“Okay, we’re going to have food vendors there, along with a small arts and craft show, and of course, all the animals will be there. We could put you up near the entrance into the fairgrounds, where people would have to pass by you when they enter and when they leave. That would be maximum exposure.”
“Yes, I like that idea, Barb. Thank you so much for thinking of this.”
“Sure, the dates for the county fair are August fifteenth through the twenty-second. I will have a canopy for you, just as we did at the art show last June, and tables. All you have to do is provide the rest.”
Janice marked the dates on her calendar. “I’ll be sure to have at least one of us there at all times.”
“If you do have a problem covering it at any particular day and time, you can get volunteers to help out, and I’ll be around as well and can relieve you for bathroom and food breaks if needed.”
“Is there a booth fee or anything that we need to pay?”
“No, for the library, this would be a free set up and display,” Barb answered. “We also have an Octoberfest Hayride and Barn Dance in October. I don’t know if they do it in other places, but here in Montana, at some weddings, they do a money dance, where the men pay to dance with the bride and the women pay to dance with the groom. We do something similar to that. We have five women and five men participating. The women wear a corsage or a hair piece so that the men know which women are available for the money dance, and the men wear a boutonniere so that the women know which ones are available for the money dance. The money collected goes to the Colstrip Food Bank. We have some pretty harsh winters here, and some of the local people run out of food. We stock up the Food Bank in order to meet this need in our community. The council members, myself included, chaperone the dance so we don’t have people getting drunk and causing a brawl or getting out of hand. Even though we provide the beer, this is really a family event, where children also can get involved. Just before the dance, we have a hayride, and we take the folks from McCallister’s farm down to Mrs. Smith’s Apple Cider Mill and back. So it’s an all-day event, packed with a lot of fun.”
“I’ve heard of the money dance, we do that in Michigan. That does sound like fun. You must really enjoy planning all these events.”
“It’s not that so much, but as part of the council, this is what we do. Chris and Shane did the July 4th event, arranged for the fireworks, got the park ready for the community, and so on. We’re always busy doing something. I’m telling you this for one reason—I’d like you to consider being one of the women in the money dance. You’re so beautiful, Janice. I know it will draw all the men, and it will certainly help raise money.”
“I would be glad to be one of the money dancers,” Janice replied enthusiastically.
“You don’t know how relieved I am to hear that! I came in here with all kinds of arguments up my sleeve to convince you to do it. I’ll add you to the list for the money dance, and we’ll be in touch to discuss it further as we plan the event.”
“Okay, that would be fine, Barb. I’m actually excited about this. I love to dance, and I think it’s a wonderful way to raise money for a very worthy cause.”
That afternoon, Janice had sent Robin to the post office to pick up some packages when Ruthanne showed up at the library in tears.
“Oh, darling, what’s the matter? Why are you crying?” Janice pulled Ruthanne into her arms and led her to the office.
“I can’t play for the Christmas concert,” she gasped between sobs.
“You can’t play for the… Why?”
“They said I’m not good enough, I needed to practice more and maybe, maybe, I could play next year.” Ruthanne was playing the flute. Robin had put her in lessons so she could do better.
“Which concert did you want to play in?”
“The school Christmas concert.” She cried, hiccupping between sobs.
“Honey, I’m so sorry. Do you have your flute here now?”
“Y-yes.”
“Why don’t you let me listen to you play and we’ll see what we might be able to do.”
“O-okay, you really want to hear me?”
“Yes, I do.” She helped Ruthanne dry her tears, and Ruthanne played her flute. She played O Holy Night and she was off a few notes, but overall, it sounded pretty good to Janice.
“I don’t play very good,” Ruthanne said, pouting.
“I thought you played wonderfully.”
“Really? I wanted to play for my mommy and daddy.”
“Well, I think we can do it.”
She looked at Janice, her eyes lit up. “We can?”
“Yes, you and me. We’ll do a little duet and play for the family, how’s that?”
“For Uncle Chris too?”
“Yes, for Uncle Chris too.”
“I’d love that. Can it be our secret and we do a surprise for them?”
Janice thought for a second. “We can certainly try. I don’t know if we’ll have any luck keeping it a secret, but I won’t tell if you don’t.”
“I won’t tell,” Ruthanne said firmly.
“Well, okay then. Deal?” she asked, holding her hand out to Ruthanne to shake it.
“Deal.” Ruthanne shook it.
The music that Ruthanne had could also be played with a piano accompaniment. Janice ordered the piano piece and then arranged to have the piano that was stored at the library pulled out and tuned. She had it put in the library meeting room, and she arranged for Ruthanne to come to the library two nights a week to practice with her. She blossomed with her pieces under Janice’s direction. Janice and Ruthanne told Robin that they were helping Ruthanne rehearse for her school band, so she wouldn’t get suspicious.
Janice talked to Reverend Davis and he came to listen to the piece she and Ruthanne were working on.
When they were finished, she said, “We need to practice more, but I think it would be nice to play for one of the Christmas services.”
The reverend looked at her and said, “I’d like you and Ruthanne to play for our Christmas Eve service. I’d like you to do the piece in its entirety during the offering.”
Ruthanne’s face lit up. “Really?”
“Yes, really.”
Janice told the reverend, “We’re doing this as a surprise for Chris and Robin’s families. They don’t know anything about it.”
“And it will now remain our little secret until Christmas Eve.” The reverend smiled at her.
Ruthanne was so excited Janice worried that she might spill the good news to everyone.
Chapter 14
Janice, Robin, Dana, and Carly had been busy getting things ready for the county fair, as well as maintaining the programs they’d already started. Janice was in the midst of starting up another readership program called ‘Read A Book’ for teenagers. The purpose of the program was to get teenagers to read and then give an oral report to the group on what they’d read. They would meet every two weeks.
One afternoon Robin went into Janice’s office and told her, “You have a phone call on line two.”
“Okay, thank you.” Janice picked up the phone. “Hello, this is Janice Meyers.”
“Janice. How are you?” Jack Logerstein’s voice boomed from the phone.
“Oh, hello, Jack. I’m doing fine. And you?”
“Great, doing great. Are you all settled in at your new location?”
“Yes, I am. I really like the small town appeal and the community here,” Janice replied happily.
“That’s great. I’m glad you were able to find someplace where you can be happy.”
“Thank you. What’s up?” Janice asked, knowing full well what the reason was for the call.
“It looks like the Banning family wants to have a sit-down with you and me to discuss the lawsuit.”
“What do they mean by ‘discuss’?” Janice asked.
“From what the attorney told me, the Bannings want to settle this lawsuit quickly and quietly, and want to come to some sort of a
greement. Alfred Banning is going to run for US Senate, and wants this mess cleared up so it doesn’t hit the press and ruin his chances for the election.”
“So, they want to pay me hush money,” Janice said.
“Yeah, something like that. But they know now that they can’t browbeat us and run roughshod over us, so they’re going to try and go at it this way.”
“Have they made any kind of a counter-offer?”
“No, that was one of the things they wanted to discuss face to face.”
“Ugh, that means I have to travel back to Aspen, doesn’t it?”
“Yeah, unfortunately. They want you to be in the room to discuss it.”
“When do they want to meet?” Janice asked grimly.
“They asked if we could meet August twenty-fifth. Will that work for you?”
Janice looked at her calendar. She didn’t have any excuse not to make it, so she said, “I guess I can do that.”
“Okay, I’ll contact them and set the time and will let you know. Now, while you’re here you’re to stay with Judy and me. You don’t need to go to a hotel. Is that understood?”
Janice laughed. “Yes, sir. How is Judy doing?”
“She’s doing fine. She’s studying for her PhD, and that means lots of cold dinners and cold nights for me.”
“It’s only temporary, Jack.” Janice laughed again.
“Yeah, I know, I keep telling myself that. So my next question to you is, have you found someone new to get involved with yet?”
“Not exactly. I am attracted to someone, but he hasn’t really showed a whole lot of interest in me in that way, although we have gone out and I’ve spent some time with his family. He tried to help me to keep my car running when I first arrived here. But he seems to hold himself in check when it comes to emotional involvement. I don’t know, Jack, I’m almost too afraid to get involved with anyone right now. Not with the ugly scars that I have to cover every day in this heat. You know, of course, I have emotional scars that need to heal as well, before I could really love someone again.”
“Don’t let life pass you by, Janice. You could get so wrapped up trying to heal that you miss opportunities along the way that could actually help you heal. I mean, a good man could do wonders for you and your self-esteem, and to heal the scars, both emotional and physical.”
After talking for a while with Jack, Janice hung up the phone and called Robin in.
“You wanted to see me?”
“Yes, August twenty-fifth I have to be in Aspen, Colorado for a meeting. I’ll probably leave on Sunday, the twenty-fourth, and come back on Wednesday, the twenty-seventh. I’ll need to put you in charge of everything while I’m gone.”
“Okay, that’s not a problem. What’s in Aspen?”
“Um, a personal matter that needs to get cleared up.” Janice didn’t like putting Robin off—after all, Robin had turned out to be a good friend, but Janice wasn’t willing to discuss the lawsuit with anyone. She needed anonymity for now.
* * * *
The hot days of summer had definitely come upon them in time for the county fair. Janice was thankful for the canopy so she could keep cool. Occasionally a breeze would blow through, but for all seven days, Robin, Carly, Dana, and Janice rotated turns, trying to survive the heat as they worked. The final day, Robin and Janice covered. They collected over two thousand dollars in donations, and Janice had some requests for additional services, such as providing books for those who were homebound.
The last day, Chris came by the booth and visited with Robin and Janice.
“Janice, do you want to take a break and walk around the fair?” he asked.
“Go ahead, Janice,’” Robin said. “I’ve got this covered.”
“Um, okay, we can do that,” Janice replied.
She and Chris walked the county fairgrounds. They looked at paintings in the arts and craft show, and they looked at all the animals. They passed the carnival as they walked back and Chris asked, “You want to go up in the ferris wheel?”
Janice looked and saw that it was only a single ferris wheel, not a double. She didn’t mind a single ferris wheel, but a double was too high for her. “That would be fun.”
“Okay.” Chris walked up to the ticket booth and bought tickets for the ride.
Janice sat close to Chris, as close as she could get without crowding him. He put his arm behind her on the back of the chair, and he gently rocked the chair. Or was it the breeze that rocked it?
When they reached the top of the ferris wheel, they could see the mountains far away, and rolling hills, and the town spread out around them. The sight was mesmerizing.
“It’s beautiful,” she said, almost whispering.
“Yeah, it is,” Chris replied.
She looked at him and realized that he wasn’t looking at the scenery, but staring intensely at her. She grew flushed and dropped her gaze briefly, then looked back at him. Chris leaned over, and with his finger, lifted her chin up toward him, and he kissed her almost as gently as the breeze that was ruffling her hair. She felt the kiss all through her body. She never seemed to get tired of his kisses, they were always fresh to her, and wonderful. The ferris wheel stopped all too soon and they were let out of the chair. Chris and Janice walked slowly and meandered toward the library booth.
* * * *
When Chris left the booth, he caught up with Shane.
“What’s happening?” Shane asked.
“Not much,” Chris replied.
“You seem quiet. Is something wrong?”
“Oh, I don’t know. I found out from Robin that Janice is going to Aspen on the twenty-fifth for a meeting. She wouldn’t tell Robin what it was about, but I suspect there’s going to be some sort of a settlement.”
“We knew this was going to happen, Chris. Why is it bothering you? Are you getting yourself entangled up with her?”
“I’m trying not to. My feelings for her are getting stronger, but I am also very cautious.”
“There’s no doubt that she’s a beautiful woman. What man wouldn’t want her at his side? Plus, she’s done a lot for the library and the community. But we know so little about her personally.”
“Yes, she’s got a wall there. I don’t know whether to knock it to hell and get rid of it, or walk away and just leave it alone,” Chris replied pensively.
* * * *
Mark Goodwin popped up at the library booth and greeted Robin and Janice. “My heart is glad. Hello, my two most favorite, beautiful ladies.”
“Hi, Mark,” Robin said dryly.
“Hello, Mark. How are you?”
“I’m doing good. How about you?”
“I’m doing well too,” Janice responded, smiling up at him.
“Do I still have to check out a book in order to see you at the library?” Mark asked Janice.
Janice laughed and said, “Absolutely.”
“Aw, man, you drive a hard bargain, Janice,” he said teasingly.
“Books can be your best friend.” Janice took a sip of her diet pop.
“I prefer the two-legged friends with beautiful, long blonde hair,” Mark replied, giving Robin a wink.
“Where do you work, Mark?” Janice asked.
“I’m an instructor at Colstrip Community College. I teach computer science classes.”
“Really?” Janice said, surprised. “You know, I might just have another way to get you into that library, Mark,” she said sweetly.
“Oh yeah? How’s that?” Mark asked, clearly interested.
“I’ll be needing some help with getting new computers set up in the library.”
“That’s my specialty. I’d be happy to help. For a fee, of course.”
Janice said, “Well, of course.”
“Janice, I was wondering...would you ever consider going out sometime with me, like to a nice restaurant or maybe down to the pool hall for a game of pool, or something like that?”
“A restaurant would be nice. I’m not the type to go to bars a
nd drink and play pool though.”
“So if I were to call you sometime, maybe we could go to dinner?”
“Yes, that would be nice. Here’s my cellphone number.” Janice rattled off her number to him.
“Great! I’ll call you soon.”
“Okay then,” Janice replied.
After Mark left, Robin took Janice to the side. “You have to watch him, Janice. I heard that he dates a different girl almost every night.”
“Oh, I suspected that, but he sure is cheerful and funny.” Not to mention he does wonders for my self-esteem.
Chapter 15
Janice went to Chris’s shop Friday morning to talk to him about her SUV making the trip to Colorado.
“Hey, Chris. How’s it going?” she asked as she walked in the door.
“Doing good. What brings you here?”
“Well, I have to go to Aspen for a few days, and I wanted to check with you to be sure the SUV will make the trip okay.”
Chris looked at her grimly as she pulled the key off the key ring and handed it to him.
“Okay,” he said dryly. “I’ll check everything. It should be okay, but when you come back you’ll need to bring it in for another oil change.”
“Okay, thanks, Chris. I’ll be back later.” She walked off to the library to work.
When she came back, he was nowhere to be seen, and Dale told her that the SUV was in fine condition and she shouldn’t have any problems with it. She drove home to get packed and ready for the trip.
* * * *
Janice left at seven-thirty Sunday morning, and made several stops along the way. She pulled into Jack and Judy’s place at nine o’clock that night.
“Hello, how are you?” Judy asked as she opened the door. She reached out and gave Janice a hug.
“I’m doing fine, Judy. How are you?”
“Great, thank you. Come on in. Jack, take her suitcase.”
“First, I want a hug too,” Jack said, smiling. He gave Janice a hug and welcomed her. “Great to have you back here, Janice.” He took the suitcase and headed upstairs to the guest room.
Book of Love Page 12