Pages of the Past (Bellingwood Book 9) (18 page)

Polly looked up quizzically. "You're sure you want to get this involved in her life? It's pretty messed up, you know."

Jeff gave Polly a look she could only describe as cross-eyed. "This?" he asked. "Coming from you?"

"Hey. Everyone is always trying to force me to look at things reasonably, I thought it was only fair that I do the same to you. But really, are you sure about this? You don't even know her all that well."

"I know her well enough. She needs a friend."

Polly slowly nodded. "First of all. Of course you can have the time. Let's get that out of the way. I wish you didn't even feel like you needed to ask my permission. You know better than anyone what goes on here and what needs to be done. Let's just say that you shouldn't ask me, you should just give me plenty of notice."

"Thanks. We can talk about that another day."

She scowled at him. "I was afraid it wouldn't be that easy."

"Anyway, we're going to leave early Sunday morning. We should get into my parent's place that evening. Once she tells the prosecutor that she's coming, they'll set a meeting for Monday. If everything goes as planned, we'll come home on Wednesday or Thursday."

"That sounds like a whirlwind trip. You don't want more time?"

"She doesn't want to be there much longer than that. But I'm going to make sure that if there's anything she wants out of that house, anything at all - we can get it taken care of."

"Do whatever you need to do. I'm grateful you stepped into the middle of this, though. You're probably the only person that Stephanie feels safe with."

He grinned at her. "See, there are some advantages to hiring a gay man."

Polly scowled at him. "Let's just say there are advantages to hiring you. However, with what her father did to her, it's going to take time before she really trusts men at all. And she'll never understand why her mother didn't protect her, especially when she finally got it together to protect Kayla. There isn't anyone here that she'll feel completely safe with. "

He opened his mouth to speak and Polly started to laugh. "What?" he asked.

"I figured you were going to give me trouble because I accused you of being trustworthy when she doesn't trust men."

"It might have occurred to me, but I get it. I'm no threat to her in any sexual manner at all."

"Yes. That. Thanks for bailing me out there."

"This is why I love you, Polly Giller."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"You don't worry too much about labels or anything. You just say what's on your mind."

Now she was worried that she'd said something wrong without realizing it. "Was I offensive?"

"Not at all. In fact, the farthest thing from it. But most people won't just be up front with me about what's right in front of them. They hem and haw, avoiding the obvious."

"You mean the gay elephant in my office?" Polly laughed out loud, then said, "That would mean I had a problem with it or was embarrassed by it. Why should I be? You're just you."

Jeff squeezed his side and said, "I'm not so sure I like being called a gay elephant."

"Come on," she protested.

"You're so easy. I get it and I'm just giving you trouble."

"Exactly." He stood to leave. "Since Sarah is feeling better, she's available to answer phones."

"I can take care of it for a few days and it isn't like I can't reach you immediately if I have a question."

Jeff opened the door. "We're on, Stephanie. It's a road trip."

She came to Polly's door. "Thank you. I can't believe that this is how I'm starting my employment with you."

"What about Kayla? Is she going with you?"

Stephanie looked up at Jeff. "Well..." she started.

"I forgot to ask that," he said. "Would you consider letting her stay with Rebecca?"

Polly nodded. "I'm glad to have her stay with us, it's just that the last time she woke up with a nightmare and the only way to deal with it was to have you pick her up. This is a long separation for the two of you."

"I don't want her to have to go through everything. She wasn't involved." Stephanie shuddered violently. "Dad didn't have time to get to her."

"Rebecca would love to have her stay with us. Tell me what I can do to make it easier on her."

"I'll talk to her this week. Help her understand that it's going to be okay. Maybe I can bring a present back for her," Stephanie looked up at Jeff again.

He shrugged. "Sure. There are wonderful places to go shopping out there. Have you heard of Easton Town Center? It's huge. We could lose ourselves there for weeks. And you know me, I love to shop."

"Please don't get lost for weeks," Polly said. "I couldn't take it."

Stephanie smiled. "I can't afford that. Don't worry, I'll make sure that she will be okay with it. She has to be."

"We'll do our best," Polly said. "Jeff, can you stay here a minute? I have a couple more questions."

He gave Stephanie a smile, then shut the door again. "What?"

"Does she have a cell phone? Make sure that's taken care of before you leave. Kayla should have a way to reach her sister while she's traveling."

"Okay. Good idea."

"And the next thing. You're not going to like this, but Stephanie is crushing on you. I can see it in her eyes when she looks at you."

"I know," he breathed. "It's not the first time a messed-up straight girl has thought I'd be perfect for her future. Don't worry. I've dealt with this before. She'll be okay. And besides, I'm her boss. We'll make sure the boundaries are well-defined."

"Good."

"I'm rescuing her. It's the right thing to do, but until she gets some balance in her life, she's not going to know what's up and what's down."

Polly glanced at her computer, then asked, "Why aren't you flying out?"

"She doesn't have that kind of money and won't let me give it to her."

"Talk to the prosecutor. If they ask her to come out to give testimony, there's probably a stipend. It would make your trip go faster and you two would have less travel time."

"Thanks. That's a good idea." He winked at Polly. "You're a smart woman."

"Sometimes. Get out of here so she doesn't think I'm yelling at you for something."

"Got it." Jeff opened the door and said so Stephanie could hear him, "Man, if you want to beat me, at least use a pillow, woman."

Polly looked at him in shock and he chuckled. "Just kidding."

She flung an eraser at him, he ducked and it landed on the floor of the main office.

"That was pitiful," he said.

"You're useless."

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

"Look at this," Jeff said as he walked into Polly's office carrying his tablet. "You won't believe what I found."

"A baby camel swimming in the Des Moines River," she said.

He'd been so focused on what was on the tablet, he didn't realize what she said. She watched his face turn to incredulity and then he rolled his eyes at her.

"No?" she asked.

"You're a strange woman. Anyway, there's a bakery in eastern Iowa that's gone out of business. They just closed the doors. No auction, no nothing.

Polly perked up. "Ovens?"             

"Yep. Everything we need. They even have display cases and bread racks. I thought Sylvie and I could take a road trip tomorrow since Wednesday is her slow day. Rachel can take care of the groups that will be in here and I'm ready for Saturday night. Stephanie will answer the phone and forward anything important to me. We'll be gone nearly all day."

"I keep telling you that you don't need to justify things to me," Polly said. "Now, how exactly did you find out about this?"

He laughed and preened. "It's all about who you know."

"I get it," she said. "You know everyone, but seriously. How did you find it?"

"My next door neighbor in Ames. It belonged to her parents. When her mother died, her dad just closed the doors and never went back inside. He ran the kitchen, but she ran the show."

"And you just happened to mention to her that we were thinking of putting a bakery in here at Bellingwood."

"We had dinner," he said. "We talk about a lot of things. Anyway, she called her dad today. If we're interested, all we have to do is make him a reasonable offer and haul the stuff away."

"Unbelievable. I don't know how you do it."

"I just pay attention."

"We aren't going to be ready for a while, you know," she said

Jeff brushed Polly's concerns aside. "If necessary, we can rent storage."

"And Sylvie's good with this?"

"She loves the idea of having a working bakery to start from," he said. "We can talk about adding other appliances once she gets everything installed."

Polly smiled. "You are amazing."

"I keep telling you - I need a raise."

"How about I double the raise I gave you last week?"

He just shook his head at her and grinned.

"Let me know what happens," she said. "I know you've got this."

"Thanks. I'll call you tomorrow." Jeff looked out the window behind Polly and said, "Who's that with Lydia?"

She spun in her chair. "Hmm, must be Helen, Aaron's sister."

"Aaron Merritt has a sister?"

"She's in town from Atlanta. Do me a favor. Don't say too much about this yet."

"Because that woman can hide?"

"I'll tell you all about it later. Just keep it quiet for now."

"You owe me, Polly Giller."

"More than I'll ever be able to repay you. Thanks."

Jeff was out of the door and back in his office before Lydia and Helen made it to the front door of the building. They came inside and Lydia waved at Polly through her office window, then breezed past Stephanie and into Polly's office, closing the door.

Polly stood and put out her hand. "Hi. I'm Polly Giller."

"This is my sister-in-law, Helen Oswald," Lydia said.

The woman took Polly's hand into her firm grip and gave it a quick shake. "Nice to meet you, Miss Giller."

"Please, it's Polly. Have a seat." Polly gestured to the chairs in front of her desk. "Are you staying with us tonight?"

"If it's not too much trouble."

"We're glad to have you. Honestly, I'm just thankful you're here."

"Lydia has told me a little of what she's been going through." Helen turned to her sister-in-law. "I wish you'd said somethin' earlier. We might could've fixed y'all up before things got to this point."

Might-could? Oh Polly was going to like this woman. She was exactly as Lydia had described her. Grey-black hair pulled back in a severe bun, horn-rimmed glasses, built like a Mac truck. Polly had no problem imagining the woman in grey shorts and a shirt, running a girl's dormitory in the middle of Russia, commanding respect and quick obedience with every snap of the finger. But when she smiled and even when she spoke, her soft southern accent and twinkling eyes gave away the soft heart she carried within. She was dressed in blue jeans, tennis shoes and an oversized plaid shirt, and had taken a blue woolen pea coat off when she entered the building.

"Does Aaron know you're in town?" Polly asked.

"Not yet. Lord a-mercy, don't you want to be in the room when he sees me?" The woman started to laugh. It came from deep in her belly, low and resonant.

"I don't know. That scares me."

"That little boy has you intimidated, does he? My goodness, the stories I could tell."

This would be the only time that Polly would hear someone refer to Aaron Merritt as a little boy and it warmed her heart. It wasn't often that she wished she'd had siblings, but every once in a while, when she saw sisters and brothers tease each other and then support each other, it made her wistful.

"So, Miss Giller," Helen started.

"Polly?" Polly pleaded.

"We'll work on that."

Polly wasn't sure whether Helen meant that she would work on calling her by her first name or that she would change Polly's insistence on being so informal.

"All of this is yours?"

Polly nodded. "We've worked hard to bring it all together. Things dropped into my lap when they were most needed."

"Lydia tells me you have horses?"

"Those are part of the story of this place," Polly said. "I knew I wanted a horse, so we came up with a crazy idea to have a barn-raising. Before it was finished, there were four Percherons that needed a new place to live. When I realized I was in over my head, a man showed up who became our groundskeeper. He knows more about horses and animals than I will ever be able to learn."

Helen was nodding as she looked around. "Pretty nice woodworking. Someone fall into your lap there too?"

"That's her husband," Lydia said.

"But he was my contractor first. He did the renovation of Sycamore House. He's pretty amazing."

"How'd'ja find yourself a single man with talent like that in a small town in Iowa?"

"Like I said, things worked out."

"You must have a fairy godmother."

"Polly makes her own wishes come true," Lydia said. "She's been a godsend to Bellingwood. There isn't much that frightens her and she'll dig right in and work until things are done."

"Will y'all show me around? I'd like to see the rest of this place."

"I'd love to. Let's get a key to your room and I can take you up there," Polly said. "If you want to rest or unpack, we can explore at your leisure."

"Don't need leisure. God above gave me time on earth to get things done. I'm not about to go wastin' it on leisure. I don't know when he'll see fit to take me home." She glanced over Polly's shoulder. "You have children here?"

Polly turned and looked out to see Rebecca, Kayla and Andrew running across the parking lot to the front door.

"Their families work here during the day, so the kids hang out upstairs in my apartment."

"I'd like to meet 'em." Helen walked out of the office.

Polly jumped up and followed, only to discover that Helen had stopped the kids before they could run up the steps.

Helen sat down on the fourth step and looked up at Andrew with rapt attention. Polly got closer to hear him telling her about dinosaurs. Before she knew it, Rebecca was digging into her backpack and pulled out a notebook, handing it over to Helen.

"She's kind of a force," Polly said quietly to Lydia.

"She is that, but look at her. This is where she really lights up. Kids get her. More than anyone else, they love to talk to her."

"What do you want to do this evening?" Polly asked.

"What do you mean?"

"For dinner. Do you want to deal with her and Aaron tonight?"

"I'm going to have to sometime," Lydia said with a sigh.

"What if she spends the evening here," Polly offered. "I'd love to invite her up for dinner. I can show her Sycamore House... maybe take her on a driving tour of Bellingwood."

"It's been a long time since she was last in town. I don't think my youngest was even born then."

"You do whatever you want, but if you aren't ready to have the Aaron and Helen confrontation, I wouldn't mind getting to know her. How long will she be in town?"

"She's leaving on Sunday. I asked her to stay for Valentine's Day." Lydia turned a very sad face to Polly.  "I hate to admit it, but I'm being a complete chicken about this. I don't want to have to face Aaron if he tries to avoid telling me I'm his Valentine."

Polly nudged her friend with a shoulder. "Here's hoping things are straightened out before then."

"What are they doing?" Lydia asked, watching Helen head up the steps.

"Apparently, the kids are taking her to the apartment. Is she okay with dogs and cats?"

"She's had both at one time or other. Should we help?"

Polly took Lydia's arm. "Nah. Let's leave them to it. I think we should bother Sylvie. Jeff tells me they're taking a road trip tomorrow to look at items for a bakery."

"You're going ahead with it?"

"Unless Sylvie tells me no, I think we have to. Have you tried to get into Joe's lately for breakfast?"

"No. But I hear he's busy."

They stopped in front of the counter and waited for Sylvie to turn.

"Hello there," she said. "What's up?"

"Do you have any of the good coffee?" Polly asked. "And maybe something sweet?"

"Come on in. The coffee is hot and we always have sweet things."

Lydia and Polly passed through on their way to the large table in the back. Rachel brought a thermos and two mugs over.

"Thanks dear," Lydia said, reaching to pour the coffee.

"How are things with your boy?" Polly asked.

Rachel shook her head and dropped into a chair beside Polly. "He drives me nuts. He was busy all last weekend. Said he had things to do. He wasn't even in town for most of it. He and Doug were in Des Moines all day on Saturday."

"Weren't you working?"

"Yeah, but I always go upstairs when I take a break. This time I had to walk his stupid dog instead."

"I'm so sorry," Polly said, with a laugh. "What do you think he was up to?"

"I don't know. Probably some stupid game store. I told him that it was okay if he played more games with Doug. I just wanted some of his time. He probably took me up on it. Men are idiots."

"Yes they are, dear," Lydia agreed. "And they don't get any better when they get older. So you need to figure out if you can live with this or not. What you have in front of you is what you will have for the rest of your life if you decide to keep him."

"You and the Sheriff are good, right?" Rachel asked.

"Most of the time. It's not always easy, though. There are plenty of times I'd like to boot his butt to the curb."

Rachel's eyes grew big and she gave a pained chuckle. "Really?"

"Really. But we get through those times and even though they're tough and make me angry, the good guy I married shows back up and things are normal again. Do you love this boy?"

"I really do," Rachel said.

"Can you put up with the odd things he does? The games, the animals, his music, his friends?"

"I already do."

"And you aren't trying to change those things?"

Rachel gave Polly a guilty look. "I might be."

"I wish I could tell young men and women that changing the person they fell in love with does exactly that. They're no longer the person they fell in love with."

"But..." Rachel began.

"Honey, take it from me. After thirty years of marriage, you force them to change at your own risk. They'll either do it and resent you or they'll do it and become someone you don't recognize."