LOVE in a Small Town

by Janet Eaves

  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 anger. This was her past. Legend was her future. Her home.

  ****

  Twilight arrived in Legend that night with an aura of pomp and circumstance. Out-of-county cars lined Main Street and spilled onto First, Second, Third, Fourth, and Jacobs Streets as well. People of all ages milled around, buying hot cocoa off makeshift vending carts, looking in the store windows. But people weren’t inside the stores. Everyone—absolutely everyone—was outside waiting for the lights to come on.

  Midnight stood at the base of the east steps of the Old Meeting House. The mayor was going to make a speech. A very brief one, he had promised. And then he’d flip the big fake switch, and all the store owners would turn on their individual switches for the hundreds of thousands of fairy lights that outlined all the buildings. And Tom, the city street superintendent, would turn off the street lights along Main. It would be awesome. She sincerely hoped.

  “Hey.”

  She turned to her right. “Hey, Daniel! I was missing you.” She grabbed his hand without thinking that a thirteen year old might be embarrassed by that, or might pull away. He squeezed her hand a little.

  “It’s exciting tonight, huh?” he asked.

  “Oh my yes. I’m a nervous wreck.”

  “You?”

  “Yeah, me. Why not? I’m kind of in charge of this whole thing. If it goes wrong, it’s on me.”

  “It won’t go wrong. It’s gonna be great!” His beaming smile reassured her.

  “Hey, Daniel. You beating my time with the lady?”

  She looked to her left and there was Martin. He took her other hand, held it in his large warm one and gave it a little squeeze.

  “This is going to go great, you know.” He echoed his son’s comment. Midnight felt his finger playing with her emerald-and-diamond ring as he spoke.

  “You’re not nervous, I take it?”

  He shrugged. “No reason to be. Miz Midnight Shelby has it all under control. Nobody here is nervous. We have total confidence in your ability to bring this off.”

  “Oh. Good.” Deep breaths became her focus.

  The mayor’s speech was short, and made conspicuous mention of Midnight. Legendarians applauded loudly, and Midnight surprised herself by blushing. The fake switch worked perfectly: the store owners turned on their lights at the appropriate moment (including Betsy taking care of The Emporium’s), and Tom shut off the Main Street lamps at the same time. It was, indeed, awesome. Everyone applauded, except Martin, who took that opportunity to sweep Midnight into his arms and kiss her tenderly, with an edge of passion. She kissed him back tentatively, hopefully. Suddenly everything felt right to her. She could see the scene as if from an outsider’s vantage point: Midnight Shelby in a beautiful little town she’d grown to love, surrounded by people she… Yes. Surrounded by people she loved. Including, very particularly, Martin McClain, the bullheaded old-fashioned stickin-the-mud who had somehow managed to steal her heart. Being in this moment with him, and with Daniel within arm’s reach, made her feel like part of a family again.

  Then her view of The Moment ended. The kiss was too brief, but she was left with a hope for more. Much more. Suddenly everyone was hugging Midnight, congratulating her and each other, slapping Martin and Daniel on the back. All the shop owners went into their stores and the potential customers started making their way down the elegantly lighted thoroughfare to sample the local offerings. Midnight and Daniel hurried to The Emporium so Betsy wouldn’t be there alone. Martin arrived a moment later and quickly learned to make her new coffee creation, Legend by Starlight.

  “Irish crème?” he asked when she showed him how to measure it in. “I doubt Irish crème has been a traditional big-seller within these old walls. Do I get to try one?”

  “Not now. The staff needs to be sober. It’s a busy night.”

  “I’m not staff. I’m a volunteer.”

  “They need to be sober too. Later.” She busily poured sugared coffee, measured liqueur, dolloped whipped cream and sprinkled chocolate stars for the customers lining up.

  “Later? Promise?” He moved closer and spoke more softly. “I’m pretty sure I’m the first person to show you Legend by Starlight. That should count for something.” He caught her eye, her hand, played with her ring waiting for a response.

  She laced her fingers with this. “It does, Martin. And yes, I promise.”

  Chapter Eleven

  It had worked. It had really worked. Midnight was happily exhausted as she wiped the counter, saying goodbye to The Emporium’s last customer of the night. Martin finished washing and drying the glass mugs and wiping down the stainless steel equipment. Betsy, from her high stool by the cash register, announced the total in the drawer.

  Amazing.

  Many pieces of local art had found new homes tonight.

  “Miz Shelby! I’ve got like a million people wanting me to design websites for ‘em,” Daniel announced from his little desk on the stage.

  Mayor Jack Crenshaw burst through the front door. “Miz Shelby! God bless you and whatever brought you here! What a night for Legend!”

  He moved to the center of the room. “Everybody, listen to this! I’ve been up and down Main all evening. The restaurants were busy the whole time, and the service clubs selling food at the Old Meeting House did a big business. Plus the little carts on the sidewalk with cocoa and Susie’s muffins.” He swallowed the last morsel of the muffin he’d been carrying. “I think, starting next week, we’ll block off all vehicle traffic on Main and just let people walk in the street. Sidewalks felt pretty narrow tonight.” His brows knit in concentration. “Yeah…that’d make it easier for the carriage drivers, too! Jane’s author friend was real complimentary. Said she’s signing up to come another night. Lots of books sold. And Lilly’s shop was packed. Have you ever seen so many pregnant women in one place? Excuse me, Betsy, but it was quite a sight.”

  “No problem, Mayor,” Betsy said with a dimply grin.

  “And you were busy in here. I stopped in a couple times, and there were people looking and buying pretty steady.”

  “Yes. It was a good night,” Midnight said on a sigh. “A good start.”

  “And all thanks to you.”

  “No, Mayor, not just me. Everybody. It was a huge team effort; something this town is obviously very good at.”

  He nodded vigorously. “You’re right. You’re right. Just like I was telling Martin the other day, when I was talking about you and Market Legend and our meetings and the ideas for the future.”

  “Oh?”

  “Yeah, when I called to tell him… Uh. Well, will you look at the time! I’d best head home or the wife’ll have my hide. G’night, all!”

  That was a smooth exit. Midnight looked at Martin, who was checking to be sure every possible spot was wiped off the cappuccino maker, the back counter, et cetera.

  “What was that about?” she asked.

  “What?”

  “When the mayor was telling you about me and our meetings. What was that about?�
��

  “Nothing. Just talking about Market Legend. It’s off to a great start, that’s for sure.”

  “Mmm hmm.”

  The front door bell jingled for what seemed the ten thousandth time that evening. It was Joey McClain, Daniel’s cousin.

  “Hey! C’mon, Daniel! Mom says we’re ready! Dad already started the truck!”

  “Cool!” Daniel jumped up, stuffed his wire bound pad, pens, business cards, and his laptop computer into a gym bag, and started toward the front door. “See you tomorrow, Dad! After supper, okay?”

  “I’ll pick you up at four.”

  “Awww. Six?”

  “All right. See you then, Mr. Wizard. And congratulations on all those new customers tonight.” He clapped Daniel on the shoulder. “I’m real proud of you, son. You’ve worked hard.”

  “Yeah? Thanks, Dad!” He’d reached the front door, which Joey held open for him, then turned around and walked back to Midnight. “Thanks, Miz Shelby” he said, and gave her a fierce hug. She hugged him back as long as she dared, then watched his retreating back through misty eyes.

  “Hey, Daniel, thank you,” she said softly. The doorbell jingled again as she blinked back tears.

  “I guess somebody gave permission for Daniel to spend the night with Joey?” Martin asked, looking at Betsy.

  She finished rubber-banding bills together in neat stacks and rolling the last few coins.

  “You’re welcome, Martin” she said, giving Midnight a quick wink with her back turned toward her cousin-in-law slash boss. Betsy dropped the money into the bank bag and zipped it. “We’ll drop this into the night deposit. You have a good evening, hear?”

  “Already has been! Thanks for all your help, Betsy.” Midnight gave her sweet friend a quick, careful hug around the impending baby, and Betsy wrapped herself in the bright red wool cape Midnight had loaned her since her own jackets had become too tight.

  Mike was just outside the door as Betsy opened and closed it quickly with another set of merry jingles from the bell.

  Suddenly the large space seemed very intimate. And very quiet, except for the human-generated electricity crackling all around them.

  “Quite a night, Miz Shelby. Is it what you wanted?” He sat on one of the bar stools, and leaned his elbows on the bar behind him.

  “Hm? Oh! Yes, I suppose so.” She was tired, and had let herself think for a moment of what she wanted with Martin. “I’ll know more tomorrow after I speak to the other store owners. The mayor was certainly enthusiastic… What was he talking about earlier? What he started to say and then didn’t?”

  Martin sighed and shook his head. “The factory definitely isn’t coming to Legend. Pete’ll be announcing that to the town council soon, but he let me know since I’ve been kinda in the middle of it.”

  “Trying to make a deal with the devil?” She sat down on the next stool and half-turned toward him.

  “It felt that way to me. I did my best to keep personal feelings out of it, but that’s hard.”

  “I know. You care so much about Legend. That’s one of my favorite things about you.”

  He brightened. “Is that right? I didn’t know you had favorite things about me.”

  “A few.”

  Martin turned toward her. “Care to name those?”

  She slid off the stool. “Actually, I’d rather not tell you all of them right now. It might ruin your humility. But if you come upstairs with me I’ll give you that Legend by Starlight I promised earlier.”

  “Come upstairs? Why, Miz Shelby, are you trying to seduce me?”

  She smiled. “No. But come upstairs anyway.”

  “Should I lock the door, or leave it open in case I need to make a quick getaway?”

  “Up to you.”

  The dead bolt clicked solidly into place, and Martin walked toward her, took her left hand in his, and twirled her ring.

  She reached up and ran her hand along his strong jaw line, traced his goatee, as his eyes burned into hers. Then she leaned up and forward, placed a soft kiss on his lips.

  They ascended the narrow staircase single file, Midnight leading the way.

  At the top of the stairs Martin caught her hand again, gently pulled her to him, where she fit neatly against his tall frame as if they’d stood that way many times. Martin had one hand at her waist, fingers spread, and with the other he gently traced the lines of her lips. So gently, it was as if just a breeze played against them.

  “You have the most beautiful mouth. It’s beautiful when you smile, and even when you’re angry. But I like it better when you smile.” Which of course made her smile. He continued to touch the upper lip lightly with an index finger. “Now, this upper lip is really nice, and it has this deep V in it which is so sexy. But to be honest, I believe I like the lower one better.” He moved his finger to it as he spoke. “Because it’s so full and soft, and I think I’d like to nibble on it a little. Or a lot.”

  His dark head came down, eyes closed, and their lips met in a sweet, breathtaking kiss. Midnight was certain she’d never been kissed like that before. It made her feel cherished.

  Martin chuckled and straightened, put his hands in his front pockets. “I almost forgot. You aren’t trying to seduce me.”

  Midnight cleared her throat. “Right. Well. Step over here and have a seat.” She led him to the raw silk-covered love seat where they had spent a few tantalizing minutes just after she moved in.

  “Oka-ay. Not what I expected.”

  “I know. But be patient for a minute.” She turned off the light and then joined him on the loveseat. “Lean way back, like you did the other time you were here.”

  He slouched and slid down. “Hey! What happened to your ceiling?”

  She laughed. “Do you miss the mirror?”

  “Damned right.”

  “Not me. I had some workmen come and take it out. I think they took it down carefully enough, they may have installed it somewhere else. Don’t know, don’t want to know.”

  Martin chuckled and put his arm round her. “Well,” he said, trailing a finger along her collar bone, causing her to shiver with anticipation, “the skylights are nice.”

  “Yes. I like them better.” She caught his hand and kissed his fingertips. She heard his swift intake of breath.

  “Legend by starlight?” he asked, his voice raw.

  “Yes. This version is just for you. I hope it’s worth waiting for.”

  “It is at that. And so are you, Miz Shelby.” He glanced meaningfully toward the bed and wiggled his eyebrows, making Midnight laugh.

  “You’re different. Special.” He shook his head. “I still don’t understand why you wanted to come to Legend to live. But I’m sure glad you did.”

  “So am I.” Had she ever really lived anywhere else? Since coming to Legend she had felt so much more alive, and involved, than she ever had.

  “I hope you’re planning to stay a long time,” Martin whispered, kissing her temple. “Like forever.”

  “Mmm-hmm.” It felt so good and right to be with him here, like this. A few weeks ago she’d hesitated at even shaking hands with this man. But Martin’s down-to-earth goodness and honesty, even when they’d disagreed, had won her trust. And her love. She’d certainly never expected to find love in Legend, Tennessee.

  “I’d say this version of Legend by Starlight could get to be habit forming, Miz Shelby. Might need a warning label.”

  “Oh? Such as?”

  “Administer often, and for many years to come.”

  Midnight sighed. “Mmm. Sounds cozy.”

  “Sounds permanent,” he said into the curtain of her hair.

  “Sounds like home,” she whispered, leaning into him for another kiss….

  THE END…or is it The Beginning?

  BED, BREAKFAST & YOU

  A Ladies of Legend Novella

  By Maddie James

  Suzie Schul has it all. A booming business, a wonderful town to live in, and, well, food. Yeah, she loves to cook
and she’s the best darned cook in Legend, Tennessee. Everybody says so. She runs her own B&B, has published a cookbook, conducts cooking classes on Saturdays, and caters for special events and holidays.

  What more could she want, really?

  Nothing that she will admit, anyway. And let’s not even think about that brief escape to Gatlinburg several months back when she had separated from her then-husband, Cliff. Or the fact that the man ran off with her little sister while they were, um, estranged. And let’s definitely not bring to light that she’d never really revealed to anyone in the small town of Legend what exactly had happened between her and Cliff.

  Or the fact that while she was off “finding herself” and “losing her husband” at the same time, she sort of, well, had a fling. But never mind about that, because “the fling” is long gone and likely doesn’t even know where to find her. Besides, he was trouble.

  And just when Suzie thinks all is well, Mr. Trouble rides up to her B&B doorstep on a bad-ass Harley and tosses her perfect little world into some kind of big, bad tumble.

  Chapter One

  “I’ll take it.”

  “You understand the deal is as is.”

  Brad Matthews nodded. “I understand.” He looked up at the decaying and dilapidated structure and wondered what it was like in its heyday. Although he hated to tear it down that was exactly what he was going to do. “The land is worth the asking price.”

  “What will you do with it?” Martin McClain, the realtor he’d been working with, studied him from the side.