Deena and Clem cleared their throats.
“Sorry,” Maya said bashfully.
“Gotta go check in on my mom’s neighbor. I’m going to get her snow shovel out in case we need it. Probably toss salt on her sidewalk as a precaution. After that, I’ll be at the station. I’ve got desk duty.” He kissed her goodbye. “You all have fun. Talk to you later.”
Deena drew a visual line from Kevin to Maya and smiled.
“Okay then.” She raised her perfectly plucked eyebrows.
“I’m so happy.” Maya smiled. “Over the moon happy. I mean, he’s going to salt someone’s walkway. How can you not love that?”
“Love?” Deena and Clem chorused.
“Feels like it,” she gushed. “Imagine that.” She shrugged. “Whatever it is, he feels the same way, and I’ll take happy over heartache any day.”
“I’m glad for you, sweetie.” Deena patted her hand. “He’s a nice man.”
Without warning, Deena suddenly made a face and dashed out of the room. She returned disheveled and pulled out a pack of crackers from her purse.
“Caleb’s cooking,” Deena laughed as Maya eyed her suspiciously.
Clem sat next to Maya and listened. She gave her brother a cursory glance and thought he looked like a wreck. She didn’t know what to think since he’d been making so much progress.
Deena, mid-first sentence of her analysis, got up and took a box of tissues from a side table in the meeting room and handed it to Clem.
“What I propose is to have a family meeting. I think it’s critical to let everyone know what’s going on. The two of you have expressed seller’s remorse. It’s possible other members of the family are feeling this too. There is a catch, though, and everyone should be there.”
Deena paused and looked at Clem.
“What?” he asked.
“I know you and Kaitlin are having issues.” Deena swallowed hard and reached for a packet of crackers. “Even so, she’s still a member of the corporation and until that changes, she has to be present. Is that going to be a problem?” She tore open the wrapper and readied the cracker to eat. “I think the best place to have it would be at our house or John’s since they’re both big enough to hold the family.”
“I don’t care.” Clem looked to the floor. “What’s one more time?”
“Okay. I’ll set it up. I think it’s a good idea to meet and get our ducks in a row. You know, see where everyone is regarding this situation. I think the development company got in over its head and while no one in Blackwood Corporation has an obligation to step in, it could.”
“How much money are we talking about?”
“The same or less than what the corporation put out, but in order for the corporation to take it back, everyone has to be on board. If, say, Caleb or John or Patrick or your sister Jennifer don’t want to play along, you could still buy it back, but it would come out of your personal pockets.”
“What if we got the corporation to buy it back and then we paid off anyone who didn’t want to be involved? Could we work something like that out? It could be cheaper to reacquire as a group,” said Clem.
“Usually I don’t advise that sort of thing with families, but your family might be the exception. I honestly never saw one, even an extended family, where there is absolutely no bad blood between anyone. However, this could change that.”
“That’s why we need to have a meeting,” said Clem. “Let’s have it at John’s, since it’s just the two of us—Maya and me—and you guys might not want to host all of us. I’ll take care of it.”
“I can contact Kaitlin if you want.” Deena took a few bites of a cracker.
“Good luck finding her.”
Maya gasped. “She was just here. What happened?”
“She doesn’t know what she wants.” His eyes brimmed with tears. “She came all the way out here to see me because she had to have me. Then she got here and after we spent the night together, she wasn’t so sure. Now she’s ghosted on me again.”
“That’s weird.” She’d felt sorry for her sister-in-law, but now she was annoyed. She couldn’t stand seeing her brother get jerked around.
Deena advised, “You didn’t ask, but I’m telling you, this happens a lot. I can look it up, but if you guys spent the night, the clock might start all over for separation purposes. Cohabiting means that. If you don’t want to stay married, you guys have to knock that stuff off.”
“I’m here and she’s wherever she hides,” grumbled Clem. “If you want to call her, that’s fine. I just need a ride home. I got bike busted by Kevin again.”
“You didn’t,” scolded Maya. “Now I’m mad at both you and Kaitlin.”
“Okay, you two. Back to the family meeting. It’s the beginning of the week.” Deena looked at her calendar. “You guys want to do Friday night?”
“Yeah,” she said, her voice tinged with annoyance. “That works.”
“I’ll set it up.”
“Thanks for doing this.”
They all rose to leave.
“You don’t have to thank me; you guys pay me.” She grinned then shoved the rest of the cracker into her mouth. Deena’s complexion turned green and she dashed off again.
“Caleb’s cooking my you-know-what,” grumbled Maya.
They stepped out of the building and were pelted with snowflakes. The light flurries were almost disappointing since the spring temperatures had been so warm and inviting. Already, green shoots poked through the ground and leaves budded on the trees, signaling new beginnings.
In Blackwood, it could snow well into the next month, they all knew that, but this was the point at which they got their hopes up annually for clear weather.
“Oops.” Deena reappeared. “I need to get home. I don’t want to be out in this if it hits hard.”
“Drive carefully.” Maya suspected she was driving for two, but she didn’t want to say if Deena hadn’t announced anything.
She turned to her brother.
“I’m driving you home.” She marched to her car, calling to Clem over her shoulder. “Seriously, you have a perfectly good car. Use it.”
They climbed into the Porsche and headed outside of town to John’s house. After some quiet time inside, she found Clem in the living room and spoke to him again. This time with gentleness and compassion.
“If you want to talk about what happened, I’m here for you.” She plopped onto the couch beside him.
“I appreciate that.” He looked around the room. His eyes rose to the beamed ceiling before they met hers. “I like being here. I like the people, especially Kevin. He’s the best. I feel like I can work through anything here.”
“You’re going to stay?”
“That’s the plan.” He smiled a rare smile. “It’s nice to have a plan.”
The snow fell harder but then it stopped. She remembered that she had agreed to lead the meeting, but this time, it would be different. It would be close by, and it would be sane.
“I’m taking a catnap because I have a meeting tonight back at town hall.” She lifted from the sofa and walked to the stairs. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“All good.”
“Great” She gave him a big hug and climbed the stairs to her room.
She was ready for a nap, but when she got to her room and closed the door, she felt lonely for Kevin. She snuggled into her warm comforter with her phone and texted him.
How is the salt going?
His reply was immediate.
Done. I had to eat some of her cookies though. If I keep being this helpful, I’m going to get fat.
She tried to imagine Kevin fat but couldn’t.
Doubtful. But if you’re worried, I can help you burn calories.
She imagined him reading her
message. Imagined his smile.
Goodness.
She missed him.
It’s an open meeting tonight. You’re welcome to come.
She watched the dots move across her screen as he replied.
I might. I hear they have a really inspiring speaker tonight.
She lifted up her sweater and bared her breast. She held her phone up and took a picture. It was a shadowy shot so it wasn’t an obviously naked picture. She hovered over the send button for a second before she pressed it.
MAYA He wrote back in all caps. I’m at work. Have a heart.
She laughed and shot off another text before she put down her phone.
Adore you.
Her nap was quick. She freshened up and went down to enjoy a fire in the living room to gather her thoughts.
Clem came down to join her. His rumpled hair said he’d napped too.
“I’m ready when you are.”
“Ready for what?” she asked with a smile.
“To listen to my baby sister talk at her meeting.”
“Aww,” she said. “Let’s go.”
Chapter Seventeen
Kevin
Kevin wasn’t a Blackwood. He wasn’t a part of the Blackwood Corporation that used to own the town they inherited, but he was invited to the family gathering just the same. It felt right being there. He prepared for the meeting all week, helping with housework and food preparation. He and Clem moved chairs from various bedrooms to furnish the living room.
“This place looks good with furniture in it,” John laughed.
“We can keep it this way,” said Clem.
Once everyone had a place to sit comfortably, they rested and munched on the snacks put out for them. Kevin sat next to Maya on the sofa.
When John and Lucy entered the living room, an invisible current of awkwardness sparked. John looked Kevin’s way and gave him a nod. Lucy waved. Maya was distracted and didn’t seem to notice.
Seeing Lucy made him feel foolish. Like Maya, he had a period in his life when he felt empty. Lucy Shoemaker was a crush he’d had since he was small. When he returned from the pros, she was alone and so was he. He watched after her. Nothing came of it. Still, it was awkward.
Imagine That: A Small Town Big Love Novel Page 11