Second Time Sweeter

  “I appreciate that, Sandy. Did Clay and Mal hire you?”

  “Yes and no. They made the arrangements for us to meet, but Mr. Shepard was the one to put up the money for my services. Said he was tired of the whining and the town deserved better.”

  Bernadine agreed.

  “Do you want me to keep you informed of the progress of my investigation?”

  “Yes, as long as you’re comfortable with sharing the information. I doubt Bing will mind, and if you get close to solving the case and need more funding, let me know that, too.”

  “Okay. Sorry again for interrupting your evening.”

  “Not a problem. Be careful.”

  Sandy smiled. “I will. Thank you.”

  Closing the door, Bernadine stood there for a moment to assess the new development. After learning from Tamar that Dresden had run off with the money, she’d thought long and hard about hiring Sandy herself, but opted not to. Even though Dresden needed to be found and brought to justice, she didn’t feel it was her job to ride point. This was Mal’s screw-up and fixing it was on him. Now that Bing had taken the reins, she could stop wondering if she’d made the right decision. Sometimes it was better if other hands turned the world.

  Returning to the dining room, she retook her seat.

  “Everything okay?” Tina asked.

  Bernadine nodded. “Yes. Everything’s okay.”

  At church on Sunday, the reverend gave a short but powerful sermon on community. Invoking First Corinthians, she spoke to what Bernadine saw as potential fallout from Saturday’s meeting: divisiveness. “I appeal to you, brothers and sisters . . . that there be no divisions among you.” The middle of the sermon touched on seeds sown by self-interest and their detrimental effects. Riley, seated a few pews to Bernadine’s right, tightened his jaw. She was pleased that he had enough inner insight to feel called out because no one was more self-serving than Riley. The lesson concluded with words from First Peter. Paula asked that they all keep the apostle’s words in their minds and on their hearts. “Be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate, and humble.”

  The congregants responded with a hearty “Amen!” Before the reverend stepped away from the pulpit, her eyes brushed Bernadine’s, and for some reason, Bernadine suddenly reflected on her own life. Had the call to be sympathetic and compassionate been directed her way for a reason? Of course, it was possible she’d imagined it. Paula had vowed not to offer an opinion on the rift between her and Mal, and Bernadine knew the reverend to be a woman of her word. So surely she hadn’t used the sermon to gently prod her into offering Mal compassion and sympathy instead of tight lips and distance. Bernadine didn’t have an answer, but she planned to speak with the good reverend as soon as she got the chance.

  During the after-worship fellowship in the church’s downstairs gathering hall, she scanned the crowd and spotted Kyrie Abbott seated at a table with Rocky and Jack. Riley had been very disrespectful to the young teacher at yesterday’s meeting and Bernadine wanted to make sure he didn’t have any lingering doubts about his status. Walking over, she said, “Mr. Abbott, may I speak with you privately for a minute?”

  The teacher sent Jack and Rocky a quick glance before responding warily, “Sure,” and rising from his chair.

  “Let’s find a quieter place.” She offered Jack and Rocky a reassuring “I’ll bring him right back,” and led him to one of the empty classrooms. Seeing how uncomfortable he seemed, she jumped in. “I just want you to know that in spite of Riley, you’re very welcome here. Young men like you are rare in the teaching profession and we’re honored you accepted the job at our school.”

  “Never been accused of being a stealth hit man before,” he said with a small smile.

  “I’m so sorry. Riley’s not a good representation of who we are.”

  “After the shooting, I called my parents. My mom’s worried about my safety. She wants me to resign and find a place to teach closer to home.”

  The reply caught her off guard and she thought about how she’d respond had Crystal called her with a similar story. “I’d probably tell my child the same, but the shooting doesn’t represent who we are, either. We’ve never had anything like that happen before.”

  “That’s what Jack said.”

  “No one will think less of you if you go, but if you stay, I guarantee you won’t regret it. This place is special, and we’d like you to experience what that means.”

  “I promised my mom I’d think about it and let her know. I’m going to take a few days to figure out what I want to do. Is that okay?”

  “Of course.”

  He looked her in the eyes. “Ms. Brown, I appreciate you letting me know how you feel about my being here. Up until the shooting, I was real content.”

  “I hope you stay.”

  “I’ll let you know.”

  They went back to the hall and Jack’s face showed his concern.

  Kyrie said, “I’m going to take off. I’ll see you tomorrow, Jack.”

  “Take care, Ky.”

  Abbott nodded good-bye to Bernadine and Rocky and exited.

  Bernadine sat and sighed. “He may leave us.”

  Jack said, “I know.”

  Rocky said, “That shooting would make anybody rethink locating here.”

  Bernadine agreed. “I told Sheila to plan a welcome dinner for him. We may not get the chance to have it.”

  Jack said, “We’ll keep our fingers crossed. If he does go, Marie’s going to want to set fire to the folks at the Bureau. He impressed us both during his interview.”

  With the school year already in full swing, finding someone as qualified as Abbott would be difficult.

  The hall was emptying of parishioners. Bernadine spied Paula talking with Trent and his family and decided to stay to speak with her. Jack and Rocky stood to leave. Rocky said, “Now that I’m back, let’s get together and talk about the Three Spinsters.”

  The Three Spinsters was the new restaurant she and Bernadine planned to build and co-own. “Sounds like a plan.”

  After deciding on a day and a time, the newlyweds took off and left her alone at the table.

  Paula walked over. “You’re still here?”

  “I am. Can we talk a minute?”

  “Sure. Let’s go to my office. First, let me tell Robyn. I’ll be right back.”

  Robyn was across the room talking with the Clark girls. Paula said something to her, Robyn looked up and smiled, and Paula and Bernadine made their way through the now quiet building to the office.

  “Have a seat, please.” Paula took off her robe and hung it in the closet. “What’s up?”

  “Was the sermon directed at me?”

  Paula paused. “Today’s sermon?”

  “Yes.”

  “No. Why’d you ask?”

  Bernadine wanted to say never mind but plunged ahead instead. “The way you looked at me before you left the pulpit made me think—”

  “That the words were meant for you?”

  “Yes.”

  “I looked your way hoping you approved of my small attempt at countering the suspicions I heard at the meeting.”

  “Oh.” Bernadine felt foolish.

  Paula propped herself against the edge of her neatly organized desk and folded her arms over her chest. “Why did you think the words were directed your way?”

  “Well . . .” Bernadine paused to figure out how to put her answer into words.

  “Did something strike a chord?”

  “Not really, but . . .”

  Paula waited.

  Bernadine felt like she’d stepped into a bear trap. “I thought maybe you were saying I needed to be sympathetic and compassionate with Mal.”

  “I wasn’t, but it’s interesting that you thought that, no?”

  “No.”

  A tiny smile curved Paula’s lips. “Sometimes the Person Who Really Turns the World puts things in our hearts we don’t even know are there. You might want to ask yourself if you do nee
d to show Mal sympathy and compassion.”

  “The answer is no. I may at some point forgive him for the embezzlement because he was just being a thin-skinned, stupid male, and I get that part, but I’ll never forgive him for showing up at the wedding with another woman.”

  “Never is a long time.”

  “In this case, not long enough.” Bernadine stood. “Thanks, Paula.”

  “Always here.”

  “I’ll see you later.”

  Bernadine replayed their conversation on the drive home. It was her first time admitting out loud that she understood Mal’s motivation for the embezzlement even though stealing was wrong no matter the reason. The male ego could be a fragile and sometimes dumb thing, especially for men Mal’s age. They grew to adulthood at a time when gender roles were rigidly set. Men called the tune and women sat and smiled. Feeling emasculated by watching a female pay for everything was in line with that. But for him to finally return home, after weeks of being missing, with another woman on his arm? Unforgivable. The only reason she’d used the word never was because she didn’t know a word that was stronger.

  Chapter 9

  Monday morning, Gary came down for breakfast dressed in the new running clothes he’d purchased Saturday at one of the stores in Franklin. His daughters, still in their pajamas, were at the table eating and eyed him curiously.

  Leah asked, “You’re really going running in the dark?”

  He went to the closet and took down a lightweight jacket. “I said I was going.”

  “I didn’t think you were serious.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because you’ve never done this before.”

  “I ran in high school. In fact, Trent and I were on the four-by-four-hundred relay and came in second in the state our senior year.”

  Surprise filled the girls’ faces. “You never told us that,” Tiff said.

  “When you get home from school, I’ll show you pictures.”

  Leah asked, “So you know proper stretching and all that, so you don’t tear any muscles?”

  “I do.” Even though he hadn’t done it in twenty years.

  “You know it takes older people longer to heal,” she added.

  He gave her a look.

  “Not saying you’re old or anything.”

  Both girls smiled.

  He rolled his eyes. “Thanks, Lee, but I know what I’m doing.” Or at least he did once upon a time. “Like I told you last night, after my run, I’m going to shower at the rec and then go to the store. Zoey’s mom’s going to swing by and drive you over to Mr. James’s house for school since the building is still closed. Be ready so she doesn’t have to wait.”

  “We’ll be ready,” Tiffany said. “Why are you doing this all of a sudden?”

  He picked up his car keys. “I’m tired of watching my life pass me by, and even more tired of being boring old Gary Clark.”

  Leah said, “You’re not boring, Dad.”

  “Yeah, I am, and it stops today.”

  The girls seemed impressed.

  Tiff said, “Just be careful.”

  “I will. I’ll see you after school.” He offered both girls a quick kiss on the forehead. “Have a good day.”

  And he left.

  Outside, it was dark and cold. The temperature was in the upper forties. After he started the car, shivering in the chilly interior, a part of him wondered if he’d lost his mind and voted to return to the nice warm house. Vetoing that, he upped the heat, backed down the driveway, and drove to town.

  When he arrived, Main Street was empty. The rec, school, and church were dark. The streetlights above the track cast a bright white glow, making the red-and-green surface of the oval stand out against the surrounding darkness. He parked and had just gotten out of the car when Lily pulled up. The surprise he saw on her face through the windshield made him grin.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked, getting out of her car. She was dressed in running gear, too. He was accustomed to seeing her on the track when he drove into work.

  “Thought I’d run this morning.”

  “Really? Why?”

  “I want to get back in shape. Miss running.”

  She reached into her car and pulled out a battered brown duffel. “How long has it been since you hit a track?”

  “How old is Leah?”

  She chuckled. “That long? You might want to walk for a few days to start off.”

  He thought back on the advice from his skeptical daughters. “Who asked you, Fontaine?”

  She grinned. “Nobody, but if you keel over, you’ll be still lying there when Gemma drives by on her way to the store.” She saw his smile and paused a moment to assess him.

  “What?” he asked.

  “Just looking. Since you moved back, I’ve wondered if Clark Kent was still inside you somewhere.”

  He’d been given the nickname in elementary school because of his black-framed glasses. In middle school, contacts replaced them, but the name stuck. “He is, but he’s been in hiding long enough.”

  “Good for you.”

  They walked toward the track. “How often do you run?” he asked.

  “Usually three days a week. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.”

  Lily had been an incredible athlete in high school. The local newspapers dubbed her the Fabulous Fontaine. During her reign, she’d held more individual track records than any other female high school student in the state’s history. They sat on one of the benches and changed their shoes.

  “Do you run in the wintertime, too?” Gary asked, tying his laces.

  “As long as the track is clear. Trent tries to keep it open when it snows, and I love him for that.”

  “I think it’s great that you two are together.”

  “I do, too. Not many men would take a girl back who treated him as badly as I did. Sometimes I don’t think I deserve him,” she confessed wistfully. Then she smiled. “And sometimes I don’t think he deserves me.”

  He laughed. She stood and went through a series of stretches that worked the muscles in her legs, arms, and back. He stood and followed suit. Done, they stepped onto the track.

  “Let’s walk a few laps.”

  He whined, “Fontaine.”

  She whined back, “Gary. I don’t want you hurting yourself, so stop playing macho man. Two laps at a walk and then we’ll jog. Slowly.”

  “You’re no fun.”

  “More fun than you’ll be if you tear something.”

  He let out an elaborate sigh but did as she suggested. Side by side, arms moving, they began at a pace that wasn’t fast but wasn’t a crawl, either. Lily looked his way. “Next time bring your headphones. I usually wear mine, but I don’t want to be rude.”

  “Yes, Coach.”

  “Don’t make me hurt you, Clark.”

  He snickered.

  After a few yards of silence, she said, “It’s good having you home.”

  “Glad to be home.”

  “We had some fun back in the day.”

  “Sometimes too much.” He thought back on the parties, the athletic events they attended and participated in, the plays they’d put on. He and Nori double-dated with Trent and Lily regularly. Thoughts of the necking sessions they’d had in Trent’s Black Beauty, as his old car was known, made him smile and wonder again about Nori. “When was the last time you spoke to Nori?”

  “A couple of days ago.”

  “Really?” he asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

  “Yep. She’s going to be staying with us for the reunion this weekend.”

  “How is she?”

  “Good.”

  Silence settled between them. He wanted to ask if Nori’d asked about him, but realizing how self-centered that sounded, he kept his mouth shut.

  In spite of the chill, he finally felt his muscles warm and loosen. After they finished the second lap, Lily asked, “Ready to jog?”

  He nodded, and they started at a measured pace. He felt awkward at fir
st and it took a few more strides to find a comfortable rhythm.

  “You okay?” Lily asked beside him.

  “I’m getting there.”

  “Just take it easy. There’s no timer and no girls in the stands.”

  He laughed loudly at that.

  She gave him a grin and they kept going. He realized how good it was having her with him this first morning on the track. Were he by himself, it probably would have been boring and not nearly as much fun, and he might have chucked the idea of continuing.

  They’d done two laps when he heard a voice shout gruffly, “Hey, Clark Kent! What are you doing running with my woman?”

  He looked over at Trent and grinned.

  Trent called out, “Why aren’t you at the store stacking cans and bread? Does Gemma know you’re out here?”

  Gary tossed back, “Too early for me to cuss you out, July. So just shut up!”

  Trent complied, but his smile remained.

  Gary told Lily, “He really doesn’t deserve you.”

  “I know.”

  He and Lily ran one more lap, then called it quits. He bent over at the waist to catch his breath, glad he hadn’t pushed himself like he’d initially planned because his thigh muscles were on fire. Lily, on the other hand, wasn’t breathing hard at all.

  “You go cool down and I’m going to get my laps in.”

  He hobbled over to the bench and sat with Trent. Lily took off around the track like she was back in high school running the hundred-meter.

  “How you doing?” Trent asked, eyes trained on his hard-charging wife.

  “I think I may have to call off work and spend the day soaking in the tub. Lord, I hurt.”

  Still watching Lily, Trent replied, “I was surprised to see you out here.”

  “My thighs are surprised, too.”

  Trent finally turned his way. “Do you need a stretcher? Tamar keeps a few in the rec.”

  Gary responded with a crisp, two-word phrase that made Trent laugh loudly. “Thought you said it was too early to cuss me out.”

  “For that stretcher crack I made an exception.” Gary wondered how he was going to make it to his car. His muscles were turning to stone. If he didn’t move soon, he’d still be sitting there when the first snow fell. Lily blew by them again and he envied her form and speed. “Do you ever run with her?”