“
Oh,”
she said with a good-humored scowl. “
That was Vera
’
s idea. She thought I had bad karma from using animal- tested makeup pro
ducts, and she was sure that my chakras would clear right up if I did something to help the animals.”
I laughed. “
Vera told you to set all Raimi
’
s cows free?”
Mags laughed, too. “
Not specifically, no. Afterward she said that wasn
’
t the kind of
‘
helping the
animals
’
she was talking about. I think she expected something along the lines of a donation to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, but those folks are just too crazy for me.”
I had a thought about pots and kettles, but I kept it to myself.
“
And how are your chakras?”
I asked.
“
Murky as ever.”
She giggled, then her smile faded a bit. “
Until I found this place. You know, darlin
’
, I think I
’
m really happy here. I was talking to one of the kindergarten teachers, and she asked me to apply to be a
teacher
’
s aide during the school year. Can you imagine?”
“
Yes,”
I said. “
I think you
’
d be great.”
She smiled. “
Thank you, baby.”
We swung lazily in the sun for another minute until I could gather up the courage to say what I had to say next.
“
Jack
’
s marrie
d.”
Mags
’
s swinging slowed to a stop. “
Really?”
“
He didn
’
t tell you? When you talked to him?”
Mags shook her head. “
No. We only spoke briefly. He said he
’
d be able to make a visit in September, and I hung up. I figured it could wait.”
She paused for a seco
nd, then asked, “
Is he happy?”
I nodded. “
I think so.”
She was quiet for a minute, then gave me a bright Mags smile. “
That
’
s good. I
’
m glad. Will you do something for me, darlin
’
?”
“
Sure,”
I said.
“
Will you tell him that I don
’
t need to talk to him after a
ll? That I just wanted to say I was sorry, and that was all it was?”
Her eyes were shiny. I smiled at her.
“
I think he
’
ll be glad to hear that,”
I said. I stood up and reached my hand out to Mags, pulling her up. She tucked her arm in mine and we walked ac
ross the playground. Right as we were about to enter the building, a man in a suit with graying hair and bright blue eyes rushed over to get the door for us.
“
Gary,”
Mags said, “
I want you to meet my daughter, Portia. Portia, this is Gary. He
’
s the school
superintendent.”
Gary reached over and gave me a firm handshake. “
Your mother is an incredible asset here. I don
’
t know what we
’
d do without her.”
“
Thank you,”
I said. “
I
’
m very proud.”
He smiled and held the door, shutting it gently behind us as we entere
d the building. Mags tucked her hand in my arm and pulled me to her for a conspiratorial whisper. “
I think that man would make an excellent Flyer, don
’
t you?”
I rolled my eyes. “
Mags, I don
’
t need
—”
Mags nudged me with her elbow. “
I wasn
’
t talking about yo
u, darlin
’.”
I looked behind me as the superintendent made his way down to the opposite end of the hall. He had a masterful walk, full of energy and presence. I turned back to Mags and winked at her. “
If it ever happens, I want a full report, immediately.”
She laughed. “
Why, of course, darlin
’
. I wouldn
’
t have it any other way.”
Chapter Thirteen
I barely had my hand off the buzzer when Ian answered the door. I raised the chilled bottle of chardonnay in my other hand.
“
Shall we try this again?”
He smiled and stepped aside. “
By all means.”
He walked ahead of me into the kitchen, grabbed the corkscrew, and got to business.
“
Your timing
’
s perfect. I have something I want to show you.”
I smiled, trying to quell the nerves in my stomach. I
’
d come on a
mission and was determined that nothing would stop me. Penis Teflon was nothing mysterious; it was just everyday fear masquerading as something bigger. It had caused Mags to lose Jack, and Vera to lose Bridge. On the drive back home after seeing Mags, I
d
ecided that if I lost Ian, it wasn
’
t going to be because of fear.
Not mine, anyway.
Ian gave me a glass, then grabbed my hand and led me out the front door. We walked quietly toward the barn, but even in the darkening shadows as the sun set behind the clou
ds, I could see the brightness of the red. The entire exterior had been painted.
“
Ian,”
I said. “
Oh, my god, how did you...?”
“
Bridge and some people from his construction company volunteered to paint,”
he said. “
But wait...there
’
s more.”
He pulled the doo
r open and I stepped inside.
It was done. The entire east wall had fresh, golden supports. The scaffolding was gone, and everything had been cleared out.
“
We didn
’
t have time to rebuild the stalls,”
he said, “
but if Trudy ever decides to sell it, the new o
wners can do what they like with it. The frame should last a good while, at least.”
“
It
’
s very kind of you,”
I said. “
I think Trudy would be really pleased. I hope she gets to see it.”
He shrugged and smiled. “
Thank you for all your help.”
“
I didn
’
t do any
thing.”
I took a sip of my wine and smiled up at him. “
You
’
re quite the secret benefactor, aren
’
t you?”
His eyebrows knit together for a second and he lifted his glass to his lips. “
I
’
m not sure what you mean.”
It wasn
’
t what I had come to talk about, but
it had been on my mind all the same, and as long as the topic had been raised...”
How much did you pay Carl Raimi to drop the charges against Mags?”
Ian stopped in mid-sip. “
Who told you that?”
“
No one,”
I said, watching Ian for a reaction. “
Carl Raimi is t
he biggest asshole in Catoosa County. He hasn
’
t asked us for a dime of reimbursement, and there
’
s no way he
’
d drop the charges just out of the goodness of his heart.”
Ian was silent for a minute, then shrugged. “
It wasn
’
t much.”
I watched him in silence un
til he shifted uncomfortably on his feet.
“
Does it matter?”
he asked. “
It wasn
’
t much, really, and it
’
s over with. Can
’
t we just forget it?”
“
We
’
ll have to pay you back,”
I said, feeling barbs of good ol
’
Southern pride start to kick in now that my suspici
ons had been confirmed.
“
That
’
s ridiculous. You
’
re a grad student. Your family owns an independent bookstore. I
’
m quite well off. I have no children, no wife...”
He paused for a moment. “
It
’
s my money and this is how I
’
ve chosen to spend some of it. I wish
you would just forget about it.”
“
How much did you pay him?”
I asked.
He shook his head. “
I
’
m not going to tell you that.”
“
You might as well. One bottle of scotch and Raimi
’
ll be bragging about how much he took you for all over town.”
“
You
’
ll just have to ply him with liquor and ask him, then, won
’
t you?”
He took another sip, exhaled a long breath, and ran one hand through his hair. “
Look, let
’
s not argue. If you really must pay me back, although I hope you
’
ll give me the opportunity to tal
k
you out of it, we can work out those details later. Please. Don
’
t be angry.”
He put his hand on my shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze. It was then that I sensed something was different. There was a hint of urgency in his manner that hadn
’
t been there befo
re. It made me nervous.
Well,
more
nervous.
“
Okay,”
I said, smiling. “
We
’
ll talk about it later.”
“
Thank you.”
He let his hand trail down my arm and took another drink. “
Tell me about your trip to Tuscaloosa.”
“
How did you know about that?”
“
I stopped by t
he Page last night. Vera told me.”
“
Oh,”
I said. He never went by the Page. Something was definitely up. “
It was good. Jack
’
s a nice guy. I
’
m going to see him at Thanksgiving.”
“
Really?”
He grabbed my hand then and gave it a squeeze. “
That
’
s wonderful. I
’
m
so happy for you.”
“
Did Vera tell you that Peter went with me?”
Ian
’
s face tightened. “
No, actually. How did that go?”
“
It was good. He was really great. Very kind. Very sweet.”
Ian gave a brief nod. “
Good. Glad to hear it.”
I took a deep breath, prepared
myself for takeoff. “
He plans on staying here. He wants me to stay with him.”
Ian landed icy eyes on me. “
You
’
re not going to, are you?”
“
Can you give me any reason why I shouldn
’
t?”
He huffed. “
I believe I
’
ve already given you quite a few.”
“
No,”
I said,
taking a deep breath and forcing myself to push through, “
can you give me a reason not to be with Peter?”
I felt like all the air in the bam whooshed out while he stared at me. After a long moment, he looked away.
“
I
’
m not sure I know what you
’
re asking m
e.”
“
I think you do.”
“
I
’
ve finished my book.”
The words came out in a rush, almost bulldozing mine. Still not meeting my eye, he drained the last of his wine. “
My plane leaves on Saturday night.”