Mystic Park

by Regina Hart

  “It will take some getting used to.” Lana took the extra seat to Ms. Helen’s left. “So, why don’t you want a formal ceremony to announce the endowed chair?”

  Benita tilted her head at the research chemist’s direct approach. Impressive. Ms. Helen couldn’t dismiss Lana’s question with another one-word answer.

  “This endowment shouldn’t be about me.” Ms. Helen folded her hands in her lap. “Your donation will do a lot for the students and the department. Keep the focus there.”

  “The students are the point of this endowment.” Lana shifted in her seat to face Ms. Helen. “But I want the second-year chemistry students, faculty, even staff to know you’re the inspiration behind this donation and why. Faculty members who apply for the chair have to be prepared to follow your example. That’s a big commitment.”

  Benita stilled as she heard the brilliant, accomplished, successful woman express the impact her great-aunt had had on her. It was almost overwhelming.

  But Ms. Helen was shaking her head. “Don’t put me in the limelight.”

  Benita glanced at Foster. The vice president of academic affairs looked almost hopeless. She sensed his fear that the endowment was slipping from his fingers. “Aunt Helen, you have to agree to this ceremony. I came all the way back from L.A. for it.”

  “I told you before you came that I didn’t want a fuss. Don’t you remember?” Ms. Helen sighed her exasperation. “And you say I’m going senile.”

  Benita’s face filled with heat. “I never said you were senile.”

  Lana chimed in. “Of course you’re not senile, Doctor Gaston. That’s ridiculous. What you are is unreasonable.”

  “Because I don’t want a party?” Ms. Helen sniffed.

  “You’re putting your discomfort with this tribute ahead of students’ needs.” Lana locked gazes with Ms. Helen. “That’s not the Doctor Gaston I remember.”

  Benita’s eyebrows rose. Oh, Lana Penn was good.

  Foster raised a hand. His manner was urgent. “Lana, perhaps we can find a suitable compromise.”

  The researcher gathered her coat and purse, and rose to her feet. “I’m not compromising on this, Foster. The endowment is a considerable donation that I want to ensure is invested appropriately.”

  Foster lowered his hand. “I agree with your concerns, Lana—”

  “The applicants for the chair have to fully appreciate the commitment required. We can’t ask that of them unless we showcase Doctor Gaston’s deeds.” Lana turned to Ms. Helen. “I do hope you reconsider.”

  After Lana left his office, Foster broke the silence. “Our chemistry department could really use this funding, Doctor Gaston.”

  “I know.” Tension vibrated from Ms. Helen in thick waves.

  Benita looked from Foster to her great-aunt. “What are you going to do?”

  “I don’t know.” Ms. Helen smoothed the thick chignon at the nape of her neck. “Lana is making me out to be some kind of patron saint of chemistry. I was far from that. I was just a teacher, doing the best I could for my students.”

  “What bullshit.” Benita sighed.

  “Benita!” Ms. Helen’s sharp, dark eyes were wide with surprise.

  “You were a black woman who earned a doctorate in the nineteen-sixties so she could teach chemistry at the college level.” Benita willed her great-aunt to recognize her own accomplishments. “You earned a doctorate during Jim Crow and before women were even allowed to vote.”

  Ms. Helen frowned. “I know—”

  “I don’t think you do,” Benita continued. “You were raised at a time when women were taught to be humble and modest. The meek shall inherit the earth. Well, forget that.”

  “Benita, have you lost your mind?” Ms. Helen’s scowl darkened.

  Benita spoke over her great-aunt. “This is about more than students and academic endowments. It’s about celebrating your accomplishments, Doctor Gaston. You achieved them during some of the darkest days in our history and inspired our next generation to succeed. Now, what are you going to do?”

  Ms. Helen sighed. “Let me think about it.”

  “I trust you’ll make the right decision.” Benita scooped up her belongings and stood. She turned to Foster. “We’ll be in touch.”

  Foster stood and shook their hands. “Thank you both for coming. Doctor Gaston, I look forward to your decision.”

  Benita mentally kicked herself as she escorted her great-aunt to the parking lot. Why had it taken a stranger to put her great-aunt’s accomplishments in perspective? All of these years, her aunts, uncles, and cousins had dismissed their elderly relative and her dedication to their small hometown. Benita knew the former university professor was special. Seeing her through a stranger’s eyes made Benita even more determined to keep her great-aunt safe—even from herself. And that meant she had to convince Ms. Helen to move into a senior residence.

  Running footsteps sounded behind her on the jogging trail in Freedom Park Saturday morning. The footfalls were barely audible above her heavy breaths. Benita shifted farther to her right, allowing the other jogger to pass on her left. But the jogger didn’t pass. Instead, the presence remained steady on her left.

  “Morning.” Vaughn didn’t even sound breathless.

  At the sound of his voice, Benita stumbled over nothing. Vaughn’s hand shot out, grasping her elbow to steady her. His quick reflexes still stole her breath.

  “Good morning.” Yes, she’d hoped she’d see him here. She kept jogging even as she sucked in a breath to ask him a question. “Starting? Or done?”

  “Starting.” He released her elbow and adjusted his stride to remain beside her. “You?”

  He wasn’t even out of breath. Benita resented that. “Second. Lap.”

  “Mind if I join you?”

  “No.” Benita puffed her response. She didn’t mind at all, though she might regret it. She and Vaughn hadn’t jogged together since college and she’d had trouble keeping up with him then.

  “I apologize.”

  “For what?” He sounded as though he knew. Either way, Benita was willing to play along.

  “Upsetting you.” She drew another breath. “Proud of your work. Mystic Park is wonderful.”

  “I appreciate that.” His twinkling cocoa eyes and sexy smile framed by his debonair goatee melted her heart.

  He was mesmerizing her. Benita knew it. The question was whether the spell was deliberate or a byproduct of his charms. Either way, Benita pulled her gaze away. She needed to stick to her plan: remind Dr. Vaughn Brooks of what the two of them had together, then make him want her back.

  Benita drew a deep breath, inhaling the scents of grass and earth. The late April weather was cloudy and cool. Spring was still a distance off. There were a few other joggers and walkers on the broad dirt path with them. They were young and old, men and women. A few were out for the solitary exercise. Others ran in groups, obviously in training for something.

  The streetlamps that appeared periodically along the path were relatively new. Benita had noticed them before. Since it was well into the morning, the lamps were off. But she imagined their glow made the path feel much safer, not that crime was a concern in Trinity Falls, unlike L.A.

  Benita wiped sweat from her eyes. “Haven’t jogged with you since high school.”

  Laughter low and deep rumbled up from Vaughn’s chest. “You always started so fast, trying to outrun me. Then you’d struggle to finish.”

  Surprised laughter caused Benita to lose her balance. Vaughn’s hand shot out to steady her again.

  “Thanks.” Benita pressed her hand to her chest. She breathed long and slow to catch her breath.

  “Are you all right?” Vaughn was still chuckling.

  “You were. So mean. Wouldn’t let. Me stop.” It was a struggle to speak between the breath-stealing laughter and trying to keep pace with Vaughn.

  “I wasn’t mean. I was tough.” Vaughn let his hand drop from her elbow. Benita missed his touch. “You had to finish what
you started. You just needed to learn to pace yourself.”

  A familiar trail came into view on the left side of the path. Benita’s heart leaped. “Is our tree. Still there?”

  Vaughn hesitated. “Probably.”

  “Let’s see.” Still jogging, Benita prodded Vaughn toward the path with gentle nudges to his shoulder.

  In the distance, birds sang their neighbors awake. Squirrels and chipmunks rustled in the undergrowth. At least, Benita hoped the sounds came only from squirrels and chipmunks. She’d rather not cross paths with rats, snakes, or skunks. Good grief.

  They jogged deeper onto the path, past white ash, beech, and big elm trees, and a few evergreens. It was quieter here. Traffic and pedestrian sounds were muted even more this far from the park entrance. There were fewer lamps as well. Benita slowed as they approached the thick, old oak tree on which young lovers had been carving their initials for generations.

  As they came to a stop, Vaughn pressed a button to pause his stopwatch. Benita did the same. He was silent beside her as she searched the tree trunk for their initials.

  “It’s still there.” Her voice rose with excitement as she located their carving near the middle of the trunk.

  “VB + BH” was ringed by a lopsided shaky heart. It was crowded among other initials, some even more weathered.

  “Did you think someone would’ve removed it?” Vaughn’s expression was hard to read. His voice was without inflection.

  “No, I’m just happy to see it.” Benita studied the markings, tracing her finger over the rough bark. “Do you think we can find our way back to this time and place?”

  “We’re not eighteen anymore, Benny.” Vaughn’s voice was soft and low. “I can’t live in the moment. I need to plan for my future.”

  Her heart absorbed the blows. It was battered, but hope kept it from breaking. She turned to him and saw an echo of her sadness in his eyes. “We can plan for our future together.”

  “My future is in Trinity Falls.” His words opened a chasm between what she wanted, what he wanted, and the love she knew they still had for each other.

  “Mine isn’t.”

  Vaughn nodded as though he’d expected her response. “We can’t have a future together if we’re living in different time zones.”

  “There must be a way to make this work.” She held her breath as his silence grew.

  Vaughn crossed his arms over his chest. “The only way is for one of us to move to be with the other.”

  One of us. But which one?

  CHAPTER 15

  A friend in need is a friend indeed. Vaughn hadn’t realized he’d had so many friends. He looked around the clearing at Harmony Cabins and the many friends who’d joined him this Saturday morning to build props for Mystic Park: Jackson, the Harmony Cabins owner and newspaper publisher; Alonzo, who was getting married in eight weeks; Darius, the recently promoted managing editor of The Trinity Falls Monitor; Ean, whose law practice was expanding; and Juan Garcia, Alonzo’s deputy. They were all either cutting wood, hammering nails, or putting props together.

  Vaughn gulped the iced tea Audra had dropped off before leaving them alone to their “noise” as she called it. “Thanks for helping me build these set pieces.”

  “No problem.” Ean added another cut block of wood to the collection.

  They were all wearing jeans and flannel shirts, as though they’d coordinated clothing. A soft, subtle breeze floated across the clearing, carrying the scents of spring blossoms, lush grass, and rich earth.

  “I’m glad your ladies didn’t mind you leaving them alone for the day.” Vaughn positioned another four-by-four block of wood for the horse and buggy he was building for the farmer. The model was going to sit on tracks to simulate being drawn by a horse.

  “I don’t have a lady. I’m my own man.” Juan grinned as he drove a nail into the tree prop he was building.

  “That’ll get old after a while.” Alonzo stood back to check the tree prop he’d completed.

  Vaughn needed four more just like those and a bigger one for the weeping willow to give Mystic Park the right atmosphere. He looked at the expensive pile of wood, cut and uncut, stacked off to the side of the clearing. “I also appreciate your donations to the play.”

  Ean measured off another four-by-four. “I was happy to donate when Benita told me about your project. It’s for two great causes: the community center and your musical.”

  “Ean’s right.” Jackson drove another nail into the buggy. “I’m glad you’re finally producing your play. The Monitor’s offering a complimentary full-page ad. Benita’s working with us to design it.”

  Vaughn frowned. “She didn’t tell me that.”

  “We’re also going to run an article.” Darius took a long drink of iced tea.

  Vaughn was surprised and touched by his friends’ generous support, the free promotion, their investments, and their time. Incredible. “Thank you very much.”

  Darius positioned another block of wood on the electric saw. “I was surprised that you cast my parents in your play.”

  Vaughn was surprised himself. “They’re good.”

  Darius faced him. “Growing up, I’ve heard them shout, yell, and scream. I’ve never once heard them sing.”

  Vaughn’s heart was heavy with his friend’s admission. Music had filled his childhood home, along with laughter and the occasional fights. He’d grown up with two brothers after all. “You’ll hear them sing when you come to the play.”

  “I’m looking forward to it.” Darius returned to cutting the four-by-fours.

  “I’m glad Quincy and Ramona will be back in time for the musical.” Ean took a long, deep drink of the iced tea.

  “Ramona made the reservations.” Jackson wiped sweat from his eyes with the back of his wrist.

  “They’re staying at Harmony Cabins?” Vaughn’s brows were knitted.

  “Yeah.” Ean looked around at Vaughn. “As much as we love Ramona and Quincy, and they love us, we all agreed we’d choke each other if we were together in the same house for more than a weekend.”

  Darius chuckled. “I can believe that.”

  “I’m glad Quincy and Ramona are making it back for our wedding.” Alonzo pour himself more iced tea. “Doreen would have been very disappointed if they weren’t there.”

  “You would’ve been disappointed, too.” Juan chuckled.

  “True,” Alonzo conceded.

  Vaughn held a board in place while Jackson hammered it. “Speaking of weddings, do you think Quincy will propose while he and Ramona are at Harmony Cabins or wait until they visit his parents in Florida?”

  “Quincy won’t be ready to propose this summer.” Darius position another four-by-four to cut.

  “He’d better not wait much longer.” Ean marked another board to cut. “Megan said Ramona’s getting impatient.”

  “Is Ramona the only one getting impatient?” Darius arched an eyebrow at Ean. “You and Megan have been together for more than two and a half years now.”

  Ean shrugged. “Thirty months, but who’s counting?”

  “Is your wedding on track, Alonzo?” Jackson asked.

  “Everything’s great, now that Benita’s in charge.” Alonzo drank his iced tea. “Doreen and I are glad she insisted on planning our wedding.”

  Vaughn’s chest swelled with pride. “Benita’s always had a talent for organizing events and keeping projects on schedule.”

  Darius sent Vaughn a curious look. “What about your musical? How’re things going with you and Benita managing the production together?”

  “Things are working well.” Vaughn nodded. “Benny and I are fine. Nessa gave us a hard time at first, but things worked out.”

  “Nessa feeds on conflict.” Jackson hunkered down to adjust something on the bottom of the farmer’s buggy. “She isn’t happy if other people are happy. I don’t understand people like that.”

  “Neither do I.” Juan nailed together the top of the fake tree.

  Alonz
o crouched to lift his nearly completed tree model into position. “She criticized Doreen and me for not being married. Once we were engaged, she criticized us for planning our wedding.”

  “Alonzo, you’re getting married and retiring.” Vaughn held a four-by-four steady for Jackson. “The rest of us should have such success planning for our futures.”

  Darius’s expression was a mixture of curiosity and amusement. “What’s in your future?”

  Vaughn shrugged. “Producing my musical and buying a house for starters.”

  “Are you planning on settling down with a woman as well?” Juan asked.

  “If the right one comes along.” Vaughn avoided meeting his friends’ discerning gazes.

  “Are you sure she isn’t here already?” Ean asked.

  “When it comes to Benny, I’m not sure of anything.” Thursday night, he’d thought he and Benita could try again. But after their argument Friday morning about showing some Los Angeles producer his play, he wondered if she would ever admit that Trinity Falls was home.

  Alonzo glanced over his shoulder at Vaughn. “Don’t wait your whole life to tell Benita how you feel. Living without love is not living at all.”

  Vaughn couldn’t fathom how the sheriff had spent so many decades without the woman of his dreams. He wasn’t anxious to find himself in the same situation.

  He turned toward Jackson. “You offered to leave Trinity Falls and move to Los Angeles to be with Audra. How did you know you were willing to make that move?”

  Jackson looked up from the prop wagon. “I knew I wanted to be with her. It didn’t matter where.”

  Vaughn lifted his hammer. Jackson had a point. It shouldn’t matter where he and Benita lived as long as they were together. But it wasn’t that simple. Being in Los Angeles changed Benita. How could he be sure that their being together would keep that from happening?

  CHAPTER 16

  “Thanks for stopping by, Sheriff.” Benita escorted Alonzo from Ms. Helen’s kitchen to her front door late Monday morning.

  “It’s my pleasure.” Alonzo paused to collect his jacket and campaign hat from the coatrack.