Forever Fall (18 page)

Granny’s caring and love swamped Mandy’s emotions. She nodded, unable to speak for fear the tears once again threatening to fall would be let loose.

Moments later, they were seated at Granny Jo’s kitchen table. The aroma of fresh baked cookies filled the room. Mandy inhaled deeply. Unbelievably, this was the first time in her life she’d ever smelled freshly baked anything. To her, it was like smelling the most expensive Paris perfume. Surely this was what a home should smell like
 . . .
like love and comfort and all the things she’d never had as a child. And that’s how she suddenly felt
 . . .
like a child. A child seeking comfort, love
 . . .
and advice.

Granny Jo poured coffee for each of them. Then she set a pitcher of cream, a bowl of sugar and a plate of golden brown cookies on the table. The sunlight coming through the kitchen window bounced off the sugar crystals atop the cookies, turning them to jewel encrusted confections.

Mandy stared transfixed at the plate, her thoughts swirling as she searched for an explanation as to why she’d ended up on Granny Jo’s doorstep. Instinct maybe. Many times at the office Mandy had listened to Granny offer Becky her homespun advice. Perhaps her subconscious knew that Granny may have some answers for her, too.

Granny Jo chuckled and pointed toward the untouched treat. “You’re supposed to eat them, child, not admire them.”

Mandy roused herself, smiled and took a cookie. She bit into it. The sweet goodness exploded on her tongue. The only cookies she’d ever eaten had been mass-produced and packaged in cardboard boxes. And those occasions had been rare. These tasted like a slice of pure heaven. Maybe Mr. Hawks had been right. Maybe Granny Jo’s cookies could cure anything.

The thought had no sooner passed through her mind than the pain returned. She wasn’t sure a panacea existed that could erase the hurt that Luc had inflicted with his lies.

Mandy’s pleasure in the sweet treat vanished. She set it unfinished on her plate.

“If my baking can’t keep a smile on your pretty face, then this must be serious.” Granny Jo covered Mandy’s hand with her own and squeezed gently. “What is it, dear?”

Unexpected tears welled up in Mandy’s eyes so fast she didn’t have time to wipe them away before they overflowed down her cheeks. The next thing she knew, sobs tore from her in great, rasping gasps.

Granny Jo hiked her chair around the table to get closer to Mandy and drew her into her arms and cradled her head against her ample bosom. “My word, child, you’re breaking my heart.” She laid her cheek against the top of Mandy’s head. As Mandy’s sobs subsided, Granny Jo drew a handkerchief from her apron pocket and pressed it into Mandy’s hand. “Suppose you dry those tears and then tell me what’s got you in this state, and we’ll see if we can sort it out.”

Mandy swallowed, wiped at her cheeks with the handkerchief, blew her nose and took a deep breath in an effort to get a hold on her out-of-control emotions.

Finally, she choked out, “Luc.”

Granny Jo nodded sagely. “I might have known there was a man at the bottom of this.” She moved back to her side of the table, folded her hands on the placemat and sighed. “Tell me what he’s done to upset you so much.”

Mandy took a sip of her coffee and spilled the entire story, leaving out nothing. “He acted like he was supporting me, Granny Jo, but all the time he was plotting behind my back with Asa to see me fail.”

Granny sat back in her chair. “I’m surprised that Catherine had any part in this, but I can understand her need to help Shannon. What doesn’t surprise me is that Asa Watkins stuck his nose in and gummed up the works. My Earl loved his ball games, but that man has an addiction to athletics that just isn’t healthy. He never could see that a good education was better than being able to throw a football.”

She got up and refilled their coffee cups. “Might as well leave this here,” she said, setting the coffee pot on a hot plate next to the sugar and creamer. “Looks like we’re gonna be here for a spell.”

Mandy forced a half smile, but she felt it crumble as quickly as it appeared. “So what do I do about Luc?”

“You know, Mandy, things are not always like they seem.”

“I don’t understand.”

“First of all, are you sure he actually lied to you? And are you sure it’s the lie that is bothering you, or the damage to your heart?”

A silence fell over the room as Mandy gave Granny’s question serious thought. She had no need to even consider the last part of Granny’s question. She knew the answer. The damage to her heart was something that would probably lay raw for some time to come. She’d given Luc a gift she’d never given to another person
 . . .
her trust. And he’d violated it.

But that was over and done, and although her heart ached, there wasn’t anything she could do about it. Right now she needed to concentrate on the students and what this meant for them. So, that left her back at Granny’s first question. Had Luc actually lied? Not actually. But he’d led her to believe otherwise.

“Luc lied by omission. He never voiced the actual lie, but he never told me what he was doing either. He let me believe he was supporting me.”

To Mandy’s surprise, Granny Jo laughed. “Child, I’ve learned over the years that men and women have totally different ideas of what’s right and what’s wrong. God love them, men have a notion that they’re not lying if they don’t tell us everything.”

“What do you mean they think they’re not lying? That doesn’t make sense. Of course they’re lying.”

For a while, Granny Jo said nothing. Finally, after a couple of sips of coffee, she set aside her cup and leaned her forearms on the table.

“Back when Earl and I had only been married a few years, Bill Keeler’s son came down with mono and couldn’t go to the produce market in Charleston to help his father. Because Earl and Bill were friends, Earl volunteered to go with him instead. I knew that Bill was fond of his whiskey, and the trip would inevitably end up with a night of drinking, so I made Earl promise not to drink and not to let Bill drive home. That evening, after they’d picked up the produce, as I suspected they would, they went out for a few drinks.”

Granny topped off the coffee for both of them.

As she added more sugar and cream to her cup, Mandy wondered where this story was going.

“Long about two in the morning, I got a call to come bail my husband out of the Charleston County jail.” Mandy gasped. “I can tell you, I was not at all happy with Earl Hawks. I didn’t talk to him all the way home and for another week after that.

“He tried to explain. Said it was just a disagreement between him and another fella in the bar. I didn’t believe it.” Granny picked at a loose thread in the placemat and began wrapping it around her index finger. “My Earl was a peace-loving, Christian man who would have walked away before he settled anything with violence. I knew it would have taken a lot to get him to double up his fists and hit a man. So, I also knew he was leaving something out. Something he wasn’t telling me. And of course, the more I thought about it, the madder I got.”

Mandy leaned forward, eager to hear more, but still unsure why Granny was telling this story. Fighting not to show her impatience, she gripped her hands together in her lap. She’d heard Granny Jo’s stories before, and she knew that she’d eventually reach the end, and that often a small seed of wisdom could be found in the lengthy tale. Mandy just had to be patient.

“A few weeks later, I ran into Bill’s wife at a church social. We got to talking about one thing and another, and we started comparing notes about that night. It was then that I learned what had happened that started the fight. Turns out the fella in the bar was my elder brother Brandon, the uppity one, Alyce’s granddad. Seems Brandon said something about me that got Earl’s dander up, and when my brother refused to take it back, Earl hit him. Bill wouldn’t tell his missus what my brother said to Earl, and Earl wouldn’t say either. Took it to his grave with him. To this day I don’t know what started that fight, but I do know Earl was defending my honor, and for that, I was very proud of him. And by not letting on that it was my own brother who started it, he was sparing my feelings.” Granny patted Mandy’s hand. “So, you see? They have their reasons for skirting the whole story when they don’t tell us everything. And sometimes it’s for our own good.” She winked. “At least they think it’s for our own good.”

Mandy frowned. “But why would not telling me about his deal with Asa be for my own good?”

“Maybe it wasn’t. Maybe it was. Maybe it was because he’d figured you’d have this reaction. Then again, maybe it was because he was afraid of losing you. Truth of it is, you won’t know unless you talk it out with him. I’m sure he had good reason not to say anything to you.” She squeezed Mandy’s hand. “Lucas Michaels is a good man, child. He wouldn’t hurt a flea intentionally. My guess is that Asa trapped him somehow between a rock and a hard place, and Luc had no choice.”

A loud bark sounded outside the back door. Granny stood and went to let Jake in. The big dog lumbered into the kitchen, stopped to get a quick scratch from his mistress, then flopped down beside the stove and closed his eyes. The older woman watched him for a moment, then came back to the table and rested her hand on Mandy’s shoulder. “If you ask me, young lady, I think he hurt your heart more than he violated you trust.”

Luc stared blankly out
the window of his house. The place he’d always treasured as his haven suddenly felt alien and empty to him. He turned from the window and looked around the living room, knowing that he’d soon have to leave here for good. He’d have to say goodbye to the friends he’d made and the town he’d come to love.

All the old resentments and pain he’d known every time this father had been reassigned and they’d had to move, came back to sit on his chest like a lead weight. He took a deep breath in an effort to dispel the feeling, but the heaviness remained.

“It’s your own fault,” he told himself. “You’re the one who let Asa corner you into taking part in his scheme. You should have stood up to him and told him to put his deal where the sun don’t shine.”

If he’d had the guts to stonewall Asa, Luc would still be losing everything he cherished, but at least he’d be leaving Carson with a clear conscience, his dignity intact and the knowledge that he did the right thing for the kids. And just maybe, he wouldn’t be losing Mandy.

He flopped down on the sofa. Mandy hated him for deceiving her, and he couldn’t blame her. She’d given him something he’d guessed she hadn’t given many people—her trust, and he’d betrayed it.

Even though his attempt to make Shannon see what she’d be taking on as a single mother had been sincere, Mandy saw it now as a false front to make her think he was on her side, a way to seal his deal with Asa Watkins. If he told her now that he’d decided long ago not to go along with Asa’s plan, she wouldn’t believe him. Either way it was a lose/lose situation.

Worst of all, she didn’t even believe his sincerity when he’d kissed her or when he’d listened to her story of her miserable childhood. Bottom line was he’d lost her trust and any chance of winning her love.

“You really screwed things up, Michaels.”

The ringing phone cut through his thoughts. Luc wasn’t in any mood to talk to anyone, so he let the answering machine pick it up.

“Michaels. Asa Watkins here. I hope your résumé is up to date and your bags are packed, because I have a feeling you’ll be on the unemployment line after next week’s school board meeting. Next Tuesday. Seven o’clock. School library. Be there.”

Click.

Seven days later, Luc sat in the front row of folding chairs in the library. He’d contemplated sitting in the back, but decided if he was about to be canned, he’d sit up front and face it with dignity, not hiding in the back of the room. Asa had held him under his thumb for the last time.

He glanced at the clock. Six fifty-five. Five more minutes, and he’d be on the road to unemployment. In the past week, he’d thought about his fate so much that his mind had gone numb, and any effort on his part to sort through his future failed. As his students were fond of saying when faced with what appeared to be a hopeless situation
 . . .
it is what it is.

The one good thing that would come out of this evening was that Mandy would most likely get the simulators into the Family Planning Class.

As he waited, the board table across the front of the room remained empty, while the rest of the seats in the library slowly began to fill. Normally a school board meeting was scantily attended, but tonight it appeared as though the entire town had turned out. As people filed past him, some smiled, others avoided eye contact. Laureene Talbot looked at him, then tilted her nose to the heavens in disdain, emitted a loud
huff
flavored heavily with disapproval and hurried to the opposite side of the room.

Evidently Graylin had told his wife the whole story of the test and the baby simulators. And she’ll probably tell the entire town tonight. Wonderful!

Luc tried very hard not to show his discomfort and greeted everyone who spoke to him as though nothing were any different than any other meeting of the Carson School Board. But it wasn’t easy. He wanted to stand up and tell them what a jerk they had running the board, but he didn’t.

Even more than that, he wanted to leave before Mandy came in. Having to face her disappointment in him again, and then get public confirmation of his deal with Asa, held about as much appeal as running naked across the town square in the middle of winter.

Then he felt it. That unmistakable tug at his heart whenever Mandy was near. Slowly, he turned to look toward the door. There she was. This time his heart tripled its beat, and the air seemed to leave his lungs.

Like a man dying of thirst, he drank in every inch of her. It had only been a few days since he’d last seen her, but it seemed like months. She was even lovelier than the image he’d stored away in his memory. Her auburn hair lay in soft waves over the shoulders of a hunter green sweater which hugged her breasts and her slim waist. The fluorescent lights caught in the strands of her hair, turning them to a fiery red. As he watched her, she glanced in his direction, disappointment still evident in her expression. But even faced with her disenchanted gaze, he couldn’t seem to tear his eyes away from her.

She walked to the row of chairs across the aisle from where Luc sat and took the very last seat on the far end beside Becky Hart and Granny Jo Hawks. Mandy sat all the way back in her chair, folded her hands in her lap and stared straight ahead. With her out of his line of vision, Luc sighed and turned his attention to the five people filing in behind the head table.

Bill Keeler, his flushed cheeks attesting to a side trip to Hannigan’s Bar, led the way. Reverend Thomas, looking solemn in his Sunday clergy clothes, was next in line. Catherine Daniels, serene and stately in her usual custom-tailored gray suit, preceded the board’s accountant, Charles Henderson, a short, balding man, who appeared so timid that he’d dissolve into a puddle of nerves if anyone said
boo
to him. Last, but not least, and making his grand entrance, strode a frowning Asa Watkins.

Not one of them met Luc’s gaze. He took a deep breath and straightened in his chair. If he’d hoped for a reprieve, that dream vanished instantly. From the collective expressions on the board’s faces, his goose had probably been cooked before the doors to the library had opened that night. Resigned to his fate, he leaned back and waited for the axe to fall.

“You okay?”

Granny Jo’s whisper roused Mandy from her contemplation of the man seated on the other side of the library. Though she couldn’t see him, every nerve in Mandy’s body thrummed with awareness of Luc’s presence.

“Fine.” Mandy smiled to reinforce her lie. She wasn’t fine at all. Her nerves felt like the tangled kudzu vines covering the trees on the roadside near the lake. Her hands were as cold as ice.

“I’m sure the board will okay buying the simulators.” Becky squeezed her hand reassuringly.

Mandy forced a smile. “I hope you’re right.” She was certain of Catherine’s endorsement, but she had no idea how the other board members would vote. At this point, it was a crap shoot.

Both Becky and Granny had insisted on accompanying her to the meeting for moral support. Though deeply appreciative of their kind gesture and concern, she’d tried to assure them that they didn’t have to, and that she would be fine. Neither would hear of her going alone to face what they had categorized by the three of them as “The Inquisition.”

Oddly enough, right now, Mandy’s thoughts centered less on the board buying the simulators for the school’s Family Planning classes, and more on wrestling with how she felt about Luc. She’d thought she was prepared to see him again, but when she’d looked into his worried face, her heart ached for him.

Knowing how much he treasured his home and the roots he’d put down in Carson, she knew if he had to leave because the school board terminated his job, it would be one of the hardest things he’d ever had to do. And, in a way, she felt partially responsible. After all, if she hadn’t tried to introduce the simulators into the school, and if she hadn’t gone along with Catherine’s proposal, none of this would have happened. She should have said no to Catherine and found another way to get the simulators incorporated into the curriculum that didn’t involve Luc.

Hindsight’s twenty-twenty
.

All the
would haves
and
could haves
her conscience might conjure up wouldn’t change a thing. Nor would wishing things were different between her and Luc.

She’d thought a lot about what Granny Jo had told her about men not telling the whole truth. Had that been the case with Luc? Had he been trying to protect her from Asa’s underhanded manipulations? Ever since she’d left Granny’s that day, Mandy had searched her memory for any sign she’d missed that Luc had been undermining her cause. But she could find none. In fact, everything he’d done seemed to support her.

He’d backed her up every time she’d had a confrontation with Shannon. He’d gone out of his way to make sure Alyce got the opportunity to go for her GED. He’d helped Mandy scour the countryside looking for Shannon the night she’d taken off. And worried as much as Mandy had about where the teen was and what she was doing.

Mandy sighed. But even if he hadn’t betrayed her or, if as Granny suggested, he’d lied to protect Mandy, there was still the issue that Luc didn’t want commitment, didn’t want marriage or kids, and Mandy would settle for no less. She would not live the kind of life her mother had, hopping from man to man and lying to herself that one of them loved her enough to stay and make a home. Early on Mandy had sworn that any relationship she got into had to be serious and permanent—forever. Since Luc didn’t believe in forever—

“Meeting will come to order.” Asa’s strident voice and the hollow sound of his gavel hitting the table interrupted her musings. After checking to see that any conversation had ceased, he glanced down at the papers in front of him. “Our first order of business is the new teacher for the tenth grade Geometry class.” He slid a paper from a manila folder. “I have a copy of her résumé here.”

He read the résumé aloud. The board discussed the pros and cons of hiring this woman and eventually decided to give her the job. The next order of business was approval of new text books for the English class. This entailed discussion of the merits of the author and reading the opinions expressed by the state on the book. After more than an hour of back and forth argument, the board decided against the book being used in the Carson schools.

Mandy fidgeted in her seat. How much longer would she have to sit here and wait? She had a feeling that Asa was intentionally putting off the question of buying the simulators until the last thing on his agenda. Biting her tongue to keep from saying something, she glanced over at Luc. His jaw was set in a straight line. Obviously he realized what Asa was doing as well and was no happier about it than she was.

The meeting droned on, stretching Mandy’s nerves to the breaking point.

Finally, Asa announced the next order of business. “The question before the board is whether or not to include those
 . . .
uh
 . . . .
”

“Baby simulators,” Catherine offered.

He cleared his throat as if the very thought of verbalizing the name of the artificial babies was distasteful to him. “Yes, those
things
into the Family Planning Class.” He turned to Catherine. “How did your experiment work out?”

“I’ll tell you how it worked out.” Laureene Talbot sprang to her feet as though she’d been sitting on a springboard just waiting for this to come up. Her shoulders were squared, her nose slightly elevated. “Shamelessly, that’s how. I cannot believe this board approved of two single people and a young, innocent, teenage girl living alone in an isolated house with no supervision.” She addressed her final remarks to the gathering and not the board. She turned back to the five people at the head table. “And you, Reverend Thomas, a man of God and a member of the board, allowing this to go on. I’m appalled.” She sniffed indignantly and turned to once more address the town’s people. “My husband caught them riding around with one of those . . . things in the trunk of the car screaming its lungs out. They’d lost track of the teenager they’d been put in charge of and were out looking for her. It leaves one to wonder exactly what they were doing when the girl ran off.”

Mandy cringed. She’d worried that this was going to happen, but she hadn’t come close to guessing how humiliated she’d feel if it did. Laureene made it sound like the board had been running a brothel, and she and Luc had engaged in orgies every night.

“They lived out there for almost two weeks. Two weeks! They—”

When she could stand it no longer, Mandy jumped to her feet. “It wasn’t like that.”

“Oh, really? Well, suppose you tell us just what it was like,
Miss James
?” Obviously thinking she’d cornered her prey, Laureene’s thin lips curled into a knowing smile.

“I’ll tell you what it was like,
Mrs. Talbot
.”

All eyes in the room turned to the other side of the library where Luc stood facing the older woman, hands on his hips and with protecting Mandy from the woman’s barbs paramount in his heart and mind.

“You tell that old busy body, Luc.” Granny Jo’s voice cut through the expectant silence, and from the corner of his eye he saw Catherine smile and nod.

“It was like a family. A real family. And none of the dirty little scenarios that have passed through your overly active imagination were part of it.” He walked to the center front and glared at Laureene. “It was teaching a young girl the financial, physical and personal hardships of a life as a single mother with a tiny baby to be responsible for.” He moved closer to the woman who had flopped back into her seat and cowed as if she’d like to hide beneath it. “Miss James did nothing to be ashamed of, nothing that she couldn’t stand before you and relate in full detail. Nothing.”

He turned back to the people sitting at the board table. Now that he’d gotten started, Luc was determined to clear the air once and for all.

“I, on the other hand, can’t say the same.” A
huff
of satisfaction came from the vicinity of Laureene’s chair. He ignored her. “I entered into an agreement with this man.” He pointed an accusing finger at Asa Watkins. A gasp went up from the gathering. “The understanding was that in exchange for sabotaging Miss James’ bid to introduce the baby simulators into the school, Asa would see to it that my contract with the Carson School District would be renewed. It’s not something I’m proud of. Until Miss James educated me about the kind of life a single mother had to endure, I had nothing on my mind but to stay in Carson, to keep the home I love in a community I love.” He took a deep, cleansing breath, the first he’d been able to take since that day in Asa’s office a few weeks ago. “Having seen the hardships firsthand, I can say that it seems to be a very effective way to curb teenage pregnancy. Therefore, I am recommending to the board that they take whatever they need from the athletic fund and buy the baby simulators and incorporate them into the school’s curriculum.”

Luc turned back to Asa and smiled.

Asa glared at him and mouthed,
You’re fired.

Luc’s smile widened. “I quit.”