Small Town Rumors

by Carolyn Brown

  I’ll give him space, Jennie Sue thought. But not for long.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  After another sleepless night of wondering if she’d done the right thing and if she’d regret the decisions she’d made and whether Rick was still angry, Jennie Sue made it to the bookstore at exactly nine o’clock to find Amos already there.

  “Good mornin’,” he said entirely too cheerfully for that time of day. “Coffee is made and there’s doughnuts in the office. Ledgers are all out and on the desk. Never could figure out that damn computer even after I bought one, so that part is on you. Combination to the safe is written on the first page of the ledger. All the keys to the place are over there by the cash register.”

  “What are you doing, Amos?” She frowned.

  “Selling you the store.” He grinned. “When Justin gets all the paperwork in order, call me. I talked to him last night, and we settled on a fair price.”

  “And that is?” She was suddenly fully awake, her mind running in circles.

  “He’ll call you later, but don’t fuss—Iris told me to do it this way.”

  “And how’s that?”

  “When I thought about the price, I didn’t feel peace until I got to the right number. Sometimes it takes a while for her to get through my thick skull. I’m happy you have the store, and so is she. I’ll pop in every few days, and if you have any questions, you can always call me,” he said. “Now hug me and don’t argue with the way I’m doing this.”

  She wrapped her arms around him. “Thank you, Amos. There’s two places that I’ve been truly happy. One is out on the Lawson farm. The other is in this store.”

  “You are so welcome.” He took a step back, looked around the store, and said, “I can’t help but wonder what all those lending libraries will do to the business. And to the library as well. Folks might stop coming to buy or check out books if they can just grab one on the street corner.”

  “They’ll make both businesses even better,” she said. “Because they will teach people to love to read, and that will bring them into the store and to the library for the authors that they like. I’m thinking of putting up a little section of brand-new books, too.”

  “Iris really is smiling.” He waved as he left the store.

  A moment of instant panic set in. She went straight to the office, poured a cup of coffee, and called Lettie. “Guess what just happened?” Her voice sounded shaky in her own ears.

  “Amos turned the store over to you, and you can’t clean for me and Nadine anymore. Don’t worry, honey, we saw this coming. One of Elaine’s cousins has agreed to come work for us. I’m sure she won’t do things like you, but that’s all right. We can live with a little less than perfect.”

  Jennie Sue took a sip of coffee. “The other shoe is going to drop. This is all too good.”

  “Nadine and I’ll be down there in thirty minutes, and we’ll talk. I’ve heard at least twenty stories this morning about what went on in that meeting yesterday,” Lettie said. “And we’ve got some confessions to make of our own.”

  Had she really made the decisions that she had? That was what was on Jennie Sue’s mind as she waited on Lettie and Nadine. If she decided to back out of selling the company and the house, she could always sell the store to Cricket.

  But if the books on a small business like this scare you, what’s a multimillion-dollar company going to do? Mabel’s voice was in her head as she picked up a chocolate doughnut.

  “I went too fast, didn’t I?” she said aloud.

  No, you didn’t. You listened to your heart, and I’m proud of you. This time it was Dill’s voice. Do what makes you happy, and tell the rest of the world to go to hell. Life is short. Live it the way you want to, baby girl.

  She sat down at the desk and opened the ledger. Other than the fact that it was on paper and not a computer screen, it wasn’t so different from the mock-ups that she’d worked on in her online classes. Covered with dust, the laptop sat over on the end of the oversize desk. She flipped it open and turned it on to see what programs had been installed. Nothing but the basic things that came on the computer—no wonder Amos couldn’t figure out what to do with his bookkeeping.

  She went back to the ledger, and right there on a sticky note in spidery handwriting was the number for a CPA. Jennie Sue poked the numbers into her cell phone, and a lady answered on the second ring.

  “Good morning, this is Drummond CPA service, Annie speaking. What can I do for you today?”

  “I’m Jennie Sue Baker and—”

  The lady butted in before she could finish. “Amos has already called me. I will be glad to continue to do your books. But I hear that you are really smart, so you might just want to invest in a program and take care of them yourself.”

  “If you do them, I’ll have more time to do what I want,” Jennie Sue said.

  “Okay, then, I like to have them quarterly, by the first of the month, so I can get your taxes ready every three months. I’m in Sweetwater,” Annie said.

  “I see your card stuck under the sticky note. So you’ll want them on the first of September. Do you want the journey tapes for the month, also?”

  “You are smart,” she said. “Yes, the tapes from the cash register and the ledger and for goodness’ sakes, let’s get this stuff on the computer as soon as possible—then you can simply email me the whole thing.”

  “I agree,” Jennie Sue said. “By the time everything is due again in January, I’ll have it transferred.”

  After goodbyes, she’d just gotten off the phone with Annie when the bell rang in the front of the store. She picked up her lukewarm coffee and hurried that way. Lettie and Nadine had both already reached the sofa, and one look at their faces said something was terribly wrong.

  “I don’t think I can take any bad news.” She slumped down in a chair.

  “Did your first thoughts go to Rick?” Nadine asked.

  Jennie Sue nodded. “He hasn’t called, and I’ve been worried about him.”

  Lettie wrung her hands. “Well, it’s not him, but Cricket says he’s still an old bear, so she’s stayin’ out of his way. It’s us, and we don’t even know where to begin.”

  “At the beginning.” Jennie Sue figured that they were going to offer to keep the bookstore for her on Thursdays and Fridays if she would clean for them.

  “It all started a long time ago,” Nadine said.

  Looked like it wasn’t going to be a problem with the house cleaning business after all, and it wasn’t Rick or Cricket. Jennie Sue’s heart and pulse slowed down to normal.

  “Oh, we don’t have to go back to the first chapter of Genesis, when God created dirt,” Lettie fussed. “Everyone in town knows that we have an interest in Texas Red.”

  “That’s where all that money comes from, but they don’t know how deeply we are into it. We own a major percentage of the stock there, and we’ve tried to buy Baker Oil for years, mostly because we were enemies of the Wilshires. Your lawyer called our CEO this morning. We don’t feel right buying it without tellin’ you because of all the past problems with the families.”

  “And you are our friend, so you should know,” Nadine said.

  “I knew you weren’t poor, but I’d forgotten about your family and Texas Red. I remember Daddy talking about it when the company was mentioned in oil-magazine articles.” Jennie Sue stumbled over the words.

  “We inherited the shares when our parents died. Baker Oil and Texas Red were started the same year. Our parents bought into one, and the Wilshires into the other,” Lettie said. “Our parents didn’t believe in spoiling kids with material things, so all three of us girls worked.”

  “And, just like you, we like a simple life, but we do a lot of good with what we have. Scholarships at the Bloom school for girls who can’t go to college without help—Texas Red money built the library in town. I’m not braggin’, but just wantin’ you to know some of what we do, so you won’t . . .” Lettie had wrung the handkerchief in her hands so
much that it was nothing but a knot.

  “Your friendship means more to us than buyin’ Baker Oil. We’ll back off if you have a single problem with it.” Nadine finished the sentence for her sister.

  “Would you buy a watermelon from me if I had a vegetable stand on the side of the road? Would you buy a book in my store?” Jennie Sue asked.

  “That’s kind of an irrelevant question,” Lettie said. “But of course we would. We already buy watermelons from Rick that you probably helped harvest, and we’ll always buy used books in here because they are cheaper than buying new.”

  “Exactly. Watermelons, books, companies. They are all just things and should never come between friends. Buy Baker Oil if you want to expand. Tell the whole world that you did. Let’s put an end to this crazy feud,” Jennie Sue said.

  Lettie glanced around the store, evidently making sure there were no cameras or listening devices. “We could tell everyone that you gave all the money away to charity.”

  Jennie Sue went to give them both a hug. “Except for what I kept back to build a house of my own. Do you know about any property in the country? Maybe five or ten acres so I could have a garden?”

  Nadine nodded. “Well, I heard tell that there’s five acres north of town that Amos’s cousin by marriage would sell for a song.”

  “Why is he selling it?” Jennie Sue asked.

  “He split up his property and sold it off in ten-acre sections. Trouble was, he wasn’t thinkin’ real straight, and that last five acres don’t have access to a road. It would be a headache to get easements across other folks’ property. But since it abuts the Lawson farm, you could get permission from them to cross their land in your vehicle and be just fine,” Lettie explained.

  “It’s grown up in mesquite and cactus. You’d have to get enough cleared for a house and sink a well,” Nadine told her. “’Course I’m not sure right now is the time to approach Rick about it.”

  “Is that fence not far from the creek the one that separates that piece of property from Rick’s?” Jennie Sue was already visualizing where she’d put the house and what way it would face.

  “That’s right,” Lettie answered.

  “I want it. I’m going to call Justin right now.”

  “And if Rick won’t let you drive through his place to get to it?” Lettie asked.

  “I’ll buy a helicopter,” Jennie Sue answered.

  “That’s the spirit.” Nadine nodded in agreement.

  “Hey, I need to go pick out a headstone after work. I’ll treat us all to supper at the café if y’all will go with me,” Jennie Sue said as she dialed Justin’s number.

  “Love to. We’ll be at Lettie’s and ready when you get there,” Nadine agreed without hesitation.

  Jennie Sue used her lunch hour to go to the Baker grave sites. The big, gray granite stone in the middle was simply engraved with “Baker,” but each person buried in the enclosed area had an individual headstone—great-grandparents and grandparents and the fresh grave on the other side of the grassy area where her baby was buried. That was it. There was room for her parents but none for Jennie Sue. Should she buy a headstone for each of them? Should she bury the ashes in the urns right there?

  She sat down on the grassy lawn and flattened both hands out over her baby’s grave. “My precious little darlin’. I will never understand why you didn’t live. I’m so sorry if all the stress I was under caused you to have issues. I wanted you so badly, please know that.” Tears rolled down her cheeks and dripped on the grass. “I love you so much, Emily Grace.” She needed her baby to know that she was loved and wanted—to hear her say the words. Finally, she rose to her feet and promised that she’d be back soon.

  She’d intended to get a sandwich at the café and eat it as she pored over the ledger that afternoon, but she couldn’t have swallowed anything past the huge lump in her throat. She just made a fresh pot of coffee and sipped on it as she opened the ledger back up. When Iris had been there, the store had shown a nice little profit every year, but it had slowly been declining since Iris had passed away.

  Jennie Sue dug around in her purse until she found her phone and called Justin. “I’m sorry to bother you again, but how much am I paying Amos for this store?”

  “Fifty thousand. That’s the building’s appraisal for insurance. He’s throwing in the inventory for free,” Justin said. “It’s a steal. With a little work, you could flip it for twice that in six months.”

  “I’m not interested in ever flipping it. Have we heard from Texas Red?”

  “I was about to call you. They want to buy the company and the house for the CEO that they plan to send up here to take over Lawrence’s position. He’s asked to step down to a less stressful place, so Texas Red said they’d let him choose a new position before they make decisions about the rest of the staff. Looks like everyone will still have a job. It’ll take a while for the official signing, so you’ve got some time to take care of the personal property,” he said. “You still have time to change your mind. We can back right out of the deal if you want.”

  “No, thank you. My mind is made up,” she said. Now if only she could figure out exactly what she wanted to do with her folks’ ashes, she’d have most of the big decisions made.

  “Anything else?” Justin asked.

  “Just that property I’m interested in,” she said.

  “I’ve made a phone call. That’s in the works. Want to quibble with him over price? It’s a little high, considering the fact that you’ll have to have an easement to even get back to it,” he said.

  “Just give him the asking price and get the deed to it, but I do want all of it, mineral rights included,” she said.

  “Going to start your own oil business?” Justin asked.

  “Nope. I don’t care what’s under the dirt and roots to the mesquite trees. But I don’t want anyone else to ever come in there and tell me they’re putting an oil well in my backyard, either.”

  “Smart woman. I’ll get on that right now. Call me if you think of anything else,” he said.

  “Thank you.” Jennie Sue touched the screen and slid the phone back into her purse. It hadn’t even reached the bottom when it rang.

  “You can’t do this.” Frank’s voice cracked. “Your lawyer sent over papers for us to sign, and oh my Lord, Jennie Sue. This is too much. We can’t take your money like this.”

  “You can and you will. You’ve given your whole lives to the family, and now it’s your turn to do whatever you want with the rest of yours. I love both of you so much, and this makes me happy.” Jennie Sue’s eyes welled up with tears. “Please, Frank, don’t make me all sad again. I’ve had enough of that.”

  “‘Thank you’ isn’t enough,” Frank said.

  “That goes both ways. I can’t ever thank y’all enough for all you’ve done for me since the day I was born. Now start plannin’ your bucket list, and then do whatever is on it,” she told him.

  “I couldn’t ever tell you no.”

  “Then don’t start now. Let me talk to Mabel.”

  “She says that she’s crying too hard to talk to you now, but she’ll call later.”

  “Tell her that I love her,” Jennie Sue said. “See you later.” Saying that brought her dad to mind and put still another lump in her throat.

  “Yes, you will.”

  “So have you talked to Rick?” Lettie asked when she got into the front seat of Jennie Sue’s car that evening to go to the Sweetwater Monument location.

  “Not yet, but I’m going to tonight after we get this job done. We need to get things settled,” she answered.

  “You are right. Rick has wallowed around in this mood long enough. My opinion is that you should get up every morning and decide if you are going to be happy or miserable. Me, I choose to be happy most of the time. Evidently someone is going to have to kick Rick in the seat of the pants to get him over this attitude,” Lettie said.

  “When Lettie chooses to be miserable, I stay the hell out of h
er way,” Nadine said from the back seat.

  “Sometimes everything is like either a dream or a nightmare.” Jennie Sue turned south toward Sweetwater. “I still have to tell the Belles that I’m not joining their club. I imagine Daddy smiling and Mama throwing things when I think about it.”

  “Sounds to me like you are keeping one foot in reality,” Nadine said.

  There was little traffic on the road from Bloom to Sweetwater that evening, so it didn’t take long for them to arrive at the monument place. Jennie Sue got out and went straight toward a small heart-shaped white stone sitting on the lawn for display. “I want this for my baby.”

  “Then you should have it,” a lady said as she came out of the small building. “I’m Rachel Carter. You must be Jennie Sue Baker. You mentioned the possibility of three when we talked. Do you have an idea about the other two?”

  Jennie Sue took her phone from her purse and showed the lady the pictures that she’d taken. “As near like these as possible.”

  “I’ve got a whole book full of adornments. You can have a rose or a book or even a deer or a bull on them if you want,” she suggested.

  “Just plain. Names, dates, and that’s all. But I want my daughter’s name on the front of the heart one, and on the back it should be engraved with ‘Daughter of Jennie Sue Baker.’ Can you do that?”

  “I sure can. Let’s go inside and we’ll fill out the forms. I’ll have them all ready in two weeks,” she said. “I’ll call before we deliver so you can have someone come and show us exactly where to set them.”

  “That would be Randall from down at city hall. He takes care of the cemetery,” Nadine said.

  “We’ll be in touch, then. Anything else you need today?” Rachel asked.

  “No, that should do it.” Jennie Sue pulled out a debit card that she’d never used before. When she’d signed the papers to be included on her folks’ accounts in case of their deaths, the bank had given it to her. Seemed fitting that the first time it was used was to pay for their headstones.

  She made it to the car before she broke down. She wrapped her arms over the top of the steering wheel, laid her face on them, and sobbed. “I’m going to miss them both so bad. They weren’t perfect and they drove me crazy, but I loved them.”