3 Never Tell Your Dreams

by Tonya Kappes

  Susie rolled her eyes. “Really? You think that’d be Facebook-worthy?”

  “Susie, I don’t care. All I care about is this phone call I need to make to Patricia Van Meter, that lawyer from New York.” He leaned over top his desk flipping through the roll-a-dex. He really should learn how to use the Microsoft office on the computer, but it would have to wait. Hazel Greenlee and Grandberry Falls was more important than technology.

  “New York!” Susie slapped her hands together. “Beth Harrison shared the link of the Huffington Post that said the engagement of billionaire Grady Cohen and Margaret Greenlee was called off.”

  Mitch had to steady his hands from shaking. He didn’t want to get coffee all over the place or let on to Susie that his soul was doing a happy dance.

  “That can’t be.” Mitch pretended to go back to flipping the index cards.

  What if it was true? It isn’t. Besides, what would it matter to him? She wouldn’t be coming back to Grandberry Falls; she’d stay in New York. He glanced out the window at the waterfall. There were a few people milling around in the damp weather. Probably visitors.

  “It was there. I read it.” Susie kept her eyes on him.

  If he showed any excitement, he knew she’d go back and tell Wendy. He wasn’t prepared to deal with that or acknowledge the feelings in his stomach.

  “Didn’t Wendy tell you? I forwarded the link to her.”

  Not eager to discuss any more about this with Susie, he picked up the phone to call Patricia. “Maggie has nothing to do with my relationship with Wendy. I wish nothing but the best for her.” He started pushing the numbers on the phone—to his house.

  Did Wendy know?

  “Is Patricia Van Meter there?” He spoke into his answering machine. Susie rolled her eyes and shut the door behind her. Mitch placed the phone back on the receiver. His stomach was in knots. He sat down with his hand on his face.

  If this was true, he still might have a shot with her. He laughed and pushed the silly notion out of his head. She was clear away in New York City where her dreams had come true. He was in Grandberry Falls, exactly where he wanted to be and nothing was going to change either situation.

  His briefcase was sitting next to his chair. Wendy loved to use Facebook from his laptop. He would quickly get it out of the case and log in to her account. The password was stored and if he accidently clicked on enter with her log-in, he’d see the article and get his answers.

  There it was, in big bold ink attached to a picture of Maggie and Grady. Exactly what Susie had said—only there were hundreds of comments from people he didn’t know. Things that read: “good for her,” “he’s a slime,” and “back on the singles list.”

  Mitch enlarged the picture. He hated the smug look on Grady’s face, like he won her. He had his hand firmly grasping on Maggie’s arm. His brown hair greased back didn’t match the neatly shaved goatee. The suit didn’t fool Mitch either. Grady was a jerk and whether it was him or Maggie who called off the wedding, it didn’t matter. It was in Maggie’s best interest.

  Susie knocked on the door and opened it before Mitch could stop her. “Patricia Van Meter is on line two for you.” A line appeared between her brows. “I thought you were on line one with her?”

  Mitch closed the laptop. “Disconnected. New York is crap.” He picked up the phone and hit line two. “Ms. Van Meter, thank you for calling me back.”

  Susie shut the door behind her.

  Chapter 12

  Friendship isn’t a big thing – it’s a million little things. ~ Author Unknown

  “Maggie, dear.” Lillian rubbed the back of Maggie’s hair. “You have to get out of bed.”

  Maggie didn’t have to do anything. Since she didn’t show up for the meeting on Monday at two, she didn’t have a job. How could she function? Patricia Van Meter didn’t care that Maggie’s world had been turned upside down. All she cared about was acquiring some hill jack’s land where the client could plop down one of those outlet malls.

  “I’m going to lay here until I rot.” Maggie rolled on her side and looked out the window over the city. If it was where it was supposed to be, it’d be facing the window and not the door. She groaned and closed her eyes.

  “No, you can’t do that.” Lillian dropped a manila envelope on Maggie’s pillow. “Grady wants you out.”

  Out? Where was she going to go? She spent her life savings on the couture wedding dress that was non-refundable, custom made. Grady told her to take care of the dress and she’d never have to worry about anything again. “It’s your wedding and our life.” He’d said if it was up to him, they’d elope.

  “I have nowhere to go.” Maggie tried to sort out the craziness she was feeling in her head. Maggie had no energy to move. From the window she could see the city was still alive, unlike her. “Lillian, what am I going to do? What are we going to do?”

  Lillian’s hand stilled on Maggie’s back. “You are going to go to Grandberry Falls and let Hazel take care of you. You will sort it out. Figure out what’s next for your life. I’m going to go to South Africa a few weeks early.”

  Maggie hated to admit it, but Lillian was right. As embarrassing as it was going to be, she needed to go home and find comfort—especially from Hazel.

  Chapter 13

  Superstition: An itchy palm means that you are going to get money.

  It took another couple days for Maggie to completely drag herself out of bed and shower. Lillian had made sure Maggie was going to be okay before she packed her things into storage and said goodbye, promising she’d keep in touch over the next couple of years.

  Maggie had until the end of the week to go. There was nothing here that was hers but the clothes. Clothes that she wouldn’t need in Grandberry Falls, so she packed up a couple duffle bags and any spare cash in the office. Grady never once contacted her. Maureen had sent instructions by courier, and a personal letter that simply read that she was sorry. Grady had given her the Volvo as sort of a consolation prize.

  She sat on the edge of her bed, fiddling with her ring. The velour black jumpsuit and tennis shoes would be perfect for driving and the black matched her mood.

  The diamond danced along the walls and ceiling when the sun caught it at the right angle. What was she going to do with it? Grady had put in the instructions to keep it, but she had no desire. She slipped it off her finger and laid it on the night stand that was going to be Grady’s.

  She strolled one last time around the penthouse, remembering all the items that had been on their to-do list once they were married. Items that were now only a dream. She ended up back in the bedroom. Looking at the ring was a blow to the chest. She rubbed her hands down her neatly combed hair she’d secured with a headband and reached out to touch the ring one last time.

  “He did say to keep it,” she murmured, scratching her right palm. It was beautiful and she was sure she’d never have anything like it again. She picked it up and slipped it into her pocket. What if she made it into a pendent? No, it would remind her of Grady and those were memories she wanted to put behind her. She looked down at her itching hand and smiled. “Wonder how much it’s worth?”

  She walked into the family room and took the ring out of her pocket. She held it up in front of the windows and took a good look at it in the direct sunlight before putting it back in her pocket. She looked out over the skyline, knowing it was going to be her last time in that very spot. She scratched her itchy palm, remembering that an itchy palm means money. But how much?

  Yes, the ring must be worth a lot. She wondered how much. There was only one way to find out.

  On her way out of town, Maggie found the closest pawn shop. Many times she’d seen Pawn Stars on History Channel and they’d love to get their hands on a precious gem like her yellow five-carat diamond stunner. She was sure of it.

  The store was nothing like she saw on TV. The floor to ceiling junk and flickering lights made it hard to see where she needed to go. Speakers of all sizes lined the back of the
store, all thumping some type of heavy metal band.

  “Hello.” The guy greeted Maggie with a wink and a smile. Shivers ran up her legs. She wanted to pawn the ring and get out of there as fast as she could. “How can I help you?”

  Maggie didn’t have time to waste. She was ready to see Hazel and hide in the country for awhile. “I want to sell my ring.” She handed the five-carat beauty to him with pride. She knew her itching palm was telling her it was going to be good.

  Big Mike, that’s what his name tag read, took the ring, pulled out a cloth and put it on the glass top.

  She’d put the money in an account until she decided what she was going to do with her career, her life. She was sure she’d get 30 grand out of it.

  “Very nice.” Big Mike continued to look at the ring from all angles through his loupe. He pulled it from his eye and gave his offer. “How about 500.”

  “Five?” Maggie gasped. Surely Grady did love her. Maybe he was having cold feet. There is no way he’d spend five-hundred thousand dollars on someone he didn’t love. “I…” Maggie didn’t know what to do. For a split second, she thought about calling Grady to make sure he truly wanted to break the engagement.

  “Yep. I can’t do anything with the cubic zirconium, but the platinum I could melt down or maybe sell the piece as a whole to someone who wants a really good fake.”

  Maggie started to twitch. She was sure she heard him wrong. “Excuse me? Cubic Zirconium?” She picked the ring up and put it on her finger, holding it out to get a better look.

  “Yea, the stone. You still want to pawn it? Five hundred dollars is the most I can give you.”

  Maggie closed her fist, the ring tight around her finger. “No, I think I’ll keep it.” There was no way he was right. This was his living, scamming people out of money to get the best bang for his buck. “I don’t think the Cohen’s…”

  She stopped herself. He had no clue where the diamond had come from. There was no way a Cohen was going to give a fake diamond as an engagement ring. There was only one way to find out.

  Luckily, across the street was a reputable jeweler who knew the Cohen family. They’d tell her the truth, and then she’d go back over to the pawn shop and give Big Mike a piece of her mind.

  The jewelry store was a hole-in-the-wall, but a gem to the wealthy. There were a couple of private showings in the back when Maggie walked in. Quietly they closed the curtain away from the showroom.

  “Hello.” the woman behind the counter smiled at Maggie, recognizing her from the events she’d attended with the Cohen family, “I’m so sorry to hear about your broken engagement, dear.”

  Maggie tried to seem self-assured, but it was hard maintaining her composure when she too, was sorry about her break up.

  “What can I show you to help ease your pain?” The sales lady rubbed her hands together. This was what Maggie had gotten accustomed to with the Cohen’s. When something went wrong, an expensive piece of jewelry was the answer to the problem.

  “Actually,” Maggie slipped the ring off her finger, “I want to get an appraisal for this.”

  The lady took the ring. “Yes of course. Leverage for the settlement?” She wrinkled her nose in delight.

  “Something like that.” Maggie knew all too well, that no matter what she told the woman, the woman was going to tell the story the way she saw it and not the truth. It was certain to be in the society tabloids in the morning, just like all week.

  It was the same old song and dance Maggie had seen at the pawn store, except the sales lady gave Maggie a glass of champagne while she waited. She eyed the entire bottle of the Dom-- a glass wasn’t going to make her feel better.

  “Miss?” Maggie looked over at the gemologist. “Your appraisal is ready.”

  Her glass was still three-fourths full, she gulped it down. She wanted to be ready to celebrate and her flute needed to be re-filled. The dollar signs were adding up in her head. She didn’t need Van Meter Attorney At Law when she had her engagement ring fund to tide her over until she decided what she wanted to do with her life.

  “I’m sorry. Mr. Cohen did not get this here.” The gemologist pushed the ring toward her. “We can’t and don’t appraise cubic zirconium.”

  “Cubic Zirconium.” Maggie held onto the glass display case. The heat from her hands left perspiration marks around her fingers. “I…”

  Maggie grabbed the ring. She didn’t know what to say. Not only did Grady fake loving her, he gave her a fake ring to prove it.

  “No need to say anything, dear.” The saleslady refilled the flute. “You need a few of these.”

  Maggie waved her hand in front of her. “No thank you. I appreciate your time.”

  She walked out with dignity, but once she hit curb, she ran to her car. It was time to go home to Grandberry Falls.

  Chapter 14

  Gravitation is not responsible for people falling in love. ~ Albert Einstein

  Mitch had prepared some final paperwork for Hazel. He wished he could talk her out of giving in to this eminent domain and fight until the bitter end. Or at least let Maggie know what was going on with her family so she could help out. Hazel wouldn’t hear of it. She didn’t want to bother Maggie with it. Belle wasn’t interested in the farm, so Hazel wouldn’t fight any more and would let them have the land—land that was going to turn cozy Grandberry Falls into the outlet mall capital.

  There was no way he was going to walk past the falls and not make a wish. Mitch tucked the envelope under his arm and rubbed a quarter between his fingers. He had to stop himself from wishing the same thing he’d repeated for the last twenty-five years. His friends would wish for a pony, stick of candy, or some other present, not Mitch. He wanted to be part of the Greenlee family—only he didn’t realize his heart already belong to a Greenlee.

  The quarter flipped high in the air, and he watched it sail through the night breeze ending with a plop in the pool of water below.

  “Don’t tell me you still come here every night to make a wish?” Maggie leaned over the hand rail to see that the quarter had made it into the falls. “All those years were you wishing you’d become Mayor of Grandberry Falls?”

  Mitch stepped back. He knew the falls were magical, but after twenty-five years, was his dream coming true?

  Her eyes danced when she looked at him. Her soft features were only accented by the trickling water. Many times they stood here talking about life, listening to her debate her future, and now—twice in a few weeks.

  “Caught me.” Mitch threw his hands up in the air. He never missed a good coin toss while walking by the falls—not when he was a kid and not now. Especially when the Greenlees were involved. “To what does Grandberry Falls owe the pleasure of you visiting twice in a few weeks? Are you here to celebrate the annual Jubilee?”

  Sure, he’d heard all the gossip from Wendy and her friends, but he wasn’t going to let them know he was listening. Nor could he deny becoming a Facebook creeper on Wendy’s account to see what everyone was saying.

  Maggie’s profile picture was still of her and Grady in front of the Statue of Liberty. Grady might have been all teeth in the photo, but not Maggie. Her eyes talked to Mitch, there was something missing.

  Grady was the one who ended the engagement, but Mitch didn’t know why or if they planned it that way so Grady’s reputation wouldn’t be tarnished. It was hopeful thinking to believe Maggie didn’t want to marry Grady after all.

  “Mitch,” Maggie whispered so low, he had to lean in to hear her, “please don’t pretend with me. You know I have no place else to go.” She crossed her arms across her body almost like a defensive little girl and trembled.

  She did have a place to go. Here! Home where she was loved and could do good work, not only for her family but also for the community.

  He couldn’t help himself. He was use to making bad situations all better for her and helping out Hazel was no different. Mitch rubbed the sides of her arms. It was an instant reaction—protect Maggie Greenlee.
“I’ve heard the usual town gossip, but I haven’t heard it from you. Are you okay?”

  Maggie’s laughter bounced off the rocks, echoing through the street. “I’m not sure how to answer that.” Then she broke down in Mitch’s arms.

  He stroked her long pony-tail, welcoming the feeling on his hand. She was reaching out for comfort and he was glad to be there.

  “Shhh.” He buried his head on the top of hers. “It’s going to be okay. I’ll make sure of it.”

  ###

  Maggie couldn’t help but find comfort in Mitch. She questioned why it felt so good in his arms. Shouldn’t she be grieving her broken engagement? Or maybe it was just having someone who cared. Either way, she didn’t pull away. She nuzzled her head in the curve of his neck, inhaling deeply taking comfort in Mitch’s smell. He never strayed from his musk cologne.

  “We better stop all this or we will be the headline for The Grandberry Chronicle again.” His welcome laughter filled the empty spots in her heart.

  “You never know what will happen when the two of us get together.” The memory gave a wry, twisted smile to her face when she recalled the cow tipping trouble that made headlines.

  Reluctantly, she gave a last squeeze and let go.

  His presence gave her joy she hadn’t felt in a long time. She was use to going home from a long day and climbing into bed—exhausted, and doing it over again in five or six hours. She sure wasn’t going to miss the five a.m. alarm clock.

  “You know the big hoedown is this weekend, movie day and all. Before the big Jubilee.” His brown eyes met her brown eyes. “Why don’t you come down for some fun?”

  She tried not to fidget when she noticed him staring intently at her like she was going to explode. She was going to be okay, she could feel it. She also knew she was going to be on display for everyone to see. Not only how she dealt with her broken engagement, but how she would deal with Wendy and Mitch dating.

  “I’ll think about it.” She lied.