IN FOR A PENNY (The Granny Series) (6 page)

“She can’t do that!” Maggie
’s mouth tightened. “Can she?”

“I don’t know. Regardless, those limbs over the veranda need to
be trimmed for starters, and that woman will be here with her committee the first week of August. It doesn’t give me much time.”

“Don’t get all in a panic. It’s not even July.
We’ve got time. Wait a minute…did you just say we’re going to trim limbs?” Maggie’s eyes went wide and sparkly.

“Not exactly, but it’ll get done.” Lillian gave her a wink even though she didn’t feel
all that playful today. “I’ve got a plan. This ladder is part of it.”

Maggie shook her head. “Wish you’d discuss this stuff with me first. Some things
are just not meant to be do-it-yourself jobs, as much as I hate to admit it. These fiberglass ladders don’t come cheap, and you’ll never use it again. I’m not sure those limbs are your biggest problem. I think I need to figure out a holistic plan for you to keep up this place.”

“Well, clue me in when you do, because if this place isn’t in order before Angelina prances in with her committee, no telling what will happen. She’s been dying to weasel her new money in and push the
Summer name out, and August is not that far away.” Lillian swallowed to keep the tears from coming. If it wasn’t one thing, it was another.
Maggie, I know you think I’m going crazy.
You’re always so capable, so sturdy. So there. So always wonderfully there.
“Have I told you lately how much you mean to me?”

Maggie’s mouth dropped open wide enough to catch a swarm of flies. Her eyebrows went MIA under her dark brown curly bangs and her eyes had that popping-out-on-springs look to them.

“Where in the world did that come from?” Maggie rushed over, slapped a palm across Lillian’s forehead. “Oh, hon, do you have the fever? Are you feeling okay? Maybe you should lie down.”

Lillian pushed Maggie’s hands away. “I’m fine. I just don’t tell you often enough how much I appreciate your friendship and how happy—” relieved, “—I am you came to live at Summer Haven.”

“I know you do.” Maggie squeezed her hand once and marched to the car. “Come on. Let’s get this puppy out of here.”

They both headed for the end of the ladder, but at the end, neither of them was tall enough
to reach the darned thing.

Maggie worked her way to the middle of the ladder and then pushed it up and stepped back to release its hold on the inside of the trunk.
The ladder teeter-tottered hip level. “Now, that’s better, only we don’t want to scratch the car.”

Lillian opened the driver’s door and pulled out the carpet mat. “Here. Put this under it.”

“Perfect,” Maggie said. Then she and Lillian walked out to the far end of the ladder, placed their hands on the top rung. “On three. One. Two. Three.”

They both heaved backward and the ladder fell to the ground. Together they dragged it off to the side of the driveway.

“Help me get it over to the porch,” Lillian said with a tug.

Maggie took hold of her side again and dragged it the last few feet, then slowly walked it up to lean against the veranda roof.

“Lil, you’ve got a little more oomph than I expected out of that teensy frame of yours.”

“Together we can do just about anything, Maggie.”

“I think you’re right. You never cease to amaze me.”

Lillian smiled at her friend.
Honey, you ain’t seen nothing yet.

Chapter Six

Bartell County Sheriff Teague Castro pulled to the side of the road in front of Summer Haven’s infamous fountain. Everyone treated the colorfully tiled landmark as if it belonged to the town even though it was part of the
Summer family estate. First time he’d laid eyes on it, he thought it was the tackiest thing he’d ever seen, but it had grown on him over time. Now, if it would only return the favor by granting him a wish.

Teague dug the spare change from his uniform pocket.
Two nickels, three quarters, a dime and six pennies. He got out of the car and circled the fountain flipping the coins one by one into the mosaic designs decorating it.

Local lore claimed each design carried different luck. Folks said the original Mrs. Summer was a crazy old bird. She’d tiled the mosaic patterns in the fountain while her husband was away. Apparently, he’d been as angry as a bear woken too early from hibernation when he saw the psychedelic mess she called art. One of the scenes, on the back side facing Summer Haven, was so sexy that there’d been talk of having it removed. Rumor was Mrs. Summer tiled that one especially for her lover, the one she’d fancied while her husband was away on business. The whole town knew, but no one ever spoke about it above a whisper.

Teague eyed the sexy scene, lined up his coin and aimed for the center. Maybe it would bring a lover into his life.

Couldn’t hurt to try.

He flipped the twelfth coin right smack dab in the middle of the image of the naked couple. Twelve coins. One wish. The thing—or rather someone—he always wished for. As much cash as he’d tossed into this thing over the past couple of years, he could have bought a damned mail-order bride or maybe two.

He climbed back into his patrol car and shot a quick glance back at the flourish of water soaring into the air.

If nothing else, he was supplementing Lillian’s retirement. Yeah, like she needed his piddly change.

He might not have known the other
Summer family members, but the Summer legacy was legend around these parts, and Miss Lillian was like the queen of the town.

In the three years since he’d settled here in Summer Shoals he’d grown to respect Lillian Fairview. He loved the town her family had built and the people who made it unique. Small town, little crime and happy hour on Summer Haven’s veranda were all just
perks of the job.

He eased his car down the long loop of the driveway that led back to Summer Haven. When
Lillian had moved her friend Maggie in with her, he’d been relieved. Those two seemed to be able to handle just about anything together, and Miss Maggie brewed up one heckuva a batch of
special
tea. It was why he usually saved this visit for the end of his shift. That stuff was more potent than some of the white lightning he’d taken in as contraband.

Just as he rounded the gazebo near the house he spotted Lillian and Maggie up on the roof.

What the hell were they up to?

The tires squealed on the vast expanse of concrete as he stomped on the brakes on what passed
for one fancy driveway in comparison to the town’s pitted roads.

Both women whipped around at the noise and Teague felt everything kick into slow-motion as he watched Lillian lose her footing on the shingles.

Christ Jesus.

He hauled butt out of the car toward the big old white house and made it just as Lillian tumbled ass over teacup down the side of the veranda.

She plopped into his arms with her feet sticking straight up in the air. She didn’t weigh much more than his favorite shotgun.

“Oomph.”
That was the most unladylike thing he’d ever heard come from Lillian’s mouth.

“Teague, were we expecting you?” she asked in a breathy tone.

He swallowed back the words he wanted to yell because they all consisted of four letters. “Well, seeing as I stop by once a week, I doubt it was a
complete
surprise.”

“Would you mind terribly putting me down?”

He tipped her upright and eased her to her dainty feet. “You’re bleeding,” he said.

She limped over to one of the chairs.
“Where?” She checked herself over. “Goodness. That’s nothing,” she said, wiping the blood from her forearm. “Barely a scratch.”

Teague could already see the bluing of a big bruise coming up on her arm too. “Are you sure you didn’t break anything?” As thin as she was, he’d probably cracked half a dozen of her ribs just catching her. “Maybe we should take you to the hospital and get you checked out.”

She waved a hand. “Just got the breath knocked out of me.”

“What do you think you—” Realization blindsided Teague like a hit-and-run driver. Oh, shit. Maggie was still on the roof. “Don’t you move, Miss Lillian.”

Teague ran back into the yard just in time to watch Maggie descend a ladder no woman their age—hell, no woman of any age—should be climbing. He let out a sigh of relief.

Maggie hopped off the last rung and dusted her hands across the rear of her serviceable khaki pants.
“Teague, how nice to see you.”

It cost him, but Teague stretched a smile across his face. He’d just thought these were sweet old ladies. Now it was clear they were menaces
disguised
as sweet old ladies. “Miss Maggie, what do y’all think you’re doing up there?”

“That was some show, wasn’t it?” Maggie laughed and stepped toward the porch. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen Lillian do something quite so lacking in elegance. Did you know she was crowned Homecoming Queen at William & Mary? My, that girl had the parade wave down. Never even missed a beat when the arch of flowers we’d glued against the backdrop toppled right over beside her. Nope, she just kept smiling and waving.”

It was easy to tell Lillian had been a looker and a half back in the day, but Teague wasn’t about to let Maggie pull him off topic with the little trip down memory lane.

Maggie settled on the bench alongside Lillian and checked the scratch on her arm. She ripped off a piece of duct tape from the holster on her belt and slapped it over the cut. “It’ll be fine.”

Teague unclenched his back teeth enough to say, “Mind telling me why you ladies were on the roof in the first place?”

“Tree trimming.”
Lillian’s smile was as cordial and smooth as if she’d been talking about a damned Christmas tree.

Teague eyed the pin oak closest to the veranda. It was a monster, probably a good century old and close to seventy feet tall.

Maggie chimed in, “Some of the branches have been rubbing the roof, and you know that’s not good for the shingles.”

Yeah, kind of like walking around fourteen feet off the ground wasn’t good for old ladies. “What were you going to do? Shimmy to the top of it?”

“Lord no, Teague. We’re not crazy.”

Could have fooled him.

“We were just going to trim the ones hitting the roof,” Maggie said. “We have a chain saw. We were just having a little trouble getting it started.”

His insides froze at the thought of the two of them wielding a tool that size. They could cut off their fool legs.

Good thing he was finished with his official shift for the day because it appeared he’d be doing some landscaping this afternoon.

Shaking his head, he rolled back his sleeves then leveled his gaze at Maggie. “If you don’t have a batch of that special tea, I suggest you get to working on it, because when I’m done with this little project I’m going to need it.”

He caught a movement from the corner of his eye. Had Lillian just winked at Maggie?

Maggie rushed inside before he could figure out for sure.

Teague went to his car and popped open the trunk. It wouldn’t be the first time a woman had tricked him into a few odd jobs. He stripped off his shirt, unbuckled his belt and dropped his gun, holster and the whole shebang into the trunk. He switched out his uniform hat for a ball cap then locked up the car.

He climbed the ladder to the veranda roof and took a quick walk around the area under the tree.

Damn, not only were the limbs overgrown, but a few of the shingles were loose. One job at a time. Tree trimming today. Roof repair later. He started the chainsaw with one quick tug, and swept through the wayward limbs like Edward Scissorhands.

Lillian could barely contain her smile at how easy the tree trimming had suddenly become. That task had worried her most of all the ones left.

Maggie returned with the tray of her special tea out to the front porch. She handed a glass to Lillian then set an extra glass of ice on the table for Teague.

“Cheers.” Lillian held up her glass and clinked it against Maggie’s.

Maggie took a sip and then tapped Lillian’s arm. “Why are you grinning like a possum? That little spill you took was not part of the plan. You are okay, right?”

Lillian giggled. “I know. I didn’t do it on purpose. I could have broken my neck. Thank goodness he’s a good catcher. I didn’t have time to tuck and roll.”

“Well, I’m glad we can mark tree trimming off the chore list.”

Her too. Now if she could just sell a few more pieces of furniture before her time was up, she could get her ring back and pay the hardware store for that high dollar ladder.

“You are wicked sneaky sometimes, Lil.”

If you think that now, wait until you get the whole story.
Lillian rocked back in her chair and gestured to the roof of the veranda. “Sounds like he’s making short business out of it up there too.”

A few minutes later Teague descended from the roof with the chainsaw dangling from one hand.

Maggie leaped from her chair and poured him a glass of tea. By the time he took the last step, she was at his side with it. “Here you go.”

“Thanks.” Teague swept the sweat from his brow and gulped half the glass down. He lifted the chainsaw. “Where do you want me to stow this?”

“Just put it in the wheelbarrow there. I’ll take it back to the workshop later,” Maggie said.

“I got the ones that were scraping the roof here and one that looked like it might slap against the upstairs bedroom in a good wind, but you need a professional to come out and take care of this before you end up with real damage. You girls need to promise me you won’t try this kind of thing on your own again.”

“Can’t do that.” Lillian placed her empty glass on the small wicker table. “I have a responsibility to keep this place up. I will promise to be careful though.”

“Well, I’m no tree expert, but the thin bark on that pin oak has taken on some damage and I think that’s going to cause some long-term trouble for you down the road.”

“What kind of trouble?” she asked.

His face grew serious. “The next big storm that comes through could take it down. Could wreck the house, or even hurt someone. It’s not something to ignore.”

“I can’t let that happen.” Lillian wrung her hands. Just when she thought she was getting ahead, something else swept her off balance. A tree in the middle of the house sure as heck wouldn’t pass muster with that committee review, especially with Angelina running the darn thing. That woman had been looking for a way to ruin Lillian’s standing in the community for years.

“I’m sure it’s hard to take care of an estate this size by
yourself.” He propped one foot up on the rail and guzzled his drink.

Lillian nodded. “It’s always been my home. It’s my duty.”

Teague set his glass on the porch rail and tipped his hat back. “You know, you could probably hire a live-in handyman in exchange for room and board. I’ve heard of folks doing that. Doesn’t cost you a dime, and this place is sure big enough that it’s not like he’d be underfoot.”

Maggie looked put out. “I’m quite handy, you know.”

“Yes, of course,” Teague agreed. “It’s good you’re here to help with some of it now. I was just thinking some more hands might make easier work of it and keep you off the roof.”

“He doesn’t know what we’re capable of together, does he, Lil?”

Lillian just grinned.

“I think I’m going to have my hands full with you two girls.” Teague turned to leave. “Just try to stay out of trouble, would you?”

Maggie lifted her glass. “We’ll see you soon.”