Forests, Fishing, & Forgery

by Tonya Kappes

  She was right. Every time Ty and I did make some sort of plans, something awful would happen, like his younger brother getting sick before we were going out to supper.

  “It’s not like we are going in a car. We didn’t want to take that chance.” I laughed at how ridiculous it sounded. “But we’ve spent some time together here and there. Nothing really alone. Not that hiking was truly alone, but sometimes being surrounded by nature could be romantic and I was willing to see if there was a little more to my initial feelings for Ty than just a physical attraction.”

  “Oh, honey,” Dottie tsked. “There’s more to you two than a physical attraction.” She winked and reached next to her computer monitor to grab her box of cigarettes.

  “I thought you were quitting. What happened?” I asked.

  “Mind your own business.” She popped out of her chair and headed straight out the door.

  Instead of hounding her, I decided to grab the money to do the deposit as well as the quarterly taxes. By the time I’d get those done and taken to the bank before I put the taxes in the mail, it’d be time for me to check on Fifi and change for my hiking date with Ty.

  It didn’t seem like I’d been working on the deposit that long when Skip Toliver strolled in the door. Skip was the Mayor’s brother and he was always trying to start new business around town that never took off.

  “Hey there, May-bell-ine,” he teased.

  “I see you’ve been talking about me to Bobby Ray Bonds.” I grinned at how my longtime friend, Bobby Ray, referred to me. “Just so we are clear, my real name is Maybelline, but I go by Mae.”

  “He’s a character.” Skip had that hiker look. He wore a plaid long-sleeved shirt tucked into a pair of hunter green shorts with tall brown socks ending with a pair of hiking boots all tied up. The loose sandy blond curls that fell around his head made me swoon with jealousy. If only my curly hair would lay loosely and not in springs. “But I was getting my oil changed down at Grassel’s. Joel had Bobby Ray do it and he was fast.”

  “Yeah, he’s been fooling around with cars as long as I’ve known him.” It was Bobby Ray who I had to thank for getting me out of Kentucky and my old life. He’d given me the money to hop on a Greyhound bus. It wasn’t until a few months ago and after my interview conducted by Alison that went into the National Parks of America Magazine, Bobby Ray’d found me. I put him up in a bungalow and got him a job at Grassel’s Gas Station. “He’s really good at his job.”

  “It was him that encouraged me to come see you.” Skip pulled out some business cards from his back pocket and handed me them. “I’ve opened up a new whitewater rafting business that actually runs along your Red Fox Trail.”

  The Red Fox Trail was aptly named because there were a lot of red foxes around these parts and they seemed to love that trail in the park.

  “I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind giving these out to your campers and maybe throwing me a bone in the social media area. I really want this business to take off.” He stared at me, leaving me in a very uncomfortable position.

  “Are the rapids up?” I asked. “I’d heard it’s a little dry out there.”

  “You’re talking about that drought thing?” His finger wagged back and forth between me and the window that had a clear shot of the trail’s beginning. “My sister said something about that when I told her about this and I really don’t think it’s going to be a problem.”

  “It will be a problem if Corbin and the rest of the rangers decide to close down the trails around here. Bad for you and me.” There was no sugarcoating it.

  “It’s just a rumor and don’t take this the wrong way.” He put his hand out in front of him. “You’ve not been in Normal during a drought and this isn’t a drought. Sure, we had a brutal Indian Summer, but look at those trees.” He pointed out the window. “They are vibrant with fall colors and they’d be brown if there was a drought.”

  That made sense and I’d never thought about that.

  “I’ll be more than happy to give those out.” I lifted my hand to take them.

  “The social media?” There was hope on his face.

  “Let me see what I can do. I can’t promise anything since I don’t do that part of the business.” I couldn’t imagine Abby not throwing Skip a bone. Any new business to bring in tourists would help us all out.

  “Great!” He put his hands together and bowed down, walking backwards towards the door. “I’ve got to run and get the word out. I truly appreciate it, May-bell-ine.”

  “Do you work seven days a week?” I noticed his hours on business card left no room for him to have a social life.

  “Yes, I do. I used to have a weekly Friday night commitment, but not anymore,” he said. “I’m passionate about getting this off the ground. Like you, I work all the time to do it.”

  “I hope we can get you some business.” I waved goodbye as he walked over to the door.

  Dottie and Skip passed each other on his way out and her way in.

  “Was he here to campaign?” Dottie asked suspiciously.

  “No. He’s started another business.” I handed her one of his cards. “Whitewater rafting and canoeing.”

  “Doesn’t he watch the news?” There she went again, rolling her eyes and dismissing the card. “There’s evidence of a drought.”

  “I thought you said you’d not heard anything about it.” I reminded her.

  “While you were in here playing nice with him, I did. You need to be careful who we align the campground with. Especially since he’s the brother of the mayor. Some citizens aren’t happy with her and they will think you are supporting her.”

  “Geez, Dottie. I don’t even think like that.” I sure hoped no one thought that.

  “Anyways, I made a few phone calls and the decision from the ranger station is ultimately Corbin’s decision because he’s the head ranger. But, you can ask Hank about it.” Her brows lifted.

  “Forget it. There’s no way I’m going to call Detective Sharp for a thing.” It’d been a while since I’d seen Hank Sharp. He and I were like oil and vinegar. We didn’t go together at all, even though I had to help him in the last two murder investigation in Normal, since I was somehow tangled up in both.

  “He’s a ranger too.” She shrugged. “It’s all about business And I’d sure hate to give back that money on your desk from tourists’ security deposits.”

  We required a one-night stay deposit when a reservation was booked. Campers had up until one week before their reservation to get back the money if they had to cancel. The reason for the week was because it wasn’t like we could call someone on the waiting list and expect them to jump in their RV to come here. They needed a few days to get their RVs ready, take off work, and whatever else they needed to make it here. It was only fair to all parties. Clearly, with the stack of bills on my desk, the security deposit wasn’t an issue.

  “Forget it.” I grabbed the deposit bag and put the money and slips inside. “I’ll wait to see what I hear from Ty.” I zipped the bag and stuck it under my arm, grabbing the keys to the Ford Escort.

  “I’m just sayin’,” was the last words I heard from Dottie before the door clicked behind me on my way out.

  FOUR

  The line inside the bank was about five people deep. It would’ve gone much faster if Ann Doherty wasn’t talking everyone’s ear off and catching up on the gossip.

  “Hi, Alison,” I greeted her when she walked in and suddenly was happy that Ann had the gift of gab. It would give me some time to ask Alison about her little chat with Corbin. “Did you like the party yesterday?”

  “It was fun. Almost made me want to rent a bungalow until I seen you let rowdy, riffraff in.” She gave me a blank stare. I wasn’t sure, but I think she’d just insulted me.

  I ended up putting that in the she’s-having-a-bad-day file and decided to continue with why I was happy to see her.

  “Yeah. That. What do you do?” I asked, smiling, and shrugged off her insult. “Anyways, I unde
rstand you’re doing a piece on the drought and possible shutdown of the park.”

  “Who told you?” She gave me the side-eye.

  “No one,” I said with wide-open eyes. “I heard you say something to Corbin and then the Mayor stepped in.”

  “Both of them are trying to stop me from doing this article, but I just can’t do that. I have a following of campers and they take my opinion very seriously. If I continue to promote Daniel Boone National Park here in Normal, it’ll make me less creditable with my readers.” Her brows rose and her jaw set.

  “How so?” I questioned, so I could fully understand what she meant.

  “I’m guessing those are deposits from reservations that were made yesterday.” She looked at the deposit bag I was holding, then drew her eyes back up to me.

  “A few.” I admitted.

  “I’m not asking you to tell me, but I assume you might have an opening, say…” her nose scrunched, “a month from now.” She put her hand out. “Though I’m well aware you’ve been booked for months, but just as an example.”

  “Okay.” I took a few steps closer to the teller window as the customers ahead of me finished with their business. I was only two away from Ann.

  “They come here and spend all that money to bring their families on a nice vacation to Happy Trails but can’t do anything in the national park because it’s closed.” She emphasized closed. “Now, some of these people work hard all year long for their vacation and save up. You’re going to tell me that it’s okay for the Mayor to cover that up?”

  “I think she’s wanting to think the best and hoping it won’t happen because it can affect the economy.” I didn’t give the Mayor that much credit, but I was interested in hearing Alison’s rebuttal.

  Alison’s eye narrowed. “She’s only interested in getting people here so the economy is good for merchants like you to keep her in office.”

  “Hey, Mae. Can I help you?” Ann Doherty drew her hands up to her face and used a fingernail file on her nails.

  I looked back at Alison.

  Haphazardly, I gave the deposit bag to Ann. She yammered on about the Gucci bag I’d given her as a bribe during a murder investigation. Her words were just filling the extra space in my head that wasn’t currently occupied by what Allison had just told me.

  Even though, I hate to admit it, maybe Dottie Swaggert was right about me asking Hank Sharp. If and only if what Alison said was true, and there was an eminent shutdown due to a drought, then I was going to have to come up with a plan to add some fun activities to the campground during the shutdown so tourists wouldn’t cancel their reservations. They had to be amazing events, but what?

  “Yeah, yeah. Thanks.” I waved goodbye to Ann after she handed me the deposit slip.

  The heavy door of the bank seemed even harder to push as I flung it open, nearly knocking down Helen Pyle, the owner of Cute-icles. Cute-icles was the local nail and hair salon that everyone used but me.

  “Mae West. How the heck are you?” She pulled the dark sunglasses off her face. She took a couple of chomps of her gum as she looked me over. “I’d sure love to get my hands on that hair of yours.”

  “If I thought you’d be able to tame this mess, I’d let you.” I’d seen what’d come out of Cute-icles salon and let’s just say it wasn’t the same treatment my fancy salon in New York City had. It was all Normal had and the way I seen it, was if I needed something besides pulling my hair up, back, flat-ironing the heck out of it, or simply letting it spring around, I’d go to another town.

  “Tame it? It’ll be purring like a kitten after I’m done with you.” She cackled and I found myself standing on the sidewalk of downtown Normal with Helen’s fingers plunged plum down to my scalp. “Hmmm. . .purrrrrrrr,” she made kitten claws at my face.

  “Oh, gosh, I wouldn’t do that to you and take up your time.” I was beginning to feel like I’d just stepped in it and by it, I meant doo-doo. “It takes hours for me to go to the salon.”

  “And it just so happens that I’ve got a cancellation tomorrow at noon. Lucky you, someone is going to be out of town for the holiday weekend.” She sparkled in the autumn sun with her bright orange lipstick and orange, short-sleeved top that was bedazzled with different colored jewels and all tucked up in her mom jeans that were pulled clear up to the bottom of her boobs.

  I looked at the orange tinted hair that was piled up in a mess on top of her head and almost started to cry right there in front of her. I wasn’t good at telling people no. Especially since I’d tried so hard to give back to Normal and all its shops and that included Cute-icles. Plus, I didn’t want to spend a Saturday trying to get my hair tame.

  “And we can catch up on Fifi. I do miss that little girl.” She had done Fifi’s nails on a regular basis. Yep, you heard that right. Tammy Jo Bentley used to get Fifi’s nails and hair done weekly.

  Let’s just say that I’ve yet to have them done and Fifi didn’t seem to mind a bit.

  “I’ve got to run, but I’ll see you at noon tomorrow.” She gave me the toodle-loo wave, leaving me speechless, which was hard to do.

  As if I didn’t have enough to worry about. Now I had to figure out how to get out of that appointment. Then the smell of cinnamon and sugar circled around my head, putting a smile on my face and Helen in the back of my mind.

  A donut to hold me over until my hike with Ty was exactly what I needed. There was no way I’d planned a big breakfast this morning because the last thing I wanted to do was get into the woods with Ty and have to go number two. That wouldn’t be romantic, so I’d only had the coffee, but a donut did smell good.

  Christine Watson, owner of the Cookie Crumble Bakery, was just a light of sunshine. The freckles dotted along her face made her cute as a button. She had her brown hair tucked up into a hairnet and she still looked adorable.

  “Mae, did you get the delivery this morning?” She looked like she was surprised to see me. “My sister was supposed to deliver them. Please tell me she did,” she begged with a panicky voice.

  “Yes. She did. And let me tell you they are a hit.” My eyes scanned down the glass case where she had trays of donuts. “Actually, I was at the bank and I walked out. Instead of getting a big whiff of fresh fall air, I got cinnamon.”

  “Really?” There was delight on her face. “That’s wonderful.” She clapped her hands. “I just took out the cinnamon rolls and I bet you’d like one.”

  “One? Give me two.” I held up two fingers. “You grew up in Normal, right?”

  “I did.” She pulled a spatula from her drawer of tools and slipped two of the cinnamon rolls in a to-go box. “These are fresh out of the oven and I don’t even have them in the case yet.” She handed the box to me. I put my hand in my purse to get my wallet. “No, no. Those are on me. You have no idea how many people come in here at night in need of an after-dinner treat. They tell me they are staying at Happy Trails and tasted the treats the Cookie Crumble put in the recreation center. I’ve gotten so much business from you.”

  “Thank you,” I gave a grateful smile. “Business is what I was going to ask you about.”

  “What could I possibly do to help you? You’ve been thriving,” she gushed and wiped her hands down her apron. She took out a metal tray and began placing the cinnamon rolls on it.

  “It’s my understanding that tourism slows down when the park is shut down due to a drought.” I put the box up to my nose and smelled it. My mouth watered.

  “Slows down? You mean stops. All business literally stops when there’s a shutdown.” She slid the glass door of the counter open and placed the cinnamon buns next to a tray of sugar cookies shaped like Kentucky. A blue dot on them represented the location of our small town. “Is something going on?” She popped her head over the top of the counter, her jaw dropped.

  “There was some talk at the party yesterday about some sort of drought. And I just wanted to know if you’d been through one since you’ve lived here all your life.” I wasn’t sure how to make he
r feel better because I could tell she was very upset at the prospect of it. “It’s just gossip.” I waved my hand at her. “You know gossip around here. Thanks for the cinnamon rolls.”

  I had to get out of there before I made a bigger mess. I wasn’t good at this gossip thing or at trying to figure out how I could save Happy Trails from a shutdown if I had to. Before I even left the Cookie Crumble, I heard Christine telling someone about what I’d said.

  I turned around and she was huddled in the corner of the bakery with the phone up to her ear. “A shutdown,” she had whispered into the phone. “Mae West. She owns the campground. She should know. I think she’s dating the detective.” she muttered under her breath. “I thought we were making a cookie for the mayor so we could get some of that money. This isn’t good.” She looked up and gave me a wave goodbye when she caught me looking at her from the corners of her eyes.

  “Great. Now the town thinks I’m dating Hank,” I moaned, wondering who she was telling that I said there was a shutdown coming. I shoved out the door. “This isn’t going to ruin my hike with Ty,” I proclaimed over the box of the cinnamon rolls.

  That might not’ve ruined my morning but the Normal Gazette front page headline blinked like a big signal from the metal box newspaper stand. The big glass window showcased the front page. And it read: WISH FOR RAIN! SOON! Or all tourism will stop in Normal due to drought shutdown.

  “Oh my gosh.” I honestly couldn’t believe Alison’s article had made it on the front page of the Normal Gazette. Any other day there was a happy photo of a tourist doing some touristy thing.

  I patted around the inside of my purse for some change to throw into the machine but came up emptyhanded. It was one of those things the debit card had changed for me. I rarely carried cash and never coins. When I glanced up, The Laundry Club was the first store I’d seen.

  “Queenie will be all over this.” I snapped my finger and trotted on down to see the gals.

  Just like I’d predicted, Queenie was sitting at the card table just inside of the door with the paper snapped opened and her nose stuck right up in it.