by Tegan Maher
"I'm on pins and needles, here," I said. "Am I gonna be able to track him down to rent it, or not?"
She looked up at me, her watery blue eyes wide. "I don't think you're gonna have to. His taxes were due in July, which is probably why Hank, the big A-hole"—the strongest language I'd ever heard her use, FYI—"had the file tucked back. He was hopin' to get it for taxes after he and his knuckle-draggers ran the poor man out of town."
Peggy Sue's cheeks were scarlet because she was so mad by that point.
"He couldn't stand that Mr. Braxton wasn't exactly one for the ladies, if you get my drift, and tortured the man mercilessly, and Erol was so kind. He brought us sandwiches the first day he opened, and Hank smart-mouthed him and made a show of throwing the sandwich in the trash. Course, he dug it out and ate it as soon as the man left. I was so embarrassed, and sad to see him leave."
Coralee and the girls hadn't exactly been jumping for joy when Mr. Braxton left, either. They figured as long as he was a decent neighbor, they didn't care what—or who—he did in his spare time.
"So what does that mean for me?" I was getting a little cranky, mostly because I hadn't eaten anything all day except the mystery-meat taquito.
She drew her brows down and I blew out a breath. "I'm sorry, Peggy Sue. Just hearin' about Hank’s BS sets my teeth on edge, just like it does yours."
"I know sweetie, and I just get so het up every time I remember the look on Mr. Braxton's face. He was crushed. Anyway, the long and short of it is that taxes are past due and both invoices—the original and the delinquent notice—are in here returned, so the place is up for taxes."
"Weirdly enough," she said, continuing to evaluate the paperwork, "it was auctioned on the courthouse steps while I was on vacation and nobody bid. If the date on here's right, it was the Monday mornin' of the fishin' tournament." She scowled. "The poopy-head scheduled it on a day when he knew everybody'd be down at the lake."
I smiled. Peggy Sue was the only person I knew who could make poopy-head sound worse than the f-word. That was foul language indeed for her.
Then it occurred to me that was the day after Max was murdered. Courthouse auctions drew limited crowds anyway because everybody was either broke or working or just didn't know about them. Hank had always scheduled 'em on Monday mornings just so he could invite his cronies in when there was somethin' good, then would tack a percentage on top of the dirt-cheap taxes and make himself quite the tidy profit. Since he’d been dead, it was unlikely anybody even knew the place was auctioned. Shoot, if Coralee hadn’t known—and I promise you she didn’t, because she would have bought it—it was a sure bet nobody knew.
"But there ya have it, plain as the nose on your face," she said, jabbing at the paperwork with her stubby little finger. "Taxes weren't paid, notices were properly served, and the place was auctioned, but nobody bid. It's yours for the pickin' sugar."
My mind spun a little as the repercussions of what she was saying echoed through my head. "So, how much are the taxes?"
She flipped through the paperwork for the most recent appraisal, then did some quick mental calculations. "As far as I can figure, and this is a ballpark figure until I can do the exact math, mind you, the taxes should come to around twenty-five hundred bucks."
I plopped backward into my chair as the wind rushed out of me. "You're telling me I can own the place flat-out for a couple grand?"
"That is exactly what I'm telling you, Miss Sunshine."
She was smiling so big you'd think it was her that won the lottery, and I set aside my personal aversion to touchy-feelies and scooped her up in a hug. "Ms. Peggy, you just made my year. You're one of my favorite people ever, and not just because of this."
She waved me off, still smiling. "Is that so? Then why didn't I see a bag of pastries in your hand when you came through my door?"
"Oh, between this and the good turn you did me on the farm”—she’d set my taxes to rights within days of Hank dying—“you're set for life in pastries! Just name the kind and the flavor!"
Now she was blushing. "Go on, now. Get your checkbook if you have it with you and we can make this legal. If you want, I'll go ahead and draw up your county business permit, too."
Something occurred to me as I made a mad dash to my truck, and I pulled up short. I was doing to Mr. Braxton exactly what I'd been afraid somebody would do to me last year when Hank jerked my taxes up on me in order to force me to sell the farm. I was taking somebody's property out from underneath him for basically nothing.
I rubbed my hand over my face on the way back inside, wallet in hand. That woudn’t do.
"What's the matter, Noelle?" Peggy Sue asked.
I explained my concerns. "I'll do this, but I want to keep looking for him and if we find him in a reasonable time and he didn't want to lose the property, then he can buy it back off me, or we'll figure something out."
Hunter came around and gave me a squeeze. "And that right there, along with about a million other little reasons, is why I love you."
I felt him stiffen at the same time I did. We hadn't exactly gotten around to that part of the relationship yet and I was pretty sure he hadn't meant to do it that way, if his expression was anything to go by.
I decided to offer him an out if he wanted it. I nudged him with my elbow, teasing. "And here I thought it was the pastries."
His body relaxed, but I couldn't see his face without looking up from the check I was signing and making it obvious.
"Oh yeah. I forgot for a minute ... those blueberry danishes, especially," he said, taking the out. I breathed a sigh of relief. That was a huge step and I didn't want to take it while standing in the middle of his office. There was a time and a place, and that wasn't it.
I finished signing the checks and she handed me the deed and my permit, and it really was as simple as that. I was officially in business for myself.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
I was so dazed when I left the office that I almost forgot to go talk to Olivia. I was holding the deed—the certificate of ownership!—to my very own building. I'd ask Matt to go through it for me with a fine-toothed comb to make sure it wasn't going to burn down around my ankles, then I'd think about what I wanted to do after that.
As I made my way up the back stairway of the courthouse to Olivia's office, I thought about what I was going to say. I could count all the civilized conversations we'd ever had on one hand and have a few fingers left; usually it was barbs and insults, spiced up with the occasional punch or hair-yank. This time though, Rae's future was on the line and I needed her to cooperate.
I took a deep breath as I stopped in front of her office door. Rainbows and puppies and the expression on her face the last time I pushed her down in the mud. There, those thoughts were enough to put me in a good mood. I knocked and hoped she was there while I was still smiling.
"Come in," she called in her nasally whine.
She glance up when I pushed the door open, and confusion then irritation crossed her face. "What do you want? I'm busy."
"Yeah, I have no doubt," I said. "Makeup and mindless—" Be nice, I thought as I moved in front of her desk and took a seat in one of two hard-plastic chairs. "I'm sure you're busy and I'm sorry to bother you at work, but I need to ask you a couple questions."
She looked at me, then at the doorway, uneasy.
I scowled. "I'm not here to kick your ass," I said. "Seriously, I just wanna ask what you saw this morning."
She sneered. "I saw your BFF killin' mine," she snarled.
Breathe, Noelle. "Did you actually see her kill her, or did you just see her kneelin' beside her?"
"She was kneelin' beside her, holdin' the ends of the scarf in her hands." She was still frowning and glancing toward the door, but at least her tone had shifted from snobby to mildly huffy.
"Thank you,” I said. “And was Katie alive when you first saw them, or she already ... like that?"
Olivia snorted. "She was already like that, as you say."
"All right," I said, "Had you planned to meet her there?"
"No, I just happened to walk into the skankiest establishment in town right after she did. Total coincidence." Her eyes were glittering with contempt and I knew I only had about a minute and a half left before I lost my civility, too.
I rolled my eyes. "Look, skip it, okay? Angel says y'all come in regularly when Rae's off. Says there are usually four of you. I figured you, Katie, and Angelica, but who's the fourth?"
"Not that it's any of your business but Bunny Scott usually joins us."
I racked my brain for a minute, trying to think of who she was talking about, then I remembered a troll of their same ilk moved to town right before graduation and joined their more hair than brains club. "Oh, Big Boobs Bunny," I said before I could catch myself.
She snarled. "Yes. Get out of my office."
I held out my hand. "Hang on a second. I shouldn't have said that. Were both of them meetin' y'all today, too?"
When she didn't say anything, I narrowed my eyes and said, "Answer, or I'm going to wait for you in the parking lot and beat it out of you."
She glanced at the door, then back at me, then narrowed her eyes. "No, It was just gonna be me and Katie." She looked away from me when she said it, and I had the distinct feeling she was lying.
I stood and glared at her. "Tell me the truth."
Her eyes darted toward the hallway and I caught a hint of movement. "I'll tell you the truth,” she said, louder than she had to. “Your beast of a bestie killed poor Katie!" She burst into dramatic sobs and I crinkled my brow, wondering what on earth she was doing. Everyone knew blow-up dolls don't cry. Then a nondescript guy—seriously, he was one of those people who pop to mind when somebody says average—poked his head in.
"Livie? Everything okay?"
Livie? I mouthed to myself. Really?
She waved her hankie at him—where had she been hiding that?—and batted her conspicuously dry eyes. "Yes, James. Thanks for checkin', honey."
"Oh for the love of God," I said, rolling my eyes so hard I almost tipped over backwards.
For dramatic effect, I leaned over her desk and patted her hand. I'd officially used up all my limited supply of nice. "There, there, Livie. Don't cry. I'm sure the antibiotics will help." She fired laser beams at me with her eyes.
"I must be off now, dear," I said, rising from my chair and sticking my nose in the air.
I sauntered to the doorway and paused beside James. Cupping my hand to the side of my mouth, I whispered loud enough for her to hear, "She'll be okay. She just found out she has the clap and is worried about what it's gonna do to her unborn calf."
She screeched as I made myself scarce, feeling like the day just couldn't get any better.
I was almost to my truck, twirling my keys on my finger and whistling, when I saw the mystery woman at a shop across the square, facing me but examining a rack of sidewalk-sale muumuus like they were the next big fashion statement.
"Hey!" I yelled, vaulting the last few steps to the street. She glanced up when she saw me coming and turned, but I was faster than she was this time. I flicked my wrist and the rack fell over and tripped her. That bought me a few seconds, but I had to wait for a break in traffic.
I couldn't see what type of shoes she was wearing, but I crisscrossed my fingers in her direction, hoping for laces. Unfortunately, a little boy of about six was walking by, and I did something I hadn't done in years—I hit the wrong person with a spell. Well, I hit the wrong shoes to be exact. He tumbled forward and I barely managed to whisk some of the fallen muumuus over in front of him before he hit the concrete with his elbows. His mother looked at the muumuus then at the sky, apparently wondering where the wind had come from.
Cursing myself again, I looked up and the woman was gone. Great.
I rolled my fingers and retied the kid's shoes before he made it back to his feet, then shuffled back to my truck, pulling up Camille's number as I did. Normal people tended not to just up and disappear into thin air, so I figured I'd better let her know there was a new witch in town. I just wished I could figure out why she looked so familiar. It turns out, everything would have fallen into place then and there had I been able to.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
I started the truck to get the heater running, then sat there and debated my next move. Hunter had gone out to talk to Katie's folks, so he was out of the equation for a bit. I wanted a quiet afternoon, but had to share my news with Rae. That wasn't something I wanted to tell her over the phone. I didn’t want to play family politics, so I decided to get everybody together and tell them at once.
I texted Shelby and asked her to meet me at Bobbie Sue's, then did the same with Rae. I called Matt, but he didn't answer. I knew he'd be home by then and was probably puttering around, fixing one thing or another. He and Hunter had gone to an auction a couple of weeks back and picked up a wrecked sport bike and were in the process of rebuilding it. If I had to lay money, I'd say he was in the garage working on it.
Fortunately, Addy popped in right then to see how my conversation with Olivia had gone, so I asked her to track him down for me. He wasn't a huge fan of cell phones, as we discussed earlier, and didn't keep his on him all the time.
"You look like you just won the lottery," she said, narrowing her eyes. "What did you do?"
I raised my brows. "I didn't do anything—I swear! Why can't I just look happy?"
She puckered her lips and studied me. "Because you just made up with your boy toy and you were in Olivia's airspace. Those are two good reasons to make me wonder why you're smiling like a possum eatin' pumpkin seeds. I know you, girly."
I heaved a sigh. "It so happens that I do have a reason for bein' in such a good mood, and you'll find out along with everybody else as soon as I can round y'all up. Will you go ask Matt to meet us at Bobbie Sue's, please?"
She crossed her arms and I could tell she was trying to read me, but I slapped on my poker face and waited her out. "Fine," she said and popped out.
After texting Rae and Shelby to let them know, I swiped through my contacts for Camille's number. She didn't answer, so I shot her a text, too. Finally, I texted Anna Mae—dinner was gonna be on me.
The truck's heater was about to cook me so I turned it down, cracked a window, and drove the five blocks to the restaurant. I was the first one there, so I went back to say howdy and was happy to see Justin sitting on a stool at a prep table with Earl, helping him make his secret sauce. I poked my nose over to peek at the bottles and jars lined up.
"Hey! No peekin'," Justin said, blocking my view with his little body. "If you see, I'll have to kill ya."
I laughed even though he was only half kidding. Earl didn't joke when it came to that recipe, and I had no doubt he stressed that to Justin. I held my hands out and stepped back, trying to look serious. "I wouldn't want you to have that on your conscience."
He wrinkled his nose at me. "I'd tell ya, but I'm sworn to secrecy and a man's gotta keep his word."
Reaching around him to pluck a steaming rib off a stack Earl'd just brought in from the smoker, I nudged him with my elbow. "You're right about that, brat. Words to live by."
Earl'd caught the last of our conversation. "Or die by, if he goes tellin' my secret recipe." He made a face at Justin, then reached out and fist-bumped him. I was glad to see them getting along so well.
Bobbie Sue pushed through from the cooler with a huge tub of coleslaw in her hands. She thunked it down onto a stainless-steel worktable and turned to me scowling, hands on hips. "I got a bone to pick with you, missy. We were wonderin' if we were gonna have to send a rescue party out. Why did we hear about Raeann second-hand?"
I looked at my feet. "It just happened this morning. Still, no excuse. I'm sorry."
She hmphed, partially pacified. "You know I worry."
Bobbie Sue had been friends with Mama, and looked at us as her own. "I know. But I have other happy news, and I called everybody here to tell all y'all at once. The
y should be here soon."
"Now just wait a cotton-pickin' minute," she said, crossing her arms and blowing a wisp of hair off her forehead. "I expect you owe it to me to tell me first, seein' as how you didn't bother to loop me in this morning at all."
I hedged because I really did want to tell everybody together, but she had a point. I reached for the envelope I'd tossed on the shelf by the door on my way in and pulled out the deed.
She moved closer to look at it and her eyes went wide. A huge grin spread across her face, then faded. "That's primo property. How on earth did you get that with what you had left? Tell me you didn't sell part of the farm."
Since Addy'd passed, and even before, people looking to develop or establish lakeside businesses had approached us sporadically about buying parts of the farm, but it was never something we'd been interested in. And as long as it was in my hands, the farm was staying in one piece.
"Absolute not!" I drew back, giving her the have you lost your mind look. "You oughtta know better than that!"
"Well then how, pray tell, did you manage to get the deed? Obviously, since you're holding it, the place is yours free and clear."
I explained it to her and her jaw dropped. "Oh, honey! I knew good things were in store for you. You always put out so much good. Now it's finally comin' back to you."
Raising a brow, I said, "I don't know about all that. I figure I got lucky. Hank had it tucked back so the auction fell on a day when nobody'd likely be there."
Her smile returned and she did something she rarely did—she pulled me into a hug, then pushed me back to arms' length. "I'm so happy for you, sweetie!"
Earl came around and wrapped me up, lifting me off the ground, and the grin he offered was genuine and huge. That was even more unusual than Bobbie Sue's show off affection.
Justin sighed. "So this means I have two places to work, now?"