Finding Home

by Maddie James

  Like her mouth.

  A family of mice must have moved in, she was sure of it. She tried to swallow and winced. Her throat was raw, too. From the alcohol? Maybe. She couldn’t remember. Except, there was something. Something she knew she needed to remember. But repeated attempts to think only made her head hurt worse.

  “Are you up then?”

  Lilly lifted her head to find Suzie standing in her doorway. She made an attempt to sit up then stand, and then sat again since she was destined to fall. “Barely. What do you put in those drinks?”

  Suzie laughed, but it wasn’t her normal, casual laugh. It seemed a bit strained.

  “Nothing abnormal. You just had too much, too quickly.”

  Heat filled her cheeks. “I’m sorry. I feel foolish.”

  Indecision flashed across Suzie’s face before she entered the room fully. “Martin called. He’s found a rental house for you to look at tomorrow.”

  Lilly shook her head to clear some of the cobwebs currently cloaking her brain. She tried to focus on Suzie but it hurt too much to lift her head. She bit her bottom lip, knowing she looked a mess. But something in Suzie’s demeanor made her feel she must have done something to offend, as well.

  She forced herself to look Suzie in the eyes. “I apologize for getting drunk. It’s never happened before. I hope I didn’t do anything to upset you.”

  Suzie shook her head, a little too quickly. “Of course not.”

  At Suzie’s brisk reply then unusual silence Lilly took a deep, painful breath and pasted a smile on her face, which hurt more. “Well, then. I guess I get to look for a place of my own tomorrow.”

  “I hope you like it. Goodnight.” Suzie pulled the door closed as she left the room.

  Lilly settled back on the side of the bed and stared at the door. She was grateful to be alone again to wallow in the pain of too much alcohol, but her stomach hurt and she didn’t think it all had to do with her drinking.

  She tested her voice in the suddenly too-silent room. “I’ll fix it. Whatever I did I’ll fix it,” she vowed, before forcing herself to the bathroom for a shower.

  The water sloshing over her head and down her body was heavenly but couldn’t eliminate the dread eating, along with whatever alcohol still remained, her stomach lining. Suzie was angry at her. She was sure of it. There was a definite coolness that had never been there before. Suzie had welcomed her to her home with open arms. Kindness. Fun.

  She’d never had a real friend before. Only acquaintances she dare not get too close to. It made for a lonely life, a life she didn’t want back. Whatever she had done, she would make it right. First thing in the morning she would make it all right again. She had to.

  ****

  The sun shone bright overhead sending beams of light through the tall pine trees, a beautiful but painful sight. The gentle lap of water against shore which normally soothed, grated against every nerve in her body. Usually delighted by the sound of busy birds preparing for winter, the constant chirp-chatter was enough to make her want to find a gun, any type, any caliber. But of course she wouldn’t. This hell was of her own making. As was the mistake, whatever that mistake had been, that had ended a new and blossoming friendship.

  Suzie was already up and gone. Without one word.

  Lilly sipped her cinnamon coffee on the back porch. There were no other guests this morning, something for which she was grateful, since her head felt like a large birthday balloon and her stomach just plain hated her. Several guests had come and gone since her arrival though only a few had stayed overnight. Most just passed through to buy Suzie’s seemingly unlimited supply of pastries, soup starter bags, coffee or tea mixtures, and various other goodies the incredibly talented woman made. Tears filled her eyes and Lilly furiously slapped them away.

  What had she done to ruin what was becoming her perfect life?

  Was it her relationship with Jim? She knew he and Suzie cared for each other but if there was anything beyond a deep fondness, neither was admitting it. If anything Suzie had encouraged her to go out with him, helped her pick out outfits, had insisted on what was now a drawer full of naughty underwear.

  It didn’t make sense.

  “Hello?”

  Lilly left the sanctuary of the porch and entered the house. Standing just inside the front door was a man she’d never met. As was her habit with strangers, she assessed him as he seemed to be assessing her.

  Reflective glasses hid his eyes; precisely cut sandy blond hair just touched a neatly pressed button-down shirt. His jeans were clearly pressed as if he was trying to look casual but didn’t know how. The outfit ended with pristine pointed-toe cowboy boots that looked brand new. She tamped down years of cautious reaction and pasted a smile on her face. This was a business, and as Suzie’s friend, or at least a friend from her own standpoint, then it was her duty to take care of things in Suzie’s absence. “Hello. Can I help you?”

  The man lowered his aviator sunglasses to the hump of his nose. Lilly forced herself not to squirm as he looked her over. A flash of a smile transformed his face from merely astonishingly handsome to extraordinary. She smiled, more in humor than anything else as she knew then and there that if this man didn’t knock her socks off, then none ever would, except for the one that already had. She was really and truly in love with one James Hood. The pain in her head eased a bit.

  “My name is Green. Tom Green. Is this your establishment?”

  She shook her head, a little dazed by the realization that she had fallen so hard in such a short period of time. “No. I’m Lilly, a guest. Suzie is out right now. Did you want a room?”

  Tom Green studied the room as if looking for ghost in the corners. He took one step, then another, then another before scanning the room again. He slid a glance to Lilly. “Maybe. I understand there is a cooking class here on Saturdays.”

  “Yes.”

  Tom smiled at her again. “Good. May I see the kitchen?”

  She nodded. A health inspector? He sure didn’t look like a health inspector to her. Not that she knew what one should look like. But not Mr. GQ here. He was way too pretty for such a mundane job. But then, as she was learning quickly, many of the men in Legend were gorgeous. Maybe it was something in the water... Maybe, Lake Legend held supernatural powers. Shaking her head at the unusual whimsy of her thoughts she focused on her duty.

  “This way.” She led him to the kitchen and watched as he inspected the windows and doorway to the sun-porch. He stuck his head through then pulled it back in before glancing at the door that lead to Suzie’s private rooms.

  “What’s in there?”

  Lilly frowned. Now he seemed just a little too nosy. “The owner’s rooms. They’re off limits to guests.”

  Tom studied her for a moment. “May I see a room?”

  She wanted to say no, that the B&B was all booked up, but she couldn’t do that. If he was a potential customer he had a right to see the facilities he would be renting. If he was a government official she wasn’t sure of his rights, or hers in refusing him entry. And it wasn’t her place to run off Suzie’s potential income either way. Even if Mr. Astonishing was starting to give her the creeps. “Of course. Follow me.”

  Lilly lead the way to the room beside her own and opened the door. “Here you go.”

  Tom stepped into the room and looked around. He walked to the single window which overlooked the woods leading to the lake. He turned back and pointed to the adjoining bathroom door. “What’s that?”

  “Bathroom. It adjoins the other room up here. Currently occupied.”

  Tom stared at her for several seconds then flashed that smile. “Your room.”

  Lilly balled her hands into fists. He was starting to scare her and she refused to be afraid. “Who are you?”

  The smile stayed in place but steel entered the eyes. “I told you. I’m Tom Green.”

  Lilly didn’t smile back. She’d spent a lifetime around people who weren’t what they seemed. She was one of them. And li
ke recognized like. “Why are you here?”

  Thoughtful eyes stared back at her. “I need a place to stay while I look for a job. This looks like a nice place.”

  Lilly nodded. “It is. But you’ll have to talk to the owner to see if she has anything available. “What kind of job are you looking for?”

  That smile again. “Pig farmer.”

  Horse shit! Lilly kept the thought to herself, but just barely. This man was no more pig farmer than she was. “Seriously.”

  He shrugged. “Looking to become a farm laborer, really. Temporarily. Brought up on a farm. Enjoyed the life. Thought I’d see if I still liked it before investing in my own place.”

  Lilly wasn’t sure she bought his story, but it wasn’t her business as long as he hadn’t come for her. She relaxed. If he was after her she would already be dead. What better chance could anyone have than where they stood now? That she had allowed herself to be put in a situation where she was alone with a strange man just went to show how safe she actually felt. It was a great feeling, but she wasn’t stupid. There were more threats to a woman than the Italian mob. And something about Tom Green made the hairs want to stand at the nape of her neck. She just couldn’t pinpoint what it was.

  She made a point of looking at her watch. “Well. You’ll need to call back in to talk to Ms. Schul later. I’m afraid I have an appointment and I’ll be late if I don’t leave immediately.”

  Tom nodded and headed from the room back to the front of the house. Lilly followed. He turned and smiled at her again. This time it didn’t seem practiced or menacing. “Thank you for your time.” He started to leave then turned back. “Tell Ms. Schul to expect one more for her class on Saturday.”

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Friday

  The whole town buzzed with excitement. The first day of Legend by Starlight had arrived—not to mention that it was also football night. Daniel was fairly bouncing in the Jeep seat on the way to school, watching out the window as shop owners made last-minute preparations to their store fronts.

  At the office, Martin could barely concentrate on work because the phone rang constantly. Seemed as if Betsy was some kind of co-chairperson of Legend by Starlight. All the incoming calls were for her, and her enthusiasm permeated the very air in the real estate office. Martin sat at his desk, spending some time on the Market Legend site, checking for updates. This had become a habit. He was extremely proud of what Daniel had done. And he was in awe of Midnight Shelby’s orchestration of the whole thing. It had her stamp on it: organized, elegant, professional.

  After a couple of hours of no business calls, he strolled into the front office for a coffee refill.

  “Things looking good for tonight?”

  “Omigosh, Martin, it’s so exciting! Almost everybody on Main Street is into this. Even the few empty buildings, the owners at least let us outline with the lights. It’s gonna be so pretty when we light it up tonight.”

  “Well…”

  “And Suzie has been taking reservations for the B&B all day…she’ll be booked for weeks, and people keep calling. All the nights of Legend by Starlight are totally, totally booked through December! She said she wished she had the old Lake Lodge building for overflow. Of course it’s ancient, so that’s not gonna happen. But imagine! Overflow! In Legend!”

  “It’s…”

  “And one of the Knoxville TV stations is sending a crew down for the opening tonight. And a woman from the Knoxville paper is coming too.”

  “You know…”

  The phone rang again, and Betsy snatched it up. “McClain Realty.”

  He didn’t know why she bothered to say that. The call wouldn’t be about real estate. He ambled back to his office and shrugged into his heavy leather bomber jacket. Might as well go downtown and watch the excitement build.

  The intercom buzzed. “Martin, it’s Mayor Crenshaw. He doesn’t sound so good.”

  Martin scooped up the handset, steeling himself for bad news. “Mayor?”

  “Martin. We just got the word. The factory’s definitely pulling out. Got a better deal from another city council. Tax breaks we can’t afford. You know the drill.”

  “Yeah. I know the drill. They want us to bend over backward for them so they can come in and tear down trees, pollute the streams, hire our people and treat them badly, and in a few years up and leave. Been there. So’ve you. Better this way.”

  “We tried to work with them.” The mayor’s voice was heavy with dejection and exhaustion.

  “I know that.” Martin rubbed the deepening furrow between his brows. “Everyone with any sense knows that. Legend people try to get along, try to work together.”

  “But these aren’t Legend people we’re dealing with.” The sound of paper being wadded up came across the phone line to Martin.

  “No, and they’re not gonna be. Good riddance.”

  “We need the jobs, Martin!”

  “We need to figure out something else to create jobs for our people, Jack. We can’t keep expecting somebody to come along and work magic.”

  “Like Midnight Shelby,” the mayor said softly.

  “What?” Was the woman going to invade every facet of Martin’s life?

  “Work magic. Like Midnight Shelby. She’s been here, what, less than a month? And she’s already got this town working together like it hasn’t done since the big fire on Main Street when the fire plug malfunctioned and we had a bucket brigade, from the one down the street, and people dragging out furniture and all. You remember.”

  “Yeah. I was there.”

  “Of course you were. Everybody was. That’s my point.”

  “Who could forget?” Martin picked up a pen, jabbed the point repeatedly into his desk blotter.

  “Martin, Midnight understands Legend. What makes it tick. She gets it, and she understands business and marketing. I have a very, very good feeling about tonight. And about her future ideas for Market Legend.”

  “I haven’t heard those.” He hated to admit it, too.

  “You ought to come to the meetings. The woman is amazing. We meet at The Emporium, and she stands up at that lectern on the little stage and talks about her vision for Legend and asks us about ours. Then she makes suggestions on how we can get there. And we have real good discussions. There’s hope.” Martin heard Jack Crenshaw slap his desk. “It could make a grown man cry.”

  “Calm down, Jack.”

  “Right.” The mayor cleared his throat. “Anyway, right now we’ve got no factory and no other outside prospects. But we have a city council with our best interests at heart, a woman with big ideas, and a town full of great people. That’s gonna have to be enough. What do you think?”

  Martin breathed deeply. “It’s more than enough. Thanks for calling. I guess I’ll see you at the big lighting ceremony?”

  “I’d say. I’m throwing the giant fake switch.”

  Martin leaned back in his squeaky desk chair after the call had ended, finding himself both disappointed and relieved. Disappointed because he could have used the commission for the factory deal and many of the townspeople were counting on the factory to turn their fortunes around. Relieved because he’d been thinking lately that the commission would’ve been dirty money anyway. And he knew they didn’t want or need to be dependent on the factory for the town’s future.

  ****

  Midnight spent the day on the cordless phone, answering a myriad of questions from locals who were getting antsy and from people who got her number off the website and ads she’d placed just about everywhere in driving distance. She was glad Betsy had let her put the real estate office number in the ads too and wondered if Betsy was getting as many calls. She also hoped Martin didn’t mind.

  Thank God for Betsy’s help. And for Lilly’s and Jane’s and Suzie’s. And for dear, sweet Daniel, to whom she was growing very attached. Never during her marriage had she wanted to become a mother. Now she almost felt as if she’d achieved that special role in life. And lately it seemed Marti
n had softened toward her a little. Maybe he was a bit less territorial, less suspicious of her and her “outsider” motives. About time! She’d hit the ground running and had worked hard on her business and on jump-starting the whole of Legend’s businesses. Tonight was going to be the test. Had she done enough promotion? By all accounts, it looked that way. Suzie was calling Legendarians with large houses to see if they wanted to rent out a room for a night, as sort of an annex to Legend’s Landing B&B. And she’d made bushels of her Famous Legend Mountain Blueberry Muffins. Every display window on Main Street was a “piece of resistance” as Daniel put it. No amount of Midnight’s careful pronunciation of pièce de résistance made a difference to his boyish Tennessee version. Some of the Legend Dragons middle school football team had even agreed to be pooper-scoopers to clean up after the horse-drawn carriages. Absolutely everyone was going out of their way to make this work.

  So why was she so horribly nervous?

  A few minutes passed without the phone ringing, and Midnight took the opportunity to jump into her car and head to the grocery for more whipping cream. She’d ordered tons of star-shaped chocolate sprinkles for the special coffee drink, but she needed more whipping cream. Or might need more whipping cream. Depended on the crowd. Her hands were shaking. It all came down to this, didn’t it? She clasped her hands tightly together, closed her eyes and breathed deeply. It all came down to this. Did she still have what it took to pull a big presentation together? She thought so. Tonight she’d find out for sure. Remembering her ringing phone back in the shop, she shoved open the driver’s door and reached for her purse on the passenger seat at the same time. She hadn’t pulled the zipper closed; her lipstick rolled out and hit the floor, and she quickly leaned over and scrambled for it. Caught the silver cylinder in her hand, and felt it. Dear Lord, the voodoo doll. She pulled it out, smiling sadly at its punctured crotch and faceless guilt. This was her past. Legend was her future. Her home.