Small Town Rumors(77)

“I couldn’t kiss you in front of all those people,” he stated, almost as if he were reading from a speech, it was so flat.

“Are you ashamed of me?” she asked.

“No, I am not, but think about it, Jennie Sue. We can’t live in a pipe-dream bubble our whole lives. I am who I am and you are who you are. We can’t change that.”

“Why would either of us want to change?”

“Think about it for a few days, and then we’ll talk again. Good night, Jennie Sue,” he said, and the phone went dark.

She went inside, stripped out of her clothing, and took a long, cool shower before she crawled into the middle of the bed and sat cross-legged. “Think about what?” she said aloud.

Her decision to sell the company. Suddenly, she had misgivings about that. Should she try to keep it and learn the ropes? Percy had put a fear into her that she couldn’t do anything right. What would happen if she made mistakes that cost the company millions, or worse yet, cost people their jobs? Could she live with that?

The rumors about her leaving Bloom—the only difference between one place and another was the population and terrain. Desert? Mountains? Prairie? Rolling hills? What made one area better than the other was family and friends. She liked her new friends, and she had no intention of leaving Bloom.

She was rich now and Rick was still a farmer: That was what she was supposed to think about, wasn’t it? She should have seen this coming.

She fell back on her pillow and pulled the edge of the chenille bedspread around her body. When she opened her eyes the next morning, she picked up the pillow she’d been hugging and threw it across the room, knocking a can of hair spray and her makeup bag off the dresser.

“Dammit, Rick! I don’t like waking up without you,” she muttered as she got out of bed and retrieved the pillow. “If you’re being stubborn because of money, I’ll give away every damn dime to charity.”

She talked to herself as she got dressed, went down the stairs, and all the way to Lettie’s, where she rapped on the kitchen door.

“Come on in,” Lettie called out. “I was hoping you might come by this mornin’.”

Jennie Sue got a whiff of fresh cinnamon and coffee blended together when she entered the house. Lettie motioned toward the table. “Pour a cup and have a seat. I just took three nice slices of french toast from the skillet, and the warm maple syrup is on the table.”

“You’re goin’ to put a hundred pounds on me.” Jennie Sue refilled Lettie’s cup and then poured hers.

“You need a good breakfast before you go to the bookstore.” She pulled out a chair and sat down across from Jennie Sue. “I’ve got news. Amos told Frank out on the back porch yesterday that he’d love to sell the bookstore to you. He thinks Iris would be happy if you owned it but that he wouldn’t sell it to anyone else. But me and Nadine told Mabel that was silly, because your days of cleaning houses and working at a bookstore were probably at an end. If you work at the oil business, you’ll set your own salary, and if you cash in, why would you ever sell used books?”

“Happiness isn’t measured in dollar bills,” Jennie Sue said between bites.

“Nope, it sure ain’t. If it was, there’d be a helluva lot of unhappy people in the world.” Lettie took a sip of her coffee. “So the rumors are all untrue, then? You’ve made up your mind to stay here, and you aren’t moving away to set up clinics for folks?”

“What are you talking about?” Jennie Sue asked.

“You mentioned doing something for underprivileged folks, and well . . .” Lettie shrugged. “You know how gossip is around here.”

“I have made up my mind to stay right here,” Jennie Sue answered. Rick Lawson had better get used to the idea, because she wasn’t going anywhere.

“And you don’t have a meeting with the directors this morning?”

Jennie Sue took a sip of coffee. The taste of good strong coffee mixed with cinnamon and warm syrup was too good for words. “That part is true.”

“You decided what you’re going to say to all of them?”

“Pretty much,” Jennie Sue answered. “I’m going to think it all over one more time before I walk into that meeting.”

“Honey, you do know you will have to clean out that house if you decide to sell it, right?”

“I know, and it won’t be easy going through Mama and Daddy’s personal stuff, but I can work on it a little at a time. It’s past time for Mabel and Frank to retire, and they’ll both think they have to keep workin’ if I live out there. The first order of business when I go into that meeting is that I’m going to make sure they have a severance package that will take care of them the rest of their lives. They’ve given their lives to my family for years. It’s time for them to enjoy life without having to work every day.”

Lettie laid a hand on her shoulder. “You are a good person.”

“Thank you. Please keep that between us until I get the details lined out with the lawyer. Now on to a different subject. Did you notice how quiet Rick was yesterday?”

“’Course I did. I figured you two were arguing about something. But Frank told Mabel that he didn’t say much out on the porch. Maybe he’s worried that you’ll really take off halfway around the world, and he won’t ever see you again.” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “He’s got a thing for you, you know.”