Snowmen In Paradise (Book 2 Tj Jensen Paradise Lake Mysteries) (6 page)

“W
ipe those boots before you walk across my floor,” Hazel warned.

“Yes
, ma’am, I will.” Tj stomped all the snow from her shoes, then wiped them several times on the carpet just inside the door. “My dad said he has a package.”

Hazel slid a small box across the counter
. “Seems like this is the third seal your dad has ordered for that old pump of yours in as many months. Not that it’s any of my business, but it seems that it might be prudent to just buy a new pump.”

“You could be right
. I’ll mention it to Dad.” Hazel was famous for offering unsolicited advice with every serving of mail. Most folks in town shrugged off her suggestions without taking offense, but every now and then Hazel poked her nose in where it really didn’t belong and Mayor Wallaby had to smooth ruffled feathers on behalf of the town.

“I’m surprised Mike didn’t pick up the seal himself
. He mentioned he’d stop by and take me to lunch the last time I ran into him at Grainger’s,” Hazel said, referring to the general store.

“It’s been pretty hectic with the carnival just around the corner
. And the snow, while welcome, has added a whole other set of chores to his already heavy load. I’m sure he’ll be by after we get through the carnival crush.”

“Seems like the carnival is adding to everyone’s burden this year
.” Hazel adjusted the wire- framed glasses on her weathered face. “Guess you heard about our Chelsea.”

“Something happened to Chelsea?”

“That no-good ex of hers had the nerve to show up at book club and make a scene. I can’t repeat the exact words he used because I’m a lady and not prone to repeating such language. I can say, however, that our little Chelsea turned an unfortunate shade of red. The poor girl was beyond mortified. I swear, if she had a weapon, the boy would be sliced and toasted.”

“
He seems to have that effect on people.”

“In my day
, gentlemen had respect for the fairer sex. If they had a beef with someone they once dated, they kept it to themselves.”

“So what did Chelsea do
?” Tj knew that Chelsea Hanson was no damsel in distress. If Travis got in her face, you’d better bet that she’d be all up in his in return.

“She grabbed the rude
young man by the arm and walked him out of the door. I’m not sure what happened after that. Neither of them returned. Haley Jorgen offered to take Chelsea’s coat and purse to her once we finished our meeting.”

“Personally
, I think the addition of Travis to the mix adds an element of stress to an already busy event.” Tj liked to think she was above gossip, but the truth of the matter was, she was as apt to get pulled into a rant as the next woman. “I can’t imagine what Mayor Wallaby was thinking when he invited Travis to participate.”

“I’ve heard the scuttlebutt about the mayor’s involvement,” Hazel informed her
. “Harriet seems to think the mayor isn’t above accepting a payoff, and I have to say I’m inclined to agree. Why, just last week, Wallaby’s wife served him with official divorce papers, and for the past three months, most of his utility bills have been marked as delinquent. If you ask me, the man is in a financial pickle, and I’m betting it started long before Olivia moved in with her sister.”

“Yes, well
, I guess we’ll see.” Tj realized she was dangerously close to getting pulled into a conversation based on pure speculation. After chatting a bit longer, Tj continued to the mayor’s office on foot. She wasn’t looking forward to her chat with the man-child who had the community in such an uproar, but she’d promised Greg Remington she’d try to reason with the idiot, so reason with him she would.

“Hey, Harriet,” Tj greeted Mayor Wallaby’s secretary. “I’m here for my mayor-mandated meeting with the town snake.”

Harriet
laughed. “I’m afraid the golden boy hasn’t shown up yet. Wallaby is on the phone. Care for a cup of coffee?”

“I’d love one.”

Tj sat down on one of the straight-backed chairs lining the waiting area. The office was small, with a reception area, just one interior office, and a storage room. The walls, carpet, and curtains were brown, giving the place a dark and oppressive feel. Harriet complained about the decor on a weekly basis, but apparently, Mayor Wallaby liked brown and refused to make any changes.

“Quite a storm that blew in.”
Harriet poured herself a cup of coffee, then sat down next to Tj.

“Are you talking about the snow or the snowboarder?”

“Both, actually.” Harriet leaned in close. Everyone in town knew she was the second-biggest gossip in the county next to Helen. “The phones have been ringing all day with unhappy residents complaining about Mr. Davidson’s behavior. Murphy called to say that Travis started a fight in his bar resulting in several hundred dollars’ worth of damage, and Albert Pitman over at the Angel Mountain Inn complained that Travis had a steady parade of women coming and going all night, disturbing his other guests.”

“W
hy didn’t Murphy call the sheriff and Albert kick the bum out?”

Harriet looked toward the mayor’s closed door before she answered in a whisper
. “Everyone knows that Travis is here as the mayor’s special guest. Wallaby is a regular patron of Murphy’s bar, so Murphy wanted to give the man a chance to fix things without involving the sheriff, and Albert said the mayor was footing the bill for Travis’s stay and didn’t want to risk his refusing to pay if he kicked the guy out. I guess the mayor booked the Summit Suite, and the bill for Travis’s three-week stay promises to be quite a doozy. He figured the mayor could talk to Travis, maybe convince him to act like a civilized human being.”

“And did he
? Square things with Murphy and Albert, I mean?”

“Nope
. He simply explained that Travis’s appearance at the carnival was bringing national attention to the town and we had to expect to put up with an eccentricity or two from such a big name.”

Harriet stopped talking as the door separating the waiting area from the mayor’s private office opened
. “Tj, I’m sorry to keep you waiting.” Tj noticed that the mayor’s chubby face was an odd shade of red brought on, she imagined, by a high level of stress. “I’m afraid Travis won’t be meeting with us after all. Apparently, he’s been detained.”

“Fantastic.”
Tj stood up. She was more than happy to avoid a confrontation with the jerk. “I’ll be on my way.”

“Uh
. . .” The mayor looked at the floor. “Travis did have a few suggestions, which he asked me to pass on.”

“Suggestions?” 

Mayor Wallaby handed her a piece of notepaper. On the white page was a list of songs. “He would like your choir to sing songs from this playlist.”

“With all due respect,” Tj
said, looking the mayor directly in the eye, “there’s no way in hell I’m changing the playlist at this late date. If
Mr.
Davidson has a problem with that, he knows where to find me.”

“But Tj
. . .” Mayor Wallaby began. Tj glared at the pudgy man across the room. He actually broke out in a sweat, even though the temperature in the office couldn’t be more than sixty degrees. Travis might think he was pulling the mayor’s strings, but Tj could stare down a grizzly if she had to.

“No way in hell,” she
reiterated before stomping out of the office.

As soon as she’d made it down the sidewalk and to the street
, Tj realized she might just have committed career suicide. Greg
had
asked her to negotiate with Travis. It wasn’t her fault the toad hadn’t shown up to give her a body to negotiate
with
. Tj kicked a nearby tree, then picked up a clump of snow, formed it into a ball, and threw it at the mailbox outside the county offices. There had been a time when her temper had gotten the best of her, but more than twenty years of martial arts training had taught her to channel her anger toward harmless pursuits such as throwing snowballs and kicking helpless trees.

“You have something against that mailbox?”

“Dylan!” Tj cringed. “How long have you been standing there?”

“Long enough.”

“Sorry for the temper tantrum.” Tj couldn’t remember the last time she’d been quite this embarrassed. “I’ve been talking to the mayor.”

“
Aw.” He smiled, dissolving her anger. “That explains a lot. Have you had lunch?”

“No, not yet.”

“Care to join me?”

“I’d like nothing more.”

The pair walked down the snowy sidewalk hand in hand, neither speaking but each taking comfort from the other’s presence. It was difficult to really describe what they had. They frequently went places together, often held hands, and occasionally exchanged a kiss on the cheek, the type you might share with a close friend. Dylan’s wife had been brutally murdered less than a year ago, and he’d made it clear that while he welcomed having a friend, he wasn’t ready to move on to a romantic relationship. Tj’s life had been chaotic as well, and the last thing she needed was another complication. On the surface, their relationship seemed to perfectly match both of their needs, but deep down inside Tj knew that eventually she’d want something more.

“Pop
’s okay?” Dylan asked. “Tuesday special is pork ribs. I love pork ribs.”

Tj smiled
. “Me too. And the pork gravy . . .”

“Is to die for,” Dylan finished.

Dylan wouldn’t be considered a babe by most, but he was a nice-looking man with blond hair and piercing blue eyes. A large scar on his forehead gave him a rugged look and his broad shoulders and large arms indicated a man who spent more than a small amount of time at the gym. More often than not, Tj felt her heart beat just a tiny bit faster when he looked at her with his crooked grin. And the man was tall, well over six feet, creating quite a contrast with her five-foot-two frame.

“I
enjoyed the movie last night.” Dylan held Tj’s hand as they walked along Main Street.

“
Me too.”

“
That action flick I told you about is coming out on Saturday, if you want to go.”

“The r
ehearsal dinner for Maude and Millie’s wedding is on Saturday,” Tj reminded him.

“Oh
, yeah, I forgot.”

The pair walked
quietly as they struggled to find a topic of conversation. Tj had asked Dylan to attend the dinner with her, but he’d refused. He’d said he was busy, but Tj suspected that really translated to
uninterested
. At first she’d been hurt that he’d turned her down, but somewhere along the way she’d convinced herself that casual friends shouldn’t be obligated to attend boring functions with people one didn’t even know. When he’d asked about the movie, he’d as much as admitted he wasn’t
really
busy, and she was back to being hurt.

“I forgot to ask
if you found a dress for the wedding.” Dylan broke the silence.

“Helen found one.”

Tj looked at the ground as they walked. Uncomfortable silence was new territory for them, and she wasn’t sure they’d be able to deal with it.

“Is everything okay?”
Dylan asked.

“Yeah, fine.”

“You’re mad.”

Tj started to deny
his allegation, then hesitated. “I’m not mad; maybe hurt.”

“I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

Tj sighed. “I know. I’m just being a girl.”

“You are a girl.”

“Not usually. But in this case, it sort of hurt my feelings that you didn’t want to come to the rehearsal dinner with me.”

Dylan
stopped walking and looked her in the eye. “I’m sorry. I have a reason, a very specific reason, for not wanting to attend that I don’t care to discuss right now. I can assure you, however, that my aversion for the event has nothing to do with my desire to spend time with you.”

Tj looks at him suspiciously
.

“How about I come with you to the wedding on Sunday?”

“Really? You would do that?”

“For you
, I would.”

Tj grinned
. “You’ll need a suit.”

“I have a suit.”

“There will be dancing.”

“I love to dance.”

“Okay, it’s a date.”

“You’re actually going on a date?” Jenna questioned two hours later as Tj sat in the kitchen of the Antiquery, watching her best friend assemble the batter for one of her famous cheesecakes. “A real date, not one of those ‘not a dates’ the two of you have become famous for?”

“I guess.”
Actually, Tj wasn’t entirely certain. “I said ‘it’s a date,’ and he didn’t correct me. Of course, he could have assumed I meant what we’ve been doing for the past three months.”

“
Either way, it sounds like he’s making a real effort to please you, so I’d say you’re making progress,” Jenna pointed out. “Hand me those chocolate chips.”