Seven Reasons Why Page 7

  The older woman’s eyebrow arched so high, it disappeared beneath the curled fringe of her beauty-parlor hair. “Legal recourse?” she said, her voice southern syrup laced with steel. “Surely you aren’t so naive that you think there’s a judge in this county who’d rule against me? You’re a smart woman, August Trent. You wouldn’t be sitting in this mayor’s office if you weren’t. Why don’t you use that brain of yours and admit you can’t win this battle?”

  “Because I still have a few tricks in my hat.” August paused to rein in her temper. “I’ve got the environmental impact study for Continental Motors sitting on my desk. The council still hasn’t voted on it, you know. You could lose millions if the plant doesn’t locate here.”

  Odelia didn’t bat an eyelash. “And your point, August?”

  “From the beginning, you’ve wanted me out of Keegan’s Bend because I stood in the way of your financial success. It’s got nothing to do with your dislike of my boys, or a pig loose at the Fourth of July picnic. The house and land Enid left me, plus Jansen Riley’s property, are the last two pieces of land you need to turn yourself a tidy little profit. If you could, you’d probably stalk poor Enid in her grave to make her give you back the house.” She squared her shoulders. “Well, I’m not selling, or leaving. Neither, as far as I know, is Jansen Riley. So that puts you in a bit of a spot, doesn’t it?”

  “You have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “No? Then why don’t you explain the phone call I got from Jameson Oaks at Continental Motors, thanking me for the increased financial incentives Keegan’s Bend offered his company to locate here? Last time I checked, I was still mayor in this town. The council didn’t make any additional offers. I assume, therefore, that you did.”

  Odelia’s lips pressed into a thin, unpleasant line. “You think this is about money, don’t you?”

  August struggled to maintain her composure. “Of course it’s about money. You’re furious that Enid willed a family property to an outsider. You’re furious that I won’t sell it back to you. You’re furious that her will was so airtight that even the judges you supposedly have in your back pocket won’t reverse it. And you’ve decided the only hope you’ve got is to make my life miserable enough so I’ll leave town. Am I getting it so far?”

  “Not precisely.”

  “Well, let me tell you something, Odelia. You can push me really hard. Generally, I just ignore people like you. You aren’t worth the time and effort to dislike. But this time, you’ve threatened my kids.”

  “Those delinquents you call children are out of control. If you wouldn’t let them run rampant through the town, I wouldn’t have to chastise them.”

  “Chastise?” August’s fingers tightened into fists. “Chastise? They’re scared to death of you. They’re convinced, all of them, that you’re going to ship them off to some orphanage where they’ll end up back in the foster system.”

  “And you’re willing to do anything to prevent that?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “Including leave town?” Odelia asked. A spark of triumph glowed in her eyes.

  “This is my home.” August took a step closer. “This is their home. And if you think you can run us out of town because of some business—”

  “You’re really a very foolish child, do you know that?”

  August refused to be intimidated. “Drop the southern charm, Odelia. I’m not fooled.”

  The older woman’s lips curved into a smirk. “You honestly believe that I’d go to this much trouble over something as paltry as the few thousand dollars I have at stake in Continental Motors?” Her shoulders moved in a slight shrug. “If they locate here, it’ll create jobs, stimulate the economy. The Keegans stand to gain a great deal, but my battle with you has nothing to do with money, August. You should have figured that out by now.”

  August’s breathing had gone shallow. Perspiration beaded on her skin. The world was suddenly too confining to accommodate her frustration and Odelia’s presence. The condescension she heard in Odelia’s tone threatened to snap the fragile rein she had on her temper. “Then why,” she said with a deadly calm, “don’t you tell me why your sister left me the house?”

  The flicker of anger in Odelia’s eyes told August she’d hit her mark. “Enid was a foolish child. She was prone to do irrational things.”

  “Like give her house and land to a complete stranger for no apparent reason?” August shook her head. “I don’t think so.”

  “It clearly stated in her will that she owed your family a debt for their kindness to her.”

  “Come on, Odelia. You don’t believe that, do you?”

  “Don’t play games with me, August. I always win. If you’re smart, you’ll take the money I’ve offered you, pack up your little horde and leave here. Someone is going to get hurt if you don’t.”

  “Is that a threat?”

  “It’s the hard truth. I will have you gone, at any price. You might as well accept that.”

  “No one messes with my kids.”

  Odelia fixed her with an icy glare of contempt. “And no one challenges Odelia Keegan and wins.”

  August opened her mouth to reply, but then Zack’s fingers clamped on her elbow. “That’s it,” he said. “I’ve heard enough.” The determination in his voice seemed to impress even Odelia.

  Odelia glared at him. “I don’t see that my business with August is any of your—”

  “I'm making it my business.”

  “You,” she told him, her voice pure acid, “are a stranger in this town. You know nothing about our traditions, our history.”

  “I know that you’re overreacting to a little boyish fun. So the desserts got ruined. Worse things have happened.”

  “This is not an issue of a ruined picnic.” Her face pinched into a tight line. “It’s one more, example that August cannot control those boys she has brought into this town. It’s only a matter of time before something serious happens.”

  “Aunt Odelia…” Charlotte Anne began.

  “Speak when you are spoken to,” Odelia told her.

  Zack’s expression softened when he glanced at Charlotte Anne. “We’ll replace the dress, Charlotte Anne,” he told her. “I’m sorry your speech got ruined.”

  She beamed at him. “I didn’t like it, anyway,” she said. “Mama made me wear it.”

  “Enough,” Odelia spit. “There are more important things going on here than your dress.”

  August stiffened. “Save the venom for me, Odelia. I’m the one you’re mad at.”

  “Oh, you have that right. I’ll have you gone yet, August Trent, you mark my words.”

  Zack held up a hand to silence the tirade. “If you’re going to be threatening my clients, Ms. Keegan, you’ll have to deal directly with me.”

  “Your clients?”

  “I’m an attorney.”

  If August hadn’t been so agitated, she might have laughed at the look of stunned outrage on Odelia’s face. “Don’t tell me, Mr. Adriano,” Odelia snapped, “that August has convinced you she has a case?”

  “I’m more than convinced.”

  “Mr. Adriano, are you even licensed in Virginia?”

  “I have several clients with financial interests in several states. I maintain licenses in all of them.”

  August recognized the dangerous flare of anger in Odelia’s gaze. “And just what,” she asked, “did August have to do to win your loyalty?” The innuendo was unmistakable.

  August gasped. “How dare you!”

  “What’s the matter, dear?” Odelia drawled. “I haven’t shocked you, have I?”

  Zack’s fingers tightened on her arm in a silent warning. His piercing gaze remained firmly fixed on Odelia. “When you run out of tangible threats,” he drawled, “do you always resort to insults, Ms. Keegan?”

  To her credit, Odelia didn’t flinch. “If necessary.”She studied Zack through narrowed eyes. Her gaze dropped, briefly, to his hand on August’s elbow, then returned
to his face. “I can see I underestimated you. Betsy May assured me you weren’t going to be difficult.”

  “Betsy May was wrong.”

  Odelia seemed to gather her composure around her like a cloak. Behind her, August saw the boys chasing Luanna down the main avenue of town. Odelia stood rock-still, like a monument to distaste. Her attention was focused solely on Zack. “Evidently. I never should have sent a child to do a woman’s work, I suppose. I’ve no doubt that Jansen Riley is behind this.”

  “Jansen is an old friend,” Zack conceded. “When he asked me to come to Keegan’s Bend, I complied.”

  “And as part of the arrangement, you’ve taken on August Trent and her pack of delinquents?”

  “As it happens, August isn’t my client.”

  That seemed to ruffle Odelia’s calm. “But you said—”

  “I said, I wouldn’t have you threatening my clients. I never mentioned August. I don’t represent her. I represent her kids.”

  Odelia’s outraged oath acted like a balm to August’s soul. She could have kissed Zack for putting that look of stunned disbelief on Odelia’s face. The crowd chasing Luanna was making so much noise now, it was difficult to hear the quiet thread of calm in Zack’s voice.

  “Those boys?” Odelia sputtered. “You can’t be serious.”

  “I’m completely serious. The boys have me on retainer.”

  “This isn’t a game, Mr. Adriano. This is a very serious matter. If you think I’m going to let you get away with this, you—”

  “I assure you, I’m completely serious. And because August is the children’s legal guardian, I’m going to have to insist that any further interaction you have with her be directed through me.”

  Odelia seemed to have recovered some of her calm. She gave poor. Charlotte Anne, who’d been watching the exchange with wide, wondering eyes, a hard shake with her lace-gloved hand. “Surely you realize you can’t win this battle. I own this town.”

  Zack’s expression turned stone hard. He reached into the back pocket of his jeans and produced a folded piece of paper. “Maybe you own the town, but I’ve got the law on my side.”

  “The law?” Odelia’s laugh was as cold and lifeless as a snowbank. “Mr. Adriano, I am the law.”

  August saw the gleam of satisfaction in Zack’s eyes as he handed her the folded paper. “Well, then, you’ve just issued yourself a restraining order.”

  With an outraged gasp, Odelia snatched the paper from his hand. “You will hear from my lawyer.”

  “I’ll look forward to it.”

  She spared August a final glare before she dragged a complaining Charlotte Anne away from the fair.

  Emma made a disgusted sound beneath her breath. “The old prune,” she said. “Goes to show what can happen when you’ve got nothing to love but money.”

  “Are you feeling better, Emma?” August asked her.

  The older woman nodded. “I’m fine. I’m sorry we lost control of Luanna.”

  With a heavy sigh, August sank onto the bench. Zack saw the expression on her face as she watched Luanna make another lap around the town. The resignation he saw in her eyes bothered him. Some of the fight seemed to have drained from her.

  As Luanna headed for a side street, several men moved to head off her progress near Pete Flannery’s stable. Evidently, they were going to try to corral her in the paddock.

  “Don’t worry about it, Emma,” August was telling the older woman. “If it hadn’t been this, it would have been something else.” Her gaze met Zack’s. “But nothing’s going to hurt the boys. You can count on it.”

  August’s words echoed in Zack’s mind for the rest of the afternoon. After poor Luanna was captured and penned, the remainder of the day passed in relative calm. Mitchell Watson rescued the town from the dessert debacle by opening his ice cream parlor. After cleaning up the boys as best she could, August seemed content to spend the afternoon trailing them from booth to booth while each of them spent what remained of his five dollars.

  Odelia had disappeared after the pig incident, and Zack couldn’t help noticing that the festivities seemed to take on a lighter tone in the wake of her departure. Emma and Henry left the seven boys with August and Zack as they headed off to finish judging the various categories for livestock and produce.

  With August’s attention absorbed with the boys, Zack was grateful for the chance to study her. On the surface, she appeared to be having a good time. Casually Zack watched her as she helped the children win games. She moved about the town with an easy grace, a joy of life, that fascinated him. Everywhere they went, she stopped to say a kind word, to inquire about a problem, to ease the burden of the people around her. She did everything with an abundance of passion, a passion he desperately wanted to feel, to bask in.

  When she laughed, the throaty sound set off sparks in his blood. The firm curve of her chin, the strength in her fingers, the casual elegance that marked her gestures, practically begged him to touch her. Twice, he caught her looking at him with a suppressed heat. Both times, he had to battle the urge to drag her home, where he could make slow, easy love to her. August Trent was the kind of woman who came awake in a man’s arms. He’d have staked his life on it. Like Snow White, he mused, in a rare moment of poetry. Surrounded by her seven little men, all she needed was a lover’s kiss to awaken the passionate woman inside.

  He wanted that passion desperately.

  Perhaps that yearning sharpened his senses. Only he seemed to know that her light spirit masked a deeper, driving fear. He sensed the tension in her. Noted the way her hands would dart out to compulsively straighten Josh’s shirt collar, or smooth Bo’s hair. Her gaze continually scanned the crowd as she watched her boys make their way through the fair. By late afternoon, she was like a walking time bomb. Zack decided the time had come to interfere when she jumped a good six inches at the touch of his fingers on her arm. It was early evening, and she’d declined to eat dinner with the boys, claiming that the afternoon’s heat had stolen her appetite. In the waning sunlight, Zack saw the lines of tension around her eyes. “Nervous?” he asked.

  “Of course not.” Her smile was a bit too bright, too assured.

  “Liar. You’re about to combust.”

  “Don’t be silly.” She pointed to the boys. “They’re having a great time.”

  “But you’re not.”

  She shrugged. “I’m a little worried about how I’m going to get the chocolate out of their clothes, but other than that, I—”

  “August.” With a gentle pressure, he guided her to a secluded spot between two tents. “Honey, you’re wound up like a watch spring. Odelia really upset you this afternoon, didn’t she?”

  She watched him for long seconds. As if it were a glacier slowly crumbling, he watched her facade slip away. “What am I going to do?” she whispered.

  Zack didn’t waste any time. He pressed her back against the tent, then gave her a quick reassuring kiss. “Wait here,” he said. “I’ll ask Emma to watch the boys, and we’ll go somewhere and talk.”

  Her stricken expression tore at him. “I can’t leave the boys.”

  “They’re going to be fine,” he assured her. “You don’t have to be the Rock of Gibraltar every waking hour.”

  Her hands clamped onto his forearms in a compulsive grip. “She can’t have them, Zack. She can’t.”

  “I know.” He eased away from her. “Just give me a few minutes. I’ll be right back.”

  He took less than thirty seconds to locate Emma, and another minute or so to round up the boys. With a stern warning that they’d better be on their best behavior, he left them drinking lemonade and watching Luanna compete. By the time he returned to August, she was leaning against the side of the tent. The color had drained from her face, and her eyes had a lifeless expression that worried him.

  “Okay,” he said. “Let’s go.”

  “Where?”

  “Follow me.”

  In silence, he guided her through the crowd to th
e base of the hill. With a firm hand at her back, he walked with her back to the shady spot beneath the wide oak tree. August sank to the ground with an exhausted sigh. “I’m sorry, Zack. I didn’t mean to ruin everyone’s day.”

  “Stop apologizing.” He seated himself next to her. “Odelia’s little tirade would have disconcerted anybody. You don’t have to take that from her.”

  “I appreciate your interference. What was that paper you gave her, anyway?”

  “Just what I said. It’s a restraining order.”

  She frowned. “What?”

  Zack tangled one hand into her hair. The curls were slightly damp from perspiration. He rubbed the pads of his fingertips on her scalp. “Your boys just got themselves a lawyer, August.”

  “A what?”

  “A lawyer,” he said, “and a damned good one, if I do say so myself.”

  August blinked several times. “They can’t hire a lawyer.”

  “Why not?”

  The question was so ridiculous, she almost laughed. “Why not? Let’s start with the fact that they don’t have any money, then work ourselves around to things like the age of majority.”

  “I’m on retainer.”

  “Retainer?” She lifted an eyebrow.

  “Yep. Twelve dollars, thirty-seven cents, and a rock. That’s my price for cases like this. They offered me more, but I decided to give them a break on my hourly fee.”

  “This is the bargain you guys have been alluding to since the other day?”

  “Yes.”

  “They hired you? They offered you a case?”

  “Right the first time.”

  She studied him for several seconds. “If word of this got out in New York, your clients would probably mutiny.”

  “Probably. Jansen Riley pays me five hundred dollars an hour.”

  “Well, isn’t he a fool?”

  “I’m worth every penny.”

  “As the boys’ guardian, I think you’re probably legally required to tell me what’s going on.”

  He gave her a lopsided smile that did strange things to her insides. When he twined a curl around his index finger, she felt the light pressure all the way to her toes. “They’re a little worried about Odelia,” he said. “They asked me to defend their interests.”