by R A Wallace
“You have the same room upstairs,” Megan said.
“It’s cool enough to sit on the porch. We have a bottle of that wine you like,” Dan added.
“I’ll change and be right down,” Ross said with a smile. The plane trip from Seattle had been uneventful, but it would still feel good to relax in some comfortable clothes.
Megan carried a tray of snacks to the porch and Dan followed with the wine bottle and some glasses. Ross joined them a few minutes later and took a seat that gave him a view of the barnyard and the field beyond it. It was early evening and still light enough to see. The temperature had cooled to a comfortable level and it was pleasant on the porch.
Ross smiled when he saw the miniature donkeys. “You still have them?”
Megan followed his gaze to Flora and Dora and smiled with him. “Yes. I suspect that was the vet’s plan all along.”
“You’re here to put a bid on the building?” Dan asked. He knew Ross had checked it out on his first visit.
Ross took a sip of his wine. “That, and I was thinking I might hang around for a bit. I’ve always lived on the west coast, but I liked what I saw here. I’ve been thinking it might be time for a change.”
“Can you take time from work like that?” Dan asked.
“I’ve been semi-retired for about a year now. Rather than continuing on like that, I think it’s time for something new. I enjoyed working in the corporate world for as long as I did. I met some very bright young people and had the pleasure of helping some of them along in their careers a little. At this point, I think I’d like to focus on that aspect more rather than just the business side.”
Megan thought of Jax’s recent decision to leave the corporate world also. After several years working in the corporate world in Seattle, he’d chucked it all and come home to start his own landscaping business. “I know it’s a big world, but did you know Jax Anderson in Seattle?”
Ross frowned for a moment before he made sense of the name. “Jax. You mean Jackson?”
Megan nodded.
“Is that what you call him here? I’ll have to remember that. Yes, he was one of my protégés. One of those bright young people that I mentioned. I could tell right away that he had what it took to go places.”
Megan shared a glance with Dan then looked back at Ross. “Does he know you’re here?”
Ross shook his head. “Not that I know of. We didn’t run into each other the last time I was here. I’m planning to meet up with him this time for sure though.”
Megan thought about what Lauren had told her. That Ross was spending time with Susan. She wondered how Jax was going to take it. But she agreed with Lauren. It was best to stay out of it. Thinking of another Seattle address she’d seen recently, she changed the subject.
“We have another guest from Seattle staying with us this weekend.” Megan picked up the tray of appetizers and passed them to Dan to set on the table between Dan and Ross. Both men started snacking.
“Really? That seems like a coincidence. Anyone I know?” Ross asked.
“His name is Parker Lavigne,” Megan said.
“Really? How odd. I wonder what brings him to Teaberry?” Ross said with a small frown.
Dan and Megan shared another look. “You know him?”
Ross nodded. “He was also a protégé. But that was before Jackson, er, Jax. I wonder what brings Parker here?”
“You’ll be able to ask him shortly. He should be here any minute,” Megan said just before she heard a car in the driveway. “I’ll get that,” she said as she rose.
Dan watched her leave and then offered a refill on Ross’s wine. The two men spent a few more minutes talking about Ross’s plans for the weekend before they were joined by Megan again, carrying another glass. She returned to her seat next to Dan. “Parker said he’d be right down.”
Ross set his wine glass on the table near him and stood as an attractive man came out onto the porch. Around five foot ten, Parker was an inch shorter than the older man. “Ross! It’s good to see you,” Parker said as he clasped hands with the other man.
Dan stood and shook hands with Parker also. Megan looked at the three men and couldn’t help making comparisons. At six foot one, Dan was taller than the other two men. Both Dan and Ross were dark haired, in contrast to Parker’s blond hair. Dan was fit from a daily routine of exercise at the feed store. Ross and Parker were also fit but Megan suspected it was more from sports like golf and racquetball.
Megan offered wine to Parker and then left the men on the porch talking. She went in to make another platter of appetizers. As she worked, Megan thought that it sounded as though the three men were getting along well on the porch. She smiled to herself thinking that it was going to be a nice weekend.
Chapter Three
Matthias Reynolds checked some financial data on his tablet early Saturday morning while he waited for his wife to come downstairs. Although technically retired as a financial advisor, he still maintained his own portfolio and he liked to keep on top of things and remain current in his field. He enjoyed using the same large office that his wife used while working from home. It allowed them to be together and he particularly liked the room.
With the outer wall comprised primarily of French doors and several windows overlooking the picturesque back yard, the room was full of light. Two of the walls were lined with bookshelves. There was a solid antique desk in one corner of the room where Barbara worked, her large flat-panel computer monitor off to one side of the oversized desk. The middle of the room had a sofa and two wingback chairs. Several ornate occasional chairs were near the walls around the room, ready to be pressed into service. And, best of all, there was a large fireplace on one wall that had been converted to gas.
He looked up when he heard her enter. She was dressed for work and looked ready to take on the world. An attractive woman in her sixties, she wore her snow-white hair fashionably styled. Her professional attire of choice was a skirt suit, typically dark in color. Today it was a pin-stripe gray set off with a pale pink blouse.
Matthias rose when she entered and walked slowly over to a side table that held a tray of coffee things. He rarely used his cane in the house, it was too cumbersome. He poured them both a cup of coffee and brought the cups over, handing one to his wife. They sat together on the sofa to spend a few moments together before she had to leave.
“What are you expecting to hear at the town hall meeting?” Matthias asked.
Barbara sipped her coffee before replying. She’d been giving it a lot of thought. “There are some typical agenda items to discuss. I don’t anticipate they’ll cause much discussion.”
Matthias looked over at his wife. “Do I hear a but in there?”
Barbara tilted her head to one side then nodded once. “Maybe. I suspect there will be some discussion about the upcoming sale of the building on Main Street.”
“The one that was owned by the photographer.” Matthias said it as a statement. He was aware of the situation with Jason Malone, the man that had been killed. He’d had a reputation for stalking women with his camera. “What makes you think that will come up? Does the town have any say in the sale?”
Barbara shook her head. “No. We don’t own the building, Jason Malone did. But he still owed money on it.”
“So the bank wants to sell it?” Matthias watched her nod in agreement. “What sort of discussion are you anticipating?”
“I suspect there will be some who feel we should place some control over what can be done with the building.”
“You mean, who can buy it and what they plan to do with it?” Matthias asked as he set his coffee cup down on the table near him. “They do realize you can’t do that, right?”
Barbara offered a wise smile. “That I don’t know. But I do know from experience that I should expect someone to ask. In fact, I can probably list the names of the people who will bring it up.”
Matthias thought about it. “I suppose you might see some people at these town hal
l events on a regular basis. Are you also expecting the woman who has mentioned she might like to be an opponent for the mayoral seat?”
“Teresa Wilton, yes. I suspect she’ll not only be at the town hall meeting, she’ll be in support of any recommendations to control the sale.” Barbara thought of the young woman who had been making it publicly known that she was interested in running for the other party to test the water. They would be directly competing for the role of mayor at the next election the following year if she received the support she was hoping for. Teresa had been a very vocal opponent of anything Barbara supported, and vice versa. If Barbara didn’t support something, Teresa was quick to say that she did.
“No doubt her husband, Chris, will be there also,” Barbara said. “He’s a middle school teacher and has his summers off. He’s been spending a lot of time helping his wife decide whether or not she should run.”
“And the others?” Matthias picked up his coffee again and sipped while Barbara listed their names.
“There’s Jackie Forster. She’s a retired housewife who likes to keep active in the community since her husband passed away. She’s said that it makes her feel needed. Phil Porter has made public comments about the sale of the building. His family has owned an auto sales business for years. Other than his lifelong interest in Susan Anderson, I’m not certain what his particular concern is. Then there’s Ken DeVille. He has been very vocal about Jason Malone stalking his granddaughter.”
“I can’t say I blame him for that,” Matthias murmured.
Barbara nodded in agreement. “That was a very bad business.” She looked over at the ornate clock on the fireplace mantel. “I should get going. Are we still on for dinner?”
Matthias stood with his wife. “Yes, Tom and Caro will be meeting us at the Station Pub & Grill.”
Barbara smiled. Her husband had a fondness for the barbeque there.
***
Barbara looked out at the audience of people who were waiting for her answer. Her prediction had been correct. The planned agenda items had been dispensed of quickly enough. It was the sale of the building on Main Street that was generating all of the questions now.
“The bank has contracted with Stan Jiblonski to handle the sale. Stan has informed me that the sale will be conducted by sealed bids later today,” Barbara explained.
“But Mayor Reynolds, why aren’t you overseeing the sale?” Jackie Forster asked. She had stood to ask her question but took her seat again as soon as she was done speaking.
Barbara looked directly at the woman who had been dedicating much of her time to town affairs since her husband had passed away. It was something Barbara could personally relate to. Barbara’s first husband had passed away years ago. She’d forged ahead on her own, just as Jackie was now doing, until Matthias had come into her life.
“The town doesn’t own the building,” Barbara explained, not unkindly. “It is like any other sale of property. The bank will determine who it sells the property to based on the highest bidder.”
“But Mayor Reynolds.” Teresa Wilton spoke quickly to get everyone’s attention then she rose to look around the room before turning her focus on Barbara. “Can’t the town make stipulations for how buildings are used?” Teresa looked around the room again, silently asking for agreement from the audience.
Barbara heard murmurs of agreement and waited until the room was quiet again before speaking. She addressed her answer to the entire audience. “Yes, and as you all know, Teaberry has those stipulations in place in the form of zoning laws. Those laws have been in place for many years and are enforced impartially across all businesses affected by those laws.”
Barbara waited to see the nods of agreement before she continued. This time, she looked directly at Teresa when she answered. “The town makes and enforces these types of laws equitably. No single building is targeted and treated differently, and no single property owner is either. We support and encourage business in our town. We have laws in place to ensure that those businesses meet the expectations of the town.”
Teresa looked around the room uncertainly for support of her point. Seeing none given Barbara’s rational explanation, she quickly retook her seat.
Ken DeVille stood next. Although there was a year or two difference in their ages, he and Barbara had gone to school together. “Barbara, you know my concern. I just don’t want the young women in the town worried about another guy like the last one. That should have never happened.” Ken took his seat and waited for Barbara’s answer.
Barbara nodded in agreement. “I know that, Ken. I don’t want it to happen again either. But we have to trust in our police force in situations like that. You know we have a dedicated group here in Teaberry. The police rely on us to be their eyes and ears. If there are any issues in the future, we need to speak up and let them handle it.” Barbara looked across the room, making eye contact as she did, to reinforce the importance of her point. “And I do mean that. No one goes vigilante. Whenever there are concerns, they should be brought to the proper authorities.”
Barbara looked back at Ken to gauge his response. He was nodding in agreement. At that point, she concluded the town hall meeting and thanked everyone for attending. After the somewhat contentious meeting, she was really looking forward to a quiet dinner with friends in the evening. But for now, she was going to go home and enjoy some lunch with her husband. She’d need to be back out again in the afternoon when the bids were placed.
Chapter Four
Jax Anderson pulled into a parking lot Saturday at the address for his next landscaping job. Glancing into his rearview mirror, he saw Trina pull up behind his trailer. She got out from her car quickly and began unloading the equipment from the trailer. He had been impressed with both her work ethic and her stamina so far. They’d been having a run of unusually hot weather but neither Trina nor Seth had complained about it.
Jax glanced at the time on his phone. Seth was currently working at another site. He and Jax had been splitting up the jobs, allowing them to double the business they were doing. When they needed extra help at a particular job, sometimes Trina worked with Jax and sometimes she worked with Seth.
Trina was wearing long pants, a tee shirt with the new logo of the Anderson Landscaping business that Megan had designed for Jax, work gloves, a wide brim hat, and a sweat band around her forehead. Tinted eye protection hung around her neck from the elastic straps, ready to wear when needed. She offloaded a stand-on mower, jumped on, and took off with it. Jax wasted no time offloading his own equipment and getting started. They worked for a couple of hours, taking a short break to chug down some cold water.
Jax was nearly finished with his part of the job. He took a look around the property as he finished another pass with the mower to ensure they hadn’t missed anything. He saw that Trina was loading her mower back onto the trailer. He knew she’d already finished weed whacking. He was about to take his final pass when he saw a car pull into the lot. Jax ignored it at first, turning the mower to drive away from Trina as he made his final pass.
When he turned again to drive the mower to the trailer, he saw Trina backing away from a tall guy who was advancing on her. Jax sped up the mower and buzzed over to them. He stopped the engine abruptly, jumped off, and quickly closed the remaining space between him and Trina.
“What’s going on?” Jax demanded as he reached her. He turned to the man and stopped in surprise. “Parker? Parker Lavigne? What are you doing here?”
Parker held out his hand. “Jackson! I was in the area and wanted to see how you were doing.” Parker smiled as he clasped Jax’s hand then slapped him on the back with his free hand.
“I can’t believe you’re here.” Jax stepped back from shaking Parker’s hand and looked at Trina. “Are you okay?”
Trina had watched the interaction between the two men and deduced that they were friends. She didn’t agree with Jax’s taste in friends after what the man had just said to her, but that wasn’t her business. “Sure.
I’m all finished here. I’ll catch you tomorrow.”
Jax looked at Trina with concern. “Are you sure?”
“I’m sure.” Trina gave a smile and a wave to Jax before getting back into her car. She turned the air on full blast and drove away wondering how two such different men could ever be friends. Jax had been nothing but professional towards her. She had never felt self-conscious with him, even when she worked side-by-side with him drenched in sweat and covered in dirt. But that other man, Parker.
Trina smiled ruefully as she glanced at her reflection in her rearview mirror. Her face was still flushed from the heat. There were streaks running down where sweat had mingled with dust and debris from the mower. There were red welts where the protective glasses had been. She knew she was covered in blowback from the weed whacker. Parker must seriously be lonely for women if he could hit on her looking like this.
Jax watched Trina pull away and frowned.
Parker looked at the trailer full of landscaping equipment and the Anderson Landscaping logo on the side of Jax’s truck. “So, you have your own company? That’s awesome.” He was wearing casual khaki slacks, a light blue polo, and reflective sunglasses.
Jax returned his focus to Parker. “Yeah, I started my own company. Seriously, what brings you to Teaberry?”
“Like I said. I was in the area and I knew Ross was here to see how you were doing, so I decided to join you,” Parker said as he looked around at the property Jax and Trina had just finished.
“Ross? Ross McMann is here?” Jax said in confusion. “Since when?”
Parker turned back to Jax and raised his eyebrows. “Oh, he hasn’t caught up with you yet? I hope it wasn’t supposed to be a surprise.”
Jax shook his head. “No, no he hasn’t.” What could Ross McMann be doing here?
“Well, we need to make plans to catch up with each other. Where can we grab a drink? I’d like to hear all about what you’ve been doing since you left Seattle,” Parker said with a smile.
