by Tonya Kappes
Luckily, everyone was outside still eating and enjoying the music. The only one there was Tommy.
“I hear you were dumped.” He took pleasure in her pain. “And back here causing havoc on my buddy.”
She looked over at Tommy with a critical eye. What did he know about her or what she’d been up to? Must’ve been on Facebook, she thought.
“I did get dumped and have not created havoc yet. I need two Jack and cokes. And you can keep the change.” Maggie slid a hundred dollar bill across the bar.
She still had most of the money she took from the desk in Grady’s penthouse office and keeping Tommy’s mouth shut was worth every penny.
He sat the two drinks in front of her. “He’s in his office.” Tommy didn’t look at her.
She watched as he folded the bill and slipped it in his front pocket.
She turned without another word. Tommy knew what she was up to. Even though he didn’t like her, there was a mutual respect.
“He was happy before you blew back into town.”
She looked back at Tommy. He was bent over with Bar Keepers Find in one hand and a scrub brush in the other scouring the counter. He was getting ready for the after hoedown party which always took place at the Thirsty Turtle.
“What does that mean?” She glared, not sure if she wanted to know his answer.
He was Mitch’s closest guy friend and she was sure he was Mitch’s confident. She didn’t mean to make Mitch unhappy. Nor upset Wendy. She was just as shocked with the unusual feelings she was having for Mitch. Where did she draw the line with him? She didn’t know her place with Mitch or where their friendship was at this point in their lives. She did know she wouldn’t be able to handle another male dumping her—especially Mitch.
Tommy didn’t answer her. She wasn’t going to beg him to tell her. She’d ask Mitch herself. Maggie kept her head down and slipped around the building and up the concrete steps, sure that no one saw her. The courthouse was open late for everyone who needed a bathroom.
The halls were dark and quiet, only a few times did the ice rattle in the cups. The light shone through the crack in the door. She peeked in. Mitch was bent over the laptop with his head buried in it. She really had no business being here, but she longed for a good friend more than finding out what secret everyone was hiding from her.
He looked up. “Who’s there?”
Shyly, Maggie pushed the door open with the toe of her boot. Mitch’s face relaxed, his dark eyes softened and a smile the size of the Grand Canyon filled his face.
“Maggie.” He flipped the laptop closed.
She let herself into his office and handed him a drink. “I hope you don’t mind me bringing a congratulatory drink.”
His fingers brushed up against hers, leaving goose bumps shooting up her legs.
“You can come see me anytime.” Mitch’s licked the dribble off his lips left behind from his drink. “Must be serious, you giving me Jack and Coke.”
Maggie walked around his office. She’d been in there once, a long time ago when her parent’s had died and Hazel needed to take care of a little business. Mitch had updated the pictures, including a couple of him and Wendy.
Why didn’t anyone tell Maggie about them? They did make a great couple, and it made her a little jealous. Growing up, he was her guy best friend and Wendy was her girl best friend.
Maggie ran her finger along the rim of her drink. “I guess I’m still shocked about you and Wendy dating. I mean,” she stuttered, “engaged.”
He couldn’t seem to look at her, leaving her with doubt about his feelings toward Wendy.
“Why didn’t you tell me? Anyone?” There was hurt in her voice that penetrated to her eyes.
###
Mitch looked out the window. When he turned around he was teary eyed.
“Maggie.” He paused, not being able to find the right words. How could he tell her he was still in love with her when he was engaged? “I didn’t know I was going to propose when I did.”
She’d see right through him if he lied to her. He looked over the town. Wendy and the girls were still line dancing. He wanted his heart to be warm when he looked at her, but it wasn’t. Maggie standing so close to him made his heart skip a beat.
“What?” Maggie wasn’t going to give up until he disclosed the truth or at least some of it.
Having her in his office was something he had thought about since he took office, only it wasn’t discussing anything. Many fantasies about her on the desk she was leaning on were never going to come true. Smelling her signature Chanel cologne wasn’t helping matters.
“I saw you in New York and knew I’d lost you forever.” He remembered seeing her in the city with Grady and picking up his heart was harder than burying his mother.
Maggie leaned on his desk, her eyes narrowed. “When? When did you come to New York”
“I came for a business conference. I found you laughing and holding hands with Grady.” Swaying a bit, he leaned up against the window for support. He felt weak in the knees and unsure if they were going to fail him.
He’d never planned on telling her he’d gone to New York and seeing her made him sick for days. He was sure once she saw him she’d want him to stay, and he had prepared the rest of his life to accommodate her.
When he saw her with Grady, his decision was made for him—by her. No matter how much he wanted to go up to her, he saw what he saw and his arms weren’t the arms that were wrapped around her.
“Why didn’t you tell me? I’d love to have seen you there.” Maggie tilted her head in a way that made his heart melt. He loved when she looked at him this way. Her big brown eyes hidden under her newly trimmed bangs made her even sexier than before, which he never thought was possible—until now.
“I didn’t come as a friend. You came home two months before that and we had made love.” There was no way he could fall for this again. The record needed to be set straight. He watched her smile fade. Whenever they did talk, she never mentioned their hook-ups. “I wanted more than a friend.”
“Wanted?” Her voice urged him to elaborate.
He felt anger remembering the emotions he had coming back to Grandberry Falls. He vowed to never let anyone hurt him that way again. Seeing her here in Grandberry Falls didn’t help matters.
“Wanted, Maggie.” His eyes narrowed. He had asked Wendy and he planned on making good on his promise. “I’m engaged to Wendy. And I won’t leave her like Grady left you.”
“Excuse me?” Maggie glared and gritted her teeth. He did hit below the belt, but he had to. “Who are you?”
Mitch needed to put an end to his relationship with Maggie once and for all, even if he did lie about his engagement to Wendy. He was a grown man that lived life exactly the way he planned. He accepted he couldn’t have Maggie. He’d come to terms that he would never get married.
“Maggie, you can’t,” he stopped and amended his thoughts, “you can’t come back into town and think you can crawl into my bed.”
His body ached with pleasure and pain. She broke his heart, yet again, and his body groaned remembering how good she did feel in his bed.
“I never once thought about crawling into your bed this week. I only wanted my friend to lean on because I was dumped and left with no money.” She took a deep breath. Her eyes acted like a dam holding back water. When she blinked, the dam broke.
Mitch went to reach for her, but she ran out of the office and didn’t look back.
He was unfair. Why in the world did he think Maggie Greenlee wanted to jump back in bed with him? Maybe it was wishful thinking on his part to think Maggie’s engagement might have ended because of him.
Grandberry Falls did need her. The only lawyer in town retired and left the town without one. Mitch couldn’t cross Hazel nor disrespect her. That was one thing the Greenlee’s were—stubborn.
He’d have to figure out a way to live in this town with Maggie Greenlee in it without the help of alcohol.
He watc
hed the crowd file into the Turtle. Maggie wasn’t anywhere to be seen and Hazel’s stand had long since been closed.
Chapter 22
A friend is one of the nicest things you can have, and one of the best things you can be.
~Douglas Pagels
“What are you going to do today?” Belle asked Maggie the next morning, and plopped her big purse on the counter.
Maggie wiped up the splash of milk that tumbled out of her bowl. She never understood why Belle carried such a big purse. Belle said that she had important stuff in there. Stuff consisted of make-up and more make-up.
“This is my favorite part.” Maggie picked the bowl up and drank the left over milk.
“Simple pleasures in life, right?” Belle gave her the apologetic look Maggie was getting use to from everyone she walked past.
No one said anything to her, but she could tell what they were thinking by their tilted heads, frowning eyes, and weak smiles. Belle re-filled Maggie’s coffee cup after she poured her a cup.
“Why don’t you come down to the Hair Pin and work the phones for me today?” She asked.
Great, Maggie thought. She’d spent all those years getting her law degree. Answering the phone at the Hair Pin was not going to pay back the massive loan she owed. A far cry from where she thought she’d be at this point in her life.
“No thanks.” She leaned back and looked into the family room. Hazel was already in there watching Paula’s weekly round-up and bargains. “I might see what Paula’s deals are or go to the lake for the matinee.”
Maggie and Mitch had spent countless hours on Matinee Saturday. She saw where they were showing her all time favorite movie, Back to the Future. There was nothing better than watching a movie on the outside screen sitting on a blanket and eating freshly popped corn.
Belle grabbed her bag, her mouth twisted sideways and her eyebrows dipped. “If you change your mind, come on by.”
Maggie appreciated how Belle and Hazel weren’t pushing her to move forward, but really take the time to get her life in order. It did scare her how little she’d thought of Grady and how much she thought of Mitch. Wrapping her head around the fact that Wendy Owens was going to be Wendy Dozier and picturing how cute their kids were going to be, had taken over all of her soul.
“Granny.” Hazel was mesmerized by Paula. Maggie gestured toward the door. “I’m going to the matinee in the park.”
Hazel nodded and shooed her away. If Paula was on, Hazel was going to be glued to the television, which was good. Maggie always felt guilty leaving Hazel. But when she was in her element and happy as could be, those were the times Maggie took advantage of.
###
The crowd was much larger than Maggie remembered it ever being. Grandberry Falls was definitely growing. A twinge of confusion settled in her stomach. She had to question why she was yearning for the old days when Grandberry Falls was a small town, and she knew everyone. She wasn’t use to walking in the park and not know a soul.
There was even a line for the gondola rides. She recognized Butch Caudill underneath the straw hat with the black ribbon hanging down, trolling the paddle along the slick glass lake. Butch was always a nice guy who was easy to talk to. Many high school nights, Butch joined the gang in Maggie’s old ’66 Mustang, trying to see what kind of trouble they could get into. He was the first one who threw his feet in the air going over the railroad tracks near the old saw mill.
She could hear him now, “I need all the wishing I can do.”
She smiled. No matter how hard she tried to escape superstition, it somehow let her know it was still in her life.
“Maggie Greenlee.” Butch pushed her money away from her. “You get a free ride.”
Charity was something Maggie didn’t take lightly. She paid her scholarship back and she’d recover from this change in her life plans.
“No, Butch.” She shoved it back in front of him. “I’m not going to let anyone take pity on me.”
Butch took her by the elbow and lowered her into the boat. He steadied the oar against the shallow depths of the lake so she could sit down on the padded bench.
“Pity?” Butch pushed against the soil, and with a couple swooshes of the oar, they were sliding along the lake. His right eyebrow rose. “What are you talking about?”
Hazel had mentioned something about Butch coming around trying to court Belle, but never gave it any thought until now. She did wonder how he wasn’t snatched up yet. His strong jawline was pronounced by the sunlight jutting off the lake. His green eyes stood out from his olive skin and black spiky hair, which she was sure came from Belle’s scissors. She remembered how his body had been out of proportion, but which had now filled out to fit his six-foot-four frame.
Yes, she smiled. He and Belle would make a nice couple. She would put a bug in Hazel’s ear to encourage this pairing. It might make Hazel lay off her.
“I know you’ve been talking to Belle and I’m not stupid.” She wanted to be upfront. There was nothing more degrading than being treated like a child.
“I haven’t talked to Belle. She’s been so busy with the spa part of the Hair Pin, she’s always working.” There was sincerity in his voice. “Maggie Greenlee? Pity? I’m just glad to see you. Especially since the eminent domain.”
Maggie jerked back. “Eminent domain?”
“I hope they give Hazel some good money. I couldn’t imagine losing our farm to some outlet mall.” Maggie held on to the sides of the gondola as Butch talked, but she only saw his lips move. “This is a hobby. I still have to farm, and losing Greenlee farm is going to make me have a big pay cut.”
Butch’s family had farmed the rows of corn for the Greenlee’s long before Maggie was born and they were a staple on the farm along with several other families in Grandberry Falls.
The lake whirled like a hurricane and spots danced around her eyes.
“Are you alright?” Butch stuck the oar in the boat.
The next thing Maggie knew, Butch was sitting next to her with a bottle of water.
“Maggie? Here take a drink.” He put the drink up to her lips. She pushed it away, but took it once she realized she felt like she was going to pass out.
“Eminent domain?” She gulped down the lump in her throat before she took a drink of water. “Outlet mall?”
“I know!” He jumped up and grabbed the oar to push them toward the dock where the line of people had gotten bigger. “What is that company thinking putting an outlet here in Grandberry Falls?”
“I don’t know.” Maggie recalled how strange everyone was treating her. A sneaky suspicion told her it had nothing to do with Grady, but all to do with this eminent domain she knew nothing about. Heat was rising up in her throat and her armpits dampened. She thought about the envelope. “Tell me about what you heard.”
That’s one thing about Butch Caudill, he never knew when to keep his mouth shut.
“I think it’s a shame.” He shook his head. “Poor Hazel. Is she just sick?”
Maggie couldn’t bring herself to make eye contact. “You could say that.” Maggie looked over Butch’s shoulder. Just a few more feet, she’d be on land, and a few seconds after that on her way back to the farm to confront Hazel. “If she’s not sick now, she will be.”
Butch pulled up to the dock and before he could help Maggie out she was out of the gondola and running up the hill toward her car. He called after her, but she didn’t have time to turn back.
Maggie’s face hurt from the virtual slap she got from his words. Why hadn’t Hazel asked her to help?
There were many questions she needed answers to. Hazel knew she was a lawyer with a very extensive background in eminent domain. Why didn’t she ask her to even look at the documents? Maggie was one of the best in the firm at these types of deals. Which would make her an asset for Hazel.
“Excuse me.” Maggie made her way through the crowd of people gathering to see the outdoor matinee. “Excuse me.”
She couldn’t believe how ma
ny people had gathered there. The population of Grandberry Falls had definitely gotten bigger. That could be one of the reasons the company wanted to put an outlet mall in. There was more land than just Hazel’s to look at. There were plenty of other farms. What was the purpose of Hazel’s?
She made mental notes to ask once she got there.
Chapter 23
Faith is not without worry or care, but faith is fear that has said a prayer. ~ Unknown
“Hazel.” Frustration boiled in Mitch’s blood. He wished he didn’t love this family so much or he would have already told Hazel the way it was going to be instead of the other way around. “I’m telling you, Maggie can help us. She worked for the firm that’s representing the Pelt Company.”
She was as calm as can be, as she sat in the mayor’s office going over what little information Mitch had dug up.
“No. Maggie has more going on.” Lines creased her forehead as her eyebrows arched. “First she got dumped. Then she lost her job. Now she lost her best friend.”
Mitch didn’t have to ask who. This was beyond friendship. It was life and death for this town. He wasn’t opposed to the mall. He was opposed to it being there, on the Greenlee farm.
No matter how much he tried to get Hazel to see his point, there was no pushing her. Maggie was to be protected once and for all.
“Tell me, how much longer do you think you can keep this from her?” Mitch leaned up against the edge of his desk. Surely Hazel had some great answer to this million dollar question. Maggie was smart and intuitive just like Hazel, and he knew it wasn’t going to be much longer.
“As long as I can. I know she’s been snooping.” Hazel pulled the file out of her large bag. “I have to carry all my papers with me. Today she went to Matinee Saturday, so I’m safe being here.”
Mitch didn’t know how safe Hazel was. The entire town was divided. The younger generation welcomed the mall, while the older generation couldn’t stand the idea. Mitch was stuck in the middle. He wanted to keep the entire community happy. Only he had to find the solution.