According to him, forty years ago he’d been a highly successful stockbroker in New York, then one day for no reason that he could point to, he quit, loaded up his belongings, moved to Blue Ridge Valley, and opened his stand, selling boiled peanuts, molasses, honey, and cheap souvenirs. It was anyone’s guess how much of what he said was true.
An older woman was the last to come in, and she took a place at the end of the table, opened a stenographer’s notebook, and wrote something. They still had their meetings recorded in shorthand? Who did that anymore? I smiled to myself, charmed by my new town.
Jim John opened the meeting by pounding a gavel on a block of wood as if the room were full of people, getting another private smile from me.
“Record that the monthly town council review meeting began promptly at six in the evening and all members are present,” he said.
I glanced at the stenographer to see her nodding her head as her hand flew over the page.
“We have a guest tonight, our new chief of police, Dylan Conrad. He will review and answer questions on a revised budget. Mr. Conrad, you have the floor.”
“Gentlemen, thank you for adding me to your agenda tonight. I trust you’ve taken a look at the revised budget I’ve submitted.” I quickly reviewed the changes I wanted, then asked for questions.
“I told y’all when we renewed our contract with Ed’s Garage that the old cuss was a crook,” Adam said. “I vote we approve the new budget.”
“About time our officers got rid of those baby-puke green uniforms,” Steve Sutton, owner of three motels, said. “I approve it.”
Freddie Barns sat back in his chair, eyeing me. I braced for whatever trouble he was going to throw my way. After spending time with him this morning, I’d come to the conclusion that he liked stirring things up.
“The chief liked my peanuts. I vote aye.”
I choked on a laugh, covering it up with a cough. Looked like I needed to learn to love boiled peanuts if that was all it took to get Freddie’s vote on something I wanted.
Jim John banged his gavel three times. “I approve. Your revised budget is accepted, Chief. Anything else?”
“No.” I stood. “Thank you for making time for me.” As I left, the first thing I wanted to do was call Jenny and tell her of my success, but she still hadn’t answered my text, so I went home and celebrated with a glass of wine on my balcony with my owl hooing in the distance.
21
~ Jenny ~
Iwashappy to finally be home. We’d been unusually busy tonight, and we got out later than usual. I was bone-tired. All I wanted was to get off my feet, a good soak in a hot bath, and sleep. While the tub was filling, I added a few capfuls of scented bath oil, then went to the kitchen and poured a glass of wine. I retrieved my phone from my purse, taking it and the wine back to the bathroom.
After slipping into the tub, I turned on my phone. It pinged, and I grinned when I saw I had a text from Dylan. I laughed when I read it. So he was thinking of me and fireworks? After considering a response, I texted back.
Boom!
A minute later my phone pinged again.
Where are u
Home
Can I call u
Yes
My phone rang, and I swiped my thumb over it. “Hey.”
“Hi, Red. Hope I’m not interrupting your sleep.”
“Nope. I’m treating myself to a bubble bath.”
Silence, then, “You’re in the tub?”
Wow, his voice just dropped about two octaves. “Ah…yeah.”
“Naked?”
