He looked over and asked quietly, “Is there going to be a next time?”
Her heart stopped and she stammered, “I-I don’t know. Maybe? Yes?”
Mal smiled. “I like it when you’re tongue-tied.”
She stuck out her no longer tied tongue, said, “Buns please, sir. I think this one is finally done.”
On the table were buns and condiments, and once she had her gourmet delight prepared to her satisfaction, she took a bite and groaned with pleasure.
He laughed. “That good?”
“Oh yes.” They were heavenly. She’d had grilled hot dogs before but not ones cooked over an open flame and for some reason the flavor seemed enhanced. “This is wonderful.”
“Still want carryout, if maybe, yes, we do this again?”
She rolled her eyes.
“I like teasing you, too.”
Today was the first time she was allowing herself to enjoy the way being with him had made her feel in the past. Without discussing their breakup, they’d slipped back into the easy companionship they’d once shared, which was admittedly better than her desire to run him over with her truck every time they were in the same room. “What are we doing here, Mal?”
He didn’t pretend to not understand the question. “I don’t know. I’ve been asking myself the same thing since we got here.”
Bernadine thought about what she wanted to say next and chose her words carefully. “I don’t know the answer either, but if we don’t put a name to it, and go slow, would you be open to seeing where it leads?”
His face remained unreadable for a second or two, then he nodded. “I would.” Holding her gaze in the silence that followed, he asked, “Are you sure?”
“I am.”
He held up his can of cola in a silent acknowledgment of their agreement. “To the unknown.”
She raised her own. “To the unknown.”
Later, after repacking the tote and bringing their kites down, they trekked back to Clay and Bing’s. She put Mimi in her truck while he put his kite in his Ford. Noticing Bing watching them from the doorway, she smiled inwardly, resigning herself to the fact that by the time she got home everyone in town would know she and Mal spent the day together. Nothing like small-town living.
She got in her truck and Mal walked over. “Thanks again,” she said.
“You’re welcome. I enjoyed myself.”
“I did, too.”
“Take care.”
She started the engine and drove away.
At home, she took a hot shower, slipped into some comfy clothes, and made some tea. Drinking it, she reflected on the day. She had no qualms about the agreement she’d made with Mal. It felt right. Raising her cup in the quiet of her kitchen, she echoed the words, “To the unknown.”
Chapter
14
Sunday night, Leo sent Big Al a text letting him know the lease agreement was ready to be signed, but got no response. An hour later, there was heavy knocking on the door. He answered it and found a stern-faced Stillwell on the other side. Stepping back to let him enter, Leo groused, “Why can’t you ring the bell like normal people?”
“Because you might say you didn’t hear it.”
He sighed at the man’s reasoning and led him into his office for the first time. He watched the farmer take in the expensive furniture, the tastefully displayed awards he’d received from Salem Oil, and the mahogany bookcases filled with books. Whether the farmer in his oil-stained overalls and denim jacket was impressed, he didn’t let on. “Have a seat.”
He sat and Leo slid the four-page document to him across the gleaming desk.
Stillwell picked it up. “Why so many pages?”
“Because it’s a business agreement.”
“I’ll have it back to you in a couple of days.”
“No. I need you to sign it now.”
“Why?”
“Because my lawyer is relocating his office and anything that comes in after tomorrow gets put on the back burner for at least three months while the firm makes the transition. Also, the State of Kansas needs that filed in sixty days to make it legal, so it needs to be signed and sent tonight.”
“I need someone to read me the fine print, so I’ll know what’s in it. I’m a farmer not a law professor.”
“Do you want the lease or not? You not being able to read is not my problem.”
Stillwell’s furious face almost made Leo regret shaming the man the way he had. Almost. In truth, Stillwell’s lack of comprehension was a gift that would keep on giving.
“How do I know you aren’t cheating me?”
“I’ve nothing to gain from doing that. The last thing I want is you angry with me. You’re a pretty scary dude, my friend.” Leo gave him an innocent smile. “The agreement begins January first next year. That’ll give me time to pack up and sell this place. If you want to buy the house, the arrangements are spelled out in the agreement, too.”
“I don’t. I’ll probably tear it down.”
Leo was appalled.
“What am I going to do with it?” Stillwell asked. “It’s sitting on farmable land, and I’m definitely not going to live in it.”
“I understand,” Leo lied. All the more reason to get Stillwell to sign off now. The house was worth more than farming would bring in if the man planted soybean and corn for the next hundred years. The ignorance and shortsightedness of rubes like Stillwell never ceased to amaze, but Leo had no qualms taking advantage of them.
“Give me a pen and show me where to sign. And make me copies.”
Leo paused, wondering if Stillwell could be talked out of the copies but decided it didn’t matter. Once he signed the agreement it was over. He’d need a lawyer to contest it and Leo doubted Stillwell had the money to hire one with enough clout to get it thrown out.
Leo passed him a pen, told him where to sign, then made the requested copies, which Stillwell folded and put in the pocket of his dirty jacket.
Stillwell stood. “If you cheat me, I’ll kill you, Brown.”
Leo chuckled. “Don’t be so dramatic.”
“Do I look like I’m playing?”
Leo stiffened.
“My mother’s in prison for the rest of her life. My daughter won’t talk to me. Cheat me, and I’ll gladly do the time because I’ll have nothing left to live for.”
The bridled violence in his glare made the hair stand on the back of Leo’s neck. He forced himself not to shake. “I’m not going to cheat you.”
“See that you don’t.”
And he walked out.
Leo’s heart was still pounding when he heard the front door slam announcing Stillwell’s exit.
Later, preparing to turn in, Leo had all but convinced himself Stillwell had been bluffing. No one in their right mind would make such a boldfaced threat. Would they?
He killed the lights and settled into his king-size bed. It took a long time for sleep to come.
AS HALLOWEEN APPROACHED, pumpkins appeared on the porches in the subdivision and in the windows of the rec, the Dog, and the coffee shop. Costumes for the big party were given their last few touches and farmers were trucking in pumpkins for the carving contest. In keeping with his campaign of “Take a Gamble on July,” Thad held a rally in the ballroom of one of Franklin’s seedier hotels, complete with blackjack tables, poker games, and young women dressed like Vegas showgirls serving drinks. Many men came. Because there were also two slot machines on the premises, and slot machines not operated by a licensed casino were illegal, the motel management called the sheriff. Will Dalton and his deputies arrived and arrested everyone, including Thad, Diego, most of the other Julys, and two of the girls serving drinks for being underage.
Bernadine, seated at her desk Monday morning, viewed the anger in Tamar’s eyes as she related the story. Bernadine knew better than to laugh but it was hard to keep a straight face. “Was Griffin there, too?”
“Of course not. He’s the only one with sense. He tried to tell my bro
ther the party was probably illegal, but when has Thaddeus ever listened? He told the hotel he was throwing a birthday party.”
“Coyotes going to coyote.”
That crack earned Bernadine a hot look from the town matriarch, so she apologized. “Sorry.” She wondered if Mal had been hauled off to jail too but figured Tamar would’ve said that.
“So are they still locked up?”
“No. Griffin posted bail for Thad and the rest of his knuckleheads this morning. They go before Judge Amy in a couple of days. Will says they’ll probably get off with just a fine.”
“And a stern lecture from Judge Amy.”
Tamar nodded.
“Is Thad going to stay in the race?”
“Who knows.”
Bernadine’s phone sounded. It was a text from Lily. She read it and said to Tamar, “Sheila and Riley are being interviewed at the Dog about the election by the local news.” She picked up the remote and clicked on the flat screen.
On the screen, Sheila appeared poised as always and was focused on the young male reporter asking her about her campaign. She kept her responses informative but brief. Riley, on the other hand, kept looking into the camera while pontificating. His target—Thad’s gambling party. “I knew July’s campaign was a joke from the start. The authorities should lock him up and throw away the key. Is he really that dumb to think he could get away with something like that? When I win the mayor’s race—”
The reporter cut him off. “I’m sorry, Mr. Curry. We’ve run out of time. Back to you guys at the studio.”
Bernadine turned off the flat screen.
Tamar said, “He’s really bucking to wind up on a flagpole, isn’t he?”
“Riley’s going to Riley.”
LATER THAT AFTERNOON, Al Stillwell showed up in Bernadine’s doorway and she froze. “Can I help you?”
“Need to talk to you about something.”
Wary, she said, “Sure. Come on in.”
He handed her some papers. “Leo Brown said he’s going to lease my land back to me. This is supposedly the contract.”
Bernadine took the document. “Why bring it to me?”
“Because you have lawyers and I don’t, and I need to know if this is legit. I quit school when I was twelve to help my folks farm, so I don’t read well.”
Bernadine knew it must have cost him to admit that to her.
“I want your people to look it over. He told me I had to sign it right away because his lawyer was moving his office, or some crap.”
“When did he give this to you?”
“Late last night.”
“And you signed it then?”
“Yeah, in his fancy office. He told me it wouldn’t go through the state if I didn’t.”
Now what, Leo? “Why bring this to me?”
“Like I said, you’ve got lawyers, I don’t. And you owe me.”
Bernadine met the challenge in his hostile eyes and thought back on the deadly havoc his mother had caused. He was big, had a violent temper, and in many ways scared her to death, but she didn’t owe him a thing. “You believe I owe you. I don’t. We’ll agree to disagree. I’ll have my people go over this. It may take a day or two, but honestly, if you’ve already signed it, you’re going to need a lawyer if something’s not right.”
“I got a plan.”
“Okay. Give me your contact information and I’ll let you know what they think.”
He wrote down his number and left without another word, which prompted her to sarcastically say, “You’re welcome.”
Sitting there, she leafed through the four pages and wondered again what Leo might be up to. Truthfully, the lease might not be anything more than what Leo claimed, and Stillwell was simply being paranoid, but if the wording did defraud him, then what? Leo had always been smart. As a man of color who’d climbed to the top rungs of the corporate ladder he had to be. He was also arrogant to a fault though, and when you consider yourself the smartest person in the room, you can be brought down by someone you consider intellectually beneath you because you’re too busy smelling the rarefied air of your own inflated ego to see the attack coming. Not giving Stillwell an opportunity to have the lease looked at before signing was a definite red flag. Something wasn’t right. Once again, she hoped Leo knew Big Al Stillwell wasn’t someone to play with.
After sending the lease to her legal people, and calling Tina to catch her up on goings-on and to ask after Mimi, Bernadine decided to have lunch at the Dog. Usually she and Lily lunched together but Lily was wearing her campaign manager hat today. A local lady farmer invited Sheila to lunch at her home and to meet some of the woman’s friends. Bernadine was pretty sure Sheila knew every man, woman, and child in the county, by now. For someone who’d seemed afraid of her own shadow when she first arrived in Henry Adams, her personal growth was an astonishing something to behold. Bernadine couldn’t wait for her to win the election.
Bernadine decided to walk to the Dog. She needed the exercise and the fresh air. She was just about to leave when her sister, Diane, entered her office. “Hey,” she said, caught by surprise. “What are you doing here? You didn’t tell me you were coming.”
Diane was fashionably dressed as always in a stunning pale-gold tunic over black leggings and a pair of black short-heeled booties. Her permed hair was on point as was her makeup and jewelry. The single life looked good on her.
“I’m off for the next couple of days. Just thought I’d make the drive over to see if we could do lunch and catch up. I’m doing me time.”
“Self-care is vital. Glad to see you. I was on my way to the Dog. Do you want to eat there?”
“Sure. That works.”
They’d had issues in the past because Diane was spoiled and had a sense of entitlement their parents had encouraged—which shredded Bernadine’s self-esteem. Diane was thin. Bernadine was not. Diane was popular. Bernadine wasn’t. When Diane’s dentist husband, Harmon, divorced her after thirty-plus years of marriage, her world came crashing down, and she’d shown up at Bernadine’s door a complete wreck. The visit, lasting weeks, hadn’t gone well, but forced Diane to face reality and finally grow up. Now she had a new life in Topeka. They were on better terms as siblings, but a part of Bernadine kept her sister at arm’s length because she still tended to be a spoiled entitled-acting witch.
Diane asked, “Do you want to drive or shall I?”
“I’d planned to walk, wanted to get some fresh air.”
“I don’t want to show up all hot and sweaty.”
“It isn’t a long walk.”
“I know, but still.”
Bernadine sighed inwardly. “Then I’ll drive.”
Having gotten her way, Diane smiled.
As always, the Dog was busy. It was lunchtime after all. The two sisters stood in line behind the people ahead of them while Sister Sledge’s “We Are Family” blared from the candy apple red jukebox. Diane asked quietly, “Can’t you pull rank or something, so we don’t have to wait.”
“No.” Bernadine had no intentions of pissing off the people ahead of them by jumping the line.
The wait wasn’t long. The hostess escorted them to a booth and promised to send a waitperson right over. Bernadine waved and nodded greetings to some of the people she knew, like Bing and Clay and Genevieve and Roni. Bernadine figured she probably knew every man, woman, and child in the county, too.
Mal walked up. “Ladies, good afternoon. How are you? What can I get you to drink?”
Before Bernadine could respond, Diane said, “You’re just the person I wanted to see.”
Mal glanced at Bernadine before asking, “And why is that?”
“For some reason, my calls to you are being blocked. Probably some glitch in your phone. Can you check it?”
“No need to. I told you the first time you called I wasn’t interested in going out, but you kept calling.”
Bernadine picked her jaw up off the table and stared at her sister.
Diane replied, “I
thought you were just being coy or didn’t want to have to listen to my sister complaining about us.”
“There is no us. No means no, Diane. So can I bring you ladies something to drink?”
Pleased that Diane had been put in her place, Bernadine replied, “Some hot tea, please.”
“Constant Comment with lemon?” he asked.
She nodded. It was her favorite.
“Diane?”
“Just bring me water. Thanks.”
“Be right back.”
Sulking, Diane picked up the menu. “I can’t believe he blocked my calls.”
Bernadine knew the menu like she knew her name, but she scanned it anyway and didn’t say a word.
Diane added, “I mean, I have men coming out of my ears.”
“Then maybe concentrate on them.”
“Are you two back together?”
“That has nothing to do with this conversation.”
“You are, aren’t you?”
Bernadine didn’t respond. Her private life was none of her sister’s business.
“I suppose that explains it,” Diane said, sounding miffed. “But the real question is, why he’d choose you over me? I’m still the beauty of the family.”
Bernadine was accustomed to the insults. She’d been on the receiving end of them her entire life. Now that she was a far more confident adult, the digs were less painful, but still stung. She took the high road. “How are the kids?” She hadn’t touched base with her niece, Monique, and her nephews, Harmon Jr. and Marlon, in weeks.
Diane continued to sulk. “They’re fine. Marlon and Anthony are trying to adopt.” Marlon and his partner, Anthony, lived in Hawaii.
Diane turned to Bernadine. “I just remembered I have an appointment scheduled this afternoon. I need you to drive me back to my car so I can go.”
Liar liar pants on fire. “No. I’m here to have lunch. If you want to leave because of what happened with Mal, fine. Go. But you’ll have to walk. Where you parked isn’t that far.”
On the Corner of Hope and Main Page 19