by R A Wallace
“Bad day at the office?” Jim asked.
“Not really. Do I look that bad?” Jennifer asked.
“You couldn’t look bad if you tried,” Jim said with a direct look. Jennifer met his gaze and smiled.
Jennifer looked around the bar. “Business looks good.”
Jim glanced around to see if anyone needed him and nodded in agreement. “It is. Still, I wouldn’t mind growing.”
“You have plans?” Jennifer asked, then took a sip.
“We’ve been doing weddings and other parties, both here and catering. We have a portable smoker and a concession truck that we can take out. That’s been doing really well, actually. We’ll probably be looking at getting another truck soon.”
Jennifer was impressed. “You must be good with advertising.”
“Megan handles it for us. We pay her to maintain a web site for our business. She’s had some really good ideas and they’ve paid off.” Jim wiped the condensation from the bar with a rag.
“And now that you’re growing, you’ve decided you like it and you want more of it?” Jennifer guessed.
Jim smiled. “Guilty.”
“What about the farmers market?” Jennifer asked, holding her wine glass with both hands in front of her, elbows on the bar.
Jim thought about it. “You mean, having a food truck there?” He watched Jennifer nod. “That’s a great idea.” Jim smiled broadly, then caught his partner’s eye across the room.
Doug refilled some glasses with iced tea at a booth and then walked over to the bar to join them. “Jennifer thinks we should have the food truck at the farmers market.”
“I agree. I’ve thought about it in the past, but I think we’re at that point now where we could pull it off and we have the name recognition to do well. It’s time to do some new things.” Doug watched his partner share a smile with Jennifer. Looked like there were going to be a lot of new things happening around here.
Chapter Sixteen
Irlene unlocked the salon door, flipped on the lights, and then adjusted the air temp. She wondered what today would bring. She’d stayed away the day before, cancelling the appointments she did have. She just couldn’t bring herself to come in to work and talk about Cybil if the topic came up in conversation. She was hoping she’d be able to handle it today.
She checked her appointment book to see if Sean had added any names yesterday while she’d been off work. She was surprised to see that a few had indeed been added. Vivian Zimmerman was coming in. She’ll be wanting a trim and a nice curl. Nina Delgado was scheduled for a lunch hour appointment. Irlene wondered how she was going to fix those bangs. Diana Gordon was another one with the same issue. Maybe it was time to try a different style on Diana. The only other option was waiting for her bangs to grow in and that was going to take a long time.
Irlene wondered if Megan had had anything to do with this turn of events. Maybe. Either way, she’d better get busy. Vivian was due in any minute. Irlene was getting out her combs and scissors when the bells on the door rang. Irlene turned to find Vivian standing at the door. Vivian looked uncertain, her purse held in front of her, the straps gripped tightly in her hands.
“Vivian, it’s so good to see you,” Irlene said to break the tension between the two women.
“Do you have time for a cut and a curl for an old fool?” Vivian asked.
Irlene smiled. “We all have an old fool lurking in us. We just have to remember that we also have a lot of old friends who’ll overlook him whenever he does slip out.”
Vivian followed Irlene to the shampoo bowl. “That young Bennet girl was nice enough to stop by.”
“She’s got a head on her, doesn’t she?” Irlene said over the spray of the water.
“Gives us hope for the next generation,” Vivian agreed.
Vivian was leaving when Sean came in. He held the door for Vivian then gave Irlene a hug.
“What was that for?” Irlene asked.
“I missed you yesterday. That looked like one of your old customers.” Sean walked over to his station and started getting ready for his first customer.
“It was. We had a nice chat.”
Sean looked up at Irlene. “Well, neither one of you has claw marks. I’m assuming that’s good.”
Irlene grinned at him. “It was very good. We agreed that everyone is an idiot sometimes.”
Sean nodded. “Sounds like a good turning point. I’ve had some similar thoughts lately myself, about turning a new leaf. I started running in the evenings instead of staying inside all the time. The trail around the lake is beautiful.”
“You do look a little tanned. It looks good on you,” Irlene said with a smile.
“I used the suntan lotion from that new product line you got in so I wouldn’t burn like a lobster.”
The day passed quickly for Irlene. Her appointment book was not nearly as busy as it used to be, but she now had hope that she might get more calls for future appointments. It was a nice feeling. She was sweeping up after her last appointment for the day when the bells rang on the door again. Sean had already left, saying he had plans for another run at the lake. Looking up, she saw Marissa Saltzman.
Marissa stood at the door looking as though she were about to flee any moment. “I’m sorry,” Marissa said.
“So am I,” Irlene said. She sat down in her own chair, then nodded the chair next to her. The one Marissa used to rent.
Marissa walked over to the chair and stood next to it. “What are you sorry for?”
“That I did whatever it was to cause you to leave,” Irlene said.
Marissa sat down. “It wasn’t you. You didn’t do anything. Cybil just sold me a bill of goods and I fell for it. I was an idiot.”
Irlene nodded. “Yes, you were.” Then she smiled to soften her words.
Marissa smiled back. “Well, anyway. I just wanted to apologize.” She started to get up.
“Wait, we aren’t done yet,” Irlene said.
Marissa froze in her seat. “What do you mean?”
“You haven’t agreed to come back yet.”
“I didn’t think you’d want me to,” Marissa stammered. “Not after what I did.”
“Well, you thought wrong. We had a good thing going before Cybil rode into town. Didn’t we?” Irlene demanded.
Marissa nodded, a look of hope seeping into her eyes.
“Are you okay with the same arrangement we had before with you renting the station?” Irlene asked. “You can tell me if you weren’t. We can talk about it like adults.”
Marissa shook her head. “I’m really okay with what we had before.” She jumped up from her chair and started walking toward the door before Irlene changed her mind. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Irlene watched her leave and smiled. Maybe Irlene could get her life back. But she should think about making some changes. No matter what Marissa said now, she must have been dissatisfied with things before or she would never have been temped by Cybil. Irlene just needed to figure out what that was and fix it. She didn’t want to ever go through anything like that again.
Chapter Seventeen
Jax lifted the last bag of grass seed and tossed it onto the trailer before securing it. He double checked that everything else he’d just picked up from Dan was securely tied down to the trailer and wouldn’t blow off while he was driving. He went back in to the feed store to settle with Dan. On the way, he checked the message board out front.
He’d been very happy with the trailer that he’d found on the board. He’d started putting his own information there to get more customers. So far, it seemed to be working. Between postings like this and the web site that Megan had created for him, he was getting a lot of calls. He’d picked up some standing jobs and the work that he now had was way more than what he could handle alone.
Both Seth and Trina had been helping him on an ad hoc basis, but he was thinking it was time to talk to them about something more planned. He could definitely use their help for a specific nu
mber of hours each week now. Jax read through the postings and one caught his eye. A snow plow for the front of his truck. That would be excellent. He could use it to make money in the winter. There was no shortage of snow in western Pennsylvania. He made a note of the number in his phone before going back into the feed store.
“That board out there is pretty handy,” Jax said to Dan.
Dan handed Jax a copy of the bill of goods and a receipt. “It gets a lot of action, I know that much. Are you all set?”
“Yeah, I think I’m good for now, thanks. Is Trina in yet this morning?” Jax followed Dan’s directions to the live plants behind the building. There he found Trina, watering them.
“Hey, are you going to be available by any chance for the rest of the summer?” Jax asked.
Trina grabbed her hose and dragged it along as she moved down the row. “Yeah, sure. Right now I’m only scheduled here in the mornings a few days a week. I also have to work on my summer classes, but as long as I know what my schedule is, I can work around it. What did you have in mind?”
Jax explained the jobs that he had lined up and which ones he thought would work with Trina’s schedule.
“Yeah, I could definitely do that, thanks.” Trina grabbed the hose and pulled it farther as she continued working her way down the row of plants.
“Great, I’ll text you the addresses and days and I’ll see you then.” Jax pulled out of the parking lot thinking that things were coming together nicely. He’d already contacted Seth and knew that he’d be seeing him later in the day at another job site. Jax arrived at an apartment complex and unloaded his mower. A couple hours later he’d completed the job and had loaded the mower and weed whacker back into the trailer and moved on to the doctor’s office. It was a small lot and didn’t take long at all. Jax continued working throughout the morning then grabbed a quick lunch. He met up with Seth at a new homesite on the edge of town.
“Seth, you’re just in time. Did you get the diagram I sent you last night?” Jax asked.
“I did,” Seth answered as he surveyed the large lot. He pulled his phone out and looked at the diagram then glanced over at the materials and plants on the trailer that Jax had loaded up in the morning.
“So, mostly we’re putting in grass seed. But the plants are going over there by the house.” Seth pointed to show what he meant.
“Yep, you got it. Listen, how is your schedule for the rest of the summer? Do you think you’ll be able to work each week with me?” Jax asked then explained what he had in mind.
“That works for me,” Seth said. “Like I said, doing this sounds preferable to working at the restaurant. I can load up some equipment in my truck and handle some of the smaller jobs for you on my own too.”
After getting the job done, the two men got the equipment back onto the trailer and made arrangements to meet at a job site in the morning. Jax was feeling pretty good about his day as he drove to his new rental house. He’d been given the keys to the place and he planned to spend his first night in his new home.
He parked the truck in the driveway and grabbed his bag and a cooler from the back seat of the crew cab. After a quick shower, he pulled on some shorts and a tee. He took a cold beer from the cooler and walked out onto the deck in the back of the house from the kitchen. He liked the view from up here. He could see his back yard and several in the neighborhood even though his was fenced in. The split level home had a deck on the upper floor with steps leading down to his yard.
Looking over at the house next door, he could see a young child in the kiddie pool, splashing around. She looked like she was having a blast. The young woman sitting in the chair watching over the child caught Jax’s eye. She was looking pretty good in the shorts and tiny top she was wearing. Her husband was a lucky man, Jax thought. Then he did a double take. The good looking woman that had caught his eye was Trina Cantrell.
Chapter Eighteen
Jessilyn Brewer pulled into her driveway and breathed a sigh of relief. It had been a long day. Her job as the events coordinator for the town of Teaberry typically kept her hopping and usually Jessilyn enjoyed the diverse situations she often found herself dealing with. Perhaps it was just the summer heat getting to her, but this week appeared to have more than its fair share of issues.
Of course, having a death the first weekend of the farmers market was an unforeseen event. Jessilyn hoped the police would have the case solved quickly. She had been concerned that there may be some backlash with vendors cancelling for this weekend but that hadn’t happened. Only time will tell if the attendance for upcoming weekends will be adversely affected.
Not that any of that was Cybil Lacey’s fault, of course. Jessilyn unlocked her front door and quickly changed into shorts and a tee. She freed her blonde hair from a French twist then finger combed it and pulled it back into a tail. She would have liked a cool shower first too, but she needed to get Evan from her neighbor’s house. Cindy Freeman was an amazing woman and Jessilyn was unbelievably lucky to have her for a neighbor. Cindy’s son, Logan, was the same age as Evan and the two boys kept each other company all day.
Jessilyn went out to her back yard but didn’t see the boys playing. She let herself into Cindy’s yard through the fence. Cindy was working at her kitchen sink and waved when she saw Jessilyn. Jessilyn could see Cindy turn and say something. A moment later, Evan shot out of the back door and came running toward her.
“Mom! Mom! We were inside because it’s hot. We played outside all day but then Logan’s mom said we needed to stop pretending we were crabs.” Evan finally took a breath.
“Pretending you were crabs?” Jessilyn tried to translate that in her head. “Were you being crabby?”
Evan smiled guilelessly. His front teeth were just now thinking about growing in to fill the gaping holes that were there. “I dunno. Are crabs red?”
“Red? Did Chris say crab, or lobster?”
“Lobster, that’s it. She said we were lobsters.” Evan shot through the back door and ran into the living room.
Jessilyn heard the television a moment later. She glanced at the clock. She had been running a little late all day and Evan’s dinner was now a little late. Jessilyn was wondering what to do about it. She’d forgotten to get anything out of the freezer to thaw before she’d left for work. She opened the refrigerator door and looked for possibilities. She saw a jug of iced tea and some yogurt. That would work for her.
Opening the freezer, she found a package of hot dogs and some veggie tots. She wasn’t sure if that would make Evan happy or not. She’d been relying on those same foods a lot lately. Too much lately, in fact. Jessilyn recognized the irony in the fact that she’d been running late because of a farmers market but she didn’t have anything healthy in her own kitchen. Sighing, she made a mental note to do something about that. She’d been working too much lately and not spending enough time with Evan.
Jessilyn closed the freezer door without taking anything out. No time like the present, right? She and Evan could run to the store. It wouldn’t be the same as local produce, but it beat what she had in the house. She was about to call to Evan when the doorbell rang.
She found Seth on her front step. The smile on his face reached his blue eyes. “Hey, you look happy.” Jessilyn backed up to let Seth in. At six two, he towered over her by eight inches.
Seth held up several takeout bags from the Station Pub & Grill. “I am happy. I felt like celebrating with a good dinner and some friends.”
“What’s in here?” Jessilyn asked as she took some of the bags from Seth. She carried them into the kitchen and set the bags on the counter. Digging into the first one, she found a huge salad with grilled chicken. Her mouth started watering. “I love chicken in the garden.”
The other bag had pulled pork, a personal favorite of Evan’s, French fries, and some baked beans. Evan was going to be happy. Another bag had some ribs and mac and cheese. “This looks awesome!”
“Glad you like it.” Seth pulled a bottle of wine
from one of the bags he’d carried into the kitchen. “This is cold.”
Jessilyn began taking plates and silverware out. “I could seriously get used to this. I was just wondering what I was going to give Evan for dinner and you showed up like magic.” Jessilyn smiled at Seth as she set the table. “What are we celebrating, anyway?”
“I have a new job working with Jax.” Seth smiled back at Jessilyn. “We figure we can double the amount of business he would have been able to handle by himself.”
“That’s awesome. So, you’re working for Jax?” Jessilyn took out two wine glasses and a small cup for Evan’s milk.
“We’re talking more like partners, actually.” Seth had been pretty happy about the conversation he’d had with Jax. Between the two of them, they had some pretty good ideas about how to grow a business.
“Wow. That is good news.” Jessilyn went into the hallway between the kitchen and the living room and called for Evan.
He came flying into the room a moment later, his feet pounding against the floor. “Seth!” he yelled as he dove for him.
Seth caught him easily and lifted him up so they were face to face. “Hey buddy. Did you wash your hands yet?” He smiled at Evan’s toothless grin as Evan shook his head. “Me neither. C’mon, we’ll go wash them together.” He set Evan back down on the floor and followed him as Evan took off.
Jessilyn listened to Evan’s excited voice as he told Seth about his day on their way down the hall to the first floor bathroom. Once thy got inside, she couldn’t make out Seth’s words, but she could hear his deep voice answering. She looked around at her kitchen table and realized it was the first time she’d set it in a long time. Usually, she just fed Evan. Jessilyn often stood at the kitchen counter and ate. And how healthy was that?
