Trouble at TeaFest

by R A Wallace

  “What brings you into town today? Or did you just come to bring me goodies?” Caitlyn tossed her paper plate and fork into the garbage then lifted the vase and turned it 360 degrees. Apparently, it didn’t yet pass muster. Caitlyn set the vase down and went to one of the large refrigerators to take out some additional greenery.

  “I’m giving the other half of the cake to Dan but then I’m meeting with the mayor about the town web site.”

  Caitlyn held the vase up for another inspection after strategically positioning some of the greenery in it. “How are things going with you and Dan?”

  Megan thought about it before answering. “Slowly, but I think that’s what I need right now. I mean, he did mention children, so I think he’s pretty serious…”

  Caitlyn snapped her head up. “He what?”

  Megan shrugged. “The subject came up.”

  Caitlyn stared at her for another minute before returning to her work.

  Megan moved over to the small sink and washed out her coffee cup. “How are you and the firefighter doing? Have you seen any more of him lately?”

  “No, and he definitely hasn’t brought up the subject of children.” Caitlyn frowned.

  She’d rather liked the brave man who had rushed into her shop prepared to save her from a burning building. She’d thought the feeling had been mutual. Apparently not. She’d made the next move, had gone to see him, and figured the ball was in his court now.

  Caitlyn held up the finished product. “What do you think?”

  Megan nodded. “Looks good.”

  The bells on the door rang and Megan popped through the doorway to see who was there. She flashed a large smile and held up a finger then returned to the back room.

  “He’s here,” she hissed. Then she popped back into the front of the shop. “Hey, Doug. I was just leaving. Caitlyn is working in the back. I’ll see you both later.”

  Doug smiled at Megan as she passed him on her way out the door then headed in the direction she had come from. He’d seen the rear of the store before when they’d gotten the call about a fire. “Hi.”

  Caitlyn returned his smile. “Hi, yourself. What brings you by? I didn’t call the fire department this time.”

  Doug chuckled. “I was hoping to talk you into volunteering to help us with a fundraiser this weekend at the TeaFest.”

  Caitlyn didn’t have to think twice. “Of course. What can I do?”

  She watched Doug’s eyes wander over to the Fruit Cocktail cake. Without asking, she cut him a piece and handed him a fork with the plate.

  “Wow, this is good. It would be great if you could staff the booth at the TeaFest for one of the time slots.” Doug paused and watched Caitlyn closely. “It would be the same time slot I’m there each day.”

  “Yeah, I can do that.” Caitlyn met Doug’s eyes directly for a moment before returning to her work. “Help yourself to some coffee if you want it. I’ve had the brisket at your booth in the past. It was pretty awesome.”

  “We’ve worked on that recipe for a long time.” Doug tossed the empty plate and fork and poured himself a cup of coffee.

  “Well, I think you have it down pat. It’s perfect.” Caitlyn picked up the arrangement she had just finished and put it into one of the refrigeration units.

  “Did you get everything straightened out with your electrical problems?” Doug asked as he leaned back against the counter. He had noticed that the unit he had unplugged was now functioning again.

  “Yes, thanks. I had an electrician in. He said we were lucky the whole building didn’t burn down.”

  “I agree. Who’s responsible for that? Is it outlined in your original lease agreement?” Doug watched Caitlyn pull out some more flowers and begin to work on them. From what he could tell, she seemed to be in constant motion. It reminded him of a hummingbird.

  Caitlyn looked up at him. “That’s a really good question. My mom would have signed it. I need to dig those papers out. I’ve never had any reason to read them before.”

  Doug nodded. “From what you’ve told me, you definitely have reason to now.”

  Chapter Six

  Megan left the feed store after giving the other half of the Fruit Cocktail cake to Dan and headed for her truck in the parking lot. Driving through town, she stopped at a red light on Main Street and a woman crossing the street in front of her caught her eye. It was her height that stood out. She was taller than most women and had the enviable look of a model, that certain something that cameras loved.

  Megan waited until the light turned green and was about to accelerate when a car turned the corner quickly in front of her. The man driving briefly looked her way and scowled at her. Startled at first, it took her a moment to realize that it was Jason Malone. Megan watched him speed off before continuing on her way.

  She drove to another part of town and pulled into an open parking space on the quiet street near the mayor’s house. Megan had never been here before, though she certainly knew where the house was. She loved the old houses in this part of town, but she usually met with the mayor downtown in her office.

  Mayor Vance’s house was a large Queen Anne. It had a large wraparound front porch with a lot of decorative columns and bay windows that projected out. It was absolutely beautiful, and Megan was so glad she didn’t own it. The upkeep had to be unbelievable. Her renovated farmhouse was more than enough work for her.

  Megan rang the bell and was greeted by Mayor Vance. “Megan, hello. Please come in. We can talk in my study, if you don’t mind. I brought some lemonade in.”

  “That sounds great, thanks.”

  Megan admired the original woodwork in the house as she followed the mayor down the hall and into a beautifully decorated room with a large, ornate desk. It was a well-lit room and had several comfortable chairs situated near the middle. An electric fireplace was on the wall near the chairs. Two of the other walls were lined with bookcases. The desk was near the outside wall which was lined with large windows.

  “I’m excited about seeing some friends this weekend. I’m having house guests here. The rest are staying with you.” Barbara signaled to Megan to take a seat on the sofa.

  The tray of lemonade was nearby, and Barbara poured glasses for them both then sat in a wingback chair facing the sofa after handing one of the glasses to Megan.

  “Oh, I didn’t realize my guests were friends of yours. That sounds so nice for you to be able to visit with them. Have you known them long?” Megan took a sip of her lemonade and smiled. It was perfectly sweetened. Not too tart, not too sweet. It was exactly the way she made it.

  “I’ve known most of them since I was a young girl. We grew up together, but our lives took different paths and they moved away from here. We kept in touch over the years but it’s really now that we’ve gotten older that we’re starting to reconnect.”

  Megan smiled. “I can’t imagine having my friends move away. I’d be pretty lost without them.”

  “They can be such a comfort during difficult times,” Barbara said, watching Megan closely waiting to see if she opened up. She saw Megan’s eyes shift to her computer on the desk. Perhaps she should try a different tack. “About the town web site...”

  “Yes,” Megan said. “You wanted to make some changes?”

  “I’ve been wondering about some sort of social media page for the town. Something that can push out relevant newsfeeds or timely information.”

  Megan nodded slowly while thinking. “I can think of some ways to handle that.”

  Barbara set her glass on the table by her chair. “I’ve spoken with Jessilyn and she’d like to push out a lot of the information. For example, about the upcoming TeaFest.”

  “Okay.” Megan shifted around some ideas in her head.

  “But she’d like it to be interactive. She’d want feedback from the community on some things and she’d like to be able to respond. Does that make sense?”

  Now Megan nodded quickly. “Yes, I’ve wondered about adding something like tha
t myself. It makes a lot of sense and it’s becoming more common for towns to have that type of dynamic interaction.”

  “So, you would be designing the front end of it which is what the community would see. But you would also need to design the back end so that any feeds from Jessilyn and others that we identify can post without having to understand how any of it actually works.” Barbara sat back in her chair.

  “Not a problem. I’ve done some similar things for other companies that I work with.” Megan had some code already in place to get started.

  “Once you have something tentative in place, I thought perhaps you might work with Jessilyn to start. She’s young, she’s bright, and she’s tech savvy. You can iron things out with her before moving on to some of the rest of us to explain how the new feature works. I can see the police chief wanting access, perhaps the co-captains of the fire department, myself. That sort of thing.”

  Megan had an image of the addition to the web site in her head. This would be fun. “I’ll get with Jessilyn as soon as I have something in place. It shouldn’t take long.”

  “Excellent. I wish I would have thought of this well before this year’s TeaFest but that didn’t happen. Are you planning on attending?” Barbara asked.

  “Oh, yes. I love TeaFest. I look forward to the food all year. We should have something in place soon and in time to still get feedback from this year’s TeaFest.”

  Barbara nodded. “That would be wonderful if you can manage it. Of course, Jason Malone will be taking pictures during the TeaFest. Those could also be added to the town web site as well.”

  Megan lowered her eyes.

  Barbara waited patiently for several moments, then broke the silence. “Is there a problem, dear?”

  “Well, it’s just.” Megan stopped and wondered how to phrase it. “I received a letter from a lawyer saying that he represented Jason Malone.”

  Barbara nodded encouragingly.

  “Jason is claiming that my husband owed him money. He wants to put a lien on my farm.” Megan realized her hand was beginning to shake and set the glass of lemonade down on the table next to her.

  So, that’s what he’s been up to, Barbara thought. “Have you contacted your own lawyer?”

  “Yes. I’m waiting to back from her. Jennifer. I called Jennifer Parker. She’s always handled things for me,” Megan explained.

  Jennifer Parker. Good head on her shoulders, Barbara thought. If anyone can untangle a problem, it’s Jennifer. “I’m sure she’ll straighten it out. I’ll contact Jason and tell him to submit his pictures directly to my office rather than to you. I’ll have them sent to you.”

  Megan smiled in relief. “That would be great, thanks. I’m sorry to cause a problem.”

  “You aren’t causing the problem, someone else is. Or has. Do you have any idea if your husband really did owe Jason money?”

  Megan shrugged and shook her head. “We didn’t communicate a lot before his accident. I’m not really sure what he was up to. He must have needed money for some reason, though. He cashed in the equity on his whole life insurance and then cancelled the plan.”

  Barbara had wondered about that. Megan had never given the impression that she’d suddenly come into a lot of cash after Josh had died. Barbara thought of her own husband. Nathan had planned for everything to ensure that she would be comfortable if he should pass first. When Nathan had died, Barbara’s life in terms of comfort level had gone on much as it always had. When Josh had died, Megan had put her head down and worked even harder than she had before.

  “Well, I’m sure Jennifer will straighten it out.” Barbara smiled.

  Megan recognized the end of the discussion and stood. “Thanks for the lemonade. I’ll get with Jessilyn soon.”

  Mayor Vance walked Megan to the front door. As Megan stood on the front porch alone, she wondered why she’d really been invited to the mayor’s house.

  Chapter Seven

  Friday morning Megan finished the web site project she was working on and emailed the information to the client, along with her itemized bill. Closing her computer and standing up to stretch her back, she looked around her kitchen. The house was ready for the guests. They should begin arriving later this afternoon. Mayor Vance’s friends were planning to check into the bed and breakfast and then spend the evening with the mayor before returning to the bed and breakfast.

  Megan still hadn’t heard anything definitive about the letter from Jason Malone. According to her lawyer, Jennifer, Jason’s lawyer was dodging her calls now. Megan was fidgety and needed to burn off some pent-up energy. Driven by the anxiety caused by the letter, she changed into work clothes and put on her work boots. Grabbing some bottled water and her phone, she headed out to the barn. For a change, Henry was inside the fenced-in area around the coop.

  Megan put some extra gas into the four wheeler to top off the tank, placed a toolbox in the back, grabbed her work gloves and headed out into the field following the fence around the fields. She typically checked the fence a couple of times each year just to be safe. She didn’t want the sheep to get out or anything else to get in for that matter.

  Being outside was definitely helping with her stress. Megan followed the fence line for a while then stopped the four wheeler and pulled up the emergency brake. She got out and pulled on some of the fencing, checking its tautness and how well it was affixed to the posts. The sheep were grazing nearby, their familiarity with the four wheeler meant that they watched her in curiosity rather than fear.

  Megan pulled out her phone and snapped a couple of pictures of the lamb born earlier in the season. He was adorable and already beginning to explore away from mom a little before bounding back to her. Megan sent the pictures to her parents with a quick note asking how they were doing.

  They had moved to Florida almost the same day her father had retired from the post office. By all accounts, they were having the time of their lives there. They loved the seafood and the weather allowed them to get out and about most days of the year. Living in a nice-sized retirement community meant that they had a fairly active social life and Megan loved hearing their stories about their activities. Megan missed them, but they sounded so happy that she was happy for them.

  Megan made the complete circuit in the four wheeler following the fence line around the property to visually inspect it. Periodically, she got out and manually tested the fence, but she found no issues with it anywhere. She next headed to the fruit orchard to check on the trees. It looked like it would be a good crop this year if mother nature put her mind to it.

  The ground under the apple trees was littered with small apples that had dropped in the night. The June drop. It was that time of the year. Thanks to the bees, more flowers were pollinated than the tree could handle. The June drop was the tree’s way of dealing with more fruit than the tree could safely handle to maturity for one season.

  Megan cruised around the orchard, checking out the peach, cherry, pear, and plum trees as well. Then she headed over to the berry bushes. Tom Jenkins and his grandson Ethan helped to keep the fruit trees, the berry bushes, and a lot of other things on the farm in proper order. An old buddy of her father’s, in a lot of ways having Tom around was like having a parent. He filled a void with his steady presence and common-sense advice.

  Megan returned the four wheeler to the barn and headed into the house to change. She’d planned to stop in and see Dan today in town then pop in to see her cousin Lauren. They hadn’t spoken in a few days and that was unusual for the two cousins who had grown up as close as sisters.

  The short drive into town allowed Megan a chance to relax somewhat. Maybe it was because she knew she’d be seeing Dan, she thought to herself. She walked into the feed store feeling somewhat less stressed than she had in the morning. She found Dan restocking some heavy bags of feed in one of the aisles of the store.

  The sight stopped her in her tracks for a moment. She just realized that seeing him made her stomach flutter in an odd way. She’d never fel
t that way with Josh. Megan hadn’t dated anyone else in school except Josh. He’d just always been there and them being a couple just seemed to be expected. Once he’d made his interest in her clear, no other guys had ever really come near her.

  In college, she’d focused mostly on her studies. She’d just assumed that she and Josh were still a couple. Thinking back now, Megan realized it may have been because it was less work to do so. It freed her up to focus on her studies and she didn’t have to put any effort into the relationship. Of course, she knew now that Josh had been playing the field the whole time. But she hadn’t even considered that possibility back then.

  When Dan looked up and saw Megan standing there, a smile lit up his face. She smiled back and finished closing the distance between them.

  “Hey.” Megan rose up on tiptoes and briefly kissed Dan on one cheek. He froze temporarily then smiled again.

  “Hey, back.” Dan looped an arm around her. “Let’s take a walk outside and check out the stock in the back. What brings you in today?”

  Megan walked with him. “Just wanted to touch base. I was planning to stop and see Lauren next too.”

  “Hear anything new from Jennifer yet?” Dan paused to let Megan walk through the rear exit door first.

  “No, and it’s killing me but making myself sick over something doesn’t make sense either.”

  Megan looked around her with interest as they walked around the aisles outside. There were a lot of plants for sale including bushes and trees. The fence posts and other larger objects were kept out here behind the store.

  “Those ceramic planting pots are nice.” Megan pointed at the brightly colored pots of different sizes. Many had flowers or other images painted on the outside.

  Dan nodded. “We just got those in this past spring from a new supplier. Are you planning to go to the TeaFest this weekend?”

  Megan nodded. “I have a full house, so my schedule has to be flexible around their plans. But it sounds like they’ll be spending most of their time with Mayor Vance and then they should be checking out on Sunday.”