Adams Grove 03-Wedding Cake and Big Mistakes (5 page)

Sometimes it was still a challenge to feel like she’d put in a full day at the office with the slower pace of the small-town practice compared to New York—not that she missed that rat race.

She went back into her office to review the real estate closing she was handling in the afternoon. Several of the older farms in the county were being split up and sold. Too bad the younger generations were not carrying on the agriculture that had carried this town for so many years. It was sad to see so much of that land get broken up. As one generation died, the next was making decisions that would change this town, but on the flip side, it was nice to
see the town growing enough to stay alive in the tough economic times. Almost every shop on Main Street stayed busy, and the few empty buildings were in the process of being revitalized. That was a good sign for Adams Grove.

Mac and Connor walked by, still talking all the way to the door.

When Connor closed the door behind Mac, he pulled his hands up on his hips and stood there shaking his head.

“What’s the matter?” Carolanne called from her office. “You OK?”

Connor looked her way, then walked toward her office with a serious look of concern on his face.

I hope nothing is wrong with Mac.
“I heard the door close. Is everything OK? I mean, he’s not sick, is he?”

“No. No. Nothing like that.” He laughed. “I jumped to the same conclusion, though.” Connor sat down in the chair across from her desk. “He was talking about how things may have been different with Derek if he hadn’t grown up in New York with his ex. Water under the bridge. He wants to change his will. Again.”

“Thank goodness he’s OK. He can change his will a hundred times if he wants to pay for your time. Why would you care?”

“I shouldn’t worry. He’s a smart man, certainly capable of making his own decisions.” His set face and clamped mouth told more than he was saying.

“Then why do you have that flustered look?”

Connor looked behind him, then spoke in hushed voice. “Remember I mentioned Anita this morning?”

“The lady at the bakery, yeah.”

“Well, Mac wants me to rewrite his will so everything goes to her. He’s going to let her administer stuff to Derek instead of it going directly to him.”

“So? People do that all the time. I guess you were right about them being an item.”

“Yeah. Only, this change doesn’t sit well with me. They couldn’t have been together all that long, or else everyone would’ve already known. It would be different if they were married. I asked him if he had someone in his family he could ask instead.”

“Not your place to make those decisions for him. You know that. If that relationship falls apart, he’ll come back and change it again.”

“Maybe I’ll just let it sit for a week or two, give him a chance to think about it. I told him we could take care of a trust for him. Maybe he’ll come to his senses.” He pulled his ankle up to cross his knee. “Be different if they were engaged or something.”

“You don’t have to be married to someone to count on them, Connor.”

“Well, it doesn’t hurt.”

She closed her file and leaned forward. “Since when did you get so opinionated?”

He pressed his fingers together. “I trust my gut, and I have a bad feeling about Mac’s decision.”

Trying to lighten the mood, she teased, “What, are you going to tell me you’re psychic now? You’re not going to whip out a crystal ball, are you? There’s not a crop circle on the top of this building I don’t know about, is there?”

Her reaction seemed to amuse him. “Oh, hell no.”

She sat back in her chair and folded her arms. “Then you need to let it go. Our job is to advise and execute.”

Connor got up. “If I stall, I bet he’ll come to his senses.”

“Helping them make good decisions is one thing, but stalling a request based on your own moral code….that’s a whole other issue. And a problem when what you’re pushing them toward actually benefits the practice.”

“You know I’m not steering him to let us handle the trust to get his money.”

“Just saying it’s a fine line.”

“I don’t see the big deal. If he thinks he can trust this lady with his whole estate, then he’ll still feel that way in a couple weeks. No harm, no foul. Or he ought to marry her and make it really official, and I’d shut up about it.”

“Not everyone wants to get married.”

“What do you have against marriage?”

“I just don’t agree that marriage is the only way for two people to form a good partnership.”

“It
is
telling, though. Seriously, if you trust someone enough to carry out your last dying wishes, there’s more to it than friendship, so why not seal the deal?”

“If Garrett and Jill weren’t getting married, would you have felt the same way about the changes we just made to Garrett’s estate?”

Connor nodded. “Yeah. Absolutely.”

“Well, that’s stupid.”

Connor jerked his head up, locking his line of sight on Carolanne. “Stupid?”

“Yeah. It’s shortsighted and silly. Marriage is a piece of paper, and it does not mean that someone won’t hurt or backstab you just as easily as if they were just in love.”

He sat back down. “Are you seriously telling me that you still never want to be married?”

“This isn’t about me.”

“I’m asking.”

“Why do you care? You have to agree that it’s an odd tradition, especially for women. We give up the better part of ourselves, even our names, to melt into someone else’s life.”

“Well, when you put it that way, it sounds like hell, but that’s not what marriage is. It’s not giving up anything. It’s sharing.” He studied her for a moment. “I know you’ve said you have no interest in marriage, but people say that kind of thing all the time. I never thought you really meant it.”

“I don’t joke about that stuff.”

“Fine.” Connor rolled his eyes. “You being an old maid will work to my favor. I won’t have to worry about you taking off time for a big wedding and honeymoon or maternity leave. That’s fine by me.”

“Good. I desperately needed your approval.” She couldn’t refrain from the sarcasm.

“Yeah. Well, back to Mac. I’d be less worried if he hadn’t told me that Anita was pestering him to take care of it.”

“And so you’re still going to make them wait?”

“I’m busy.” Connor got up and headed to his office. “I’ll get to it as soon as I can.”

“That’s playing dirty,” she called down the hall. “You’re crossing the line.”

His footsteps sounded closer rather than farther away.

She looked up just as he poked his head back in the door. “Sometimes people just need a little time to know what they really want.”

I hope that wasn’t directed at me, because I know exactly what I want.

Chapter Four

Connor tapped out a rhythm on the dry cleaner counter to the Southern rock competing with the loud drone of the equipment in the back of the shop. Didn’t matter what time of year it was, this building was always hot, humid, and way too loud for his liking, but it sure beat doing laundry. His mom’s words rang in his mind:
If you had a wife, you wouldn’t have to worry about that.
But somehow he couldn’t picture himself with a wife who stayed at home ironing, anyway. He dug the folded bills from his pocket.

A tiny blonde weaved between rows of clothes to the front and stretched to hook the heavy bundle on the telescoping pole next to the counter. “Here you go. Ten pieces and your black dress suit. Guess that’s for Garrett and Jill’s wedding this weekend.”

“Sure is.” The last time he’d worn it had only been a few months ago at his mother’s funeral. Even freshly dry-cleaned, the memories still seemed to cling to the very fabric. His heart clenched.

“It’s been a busy week with everyone getting their Sunday bests ready for the big wedding.” She punched the numbers into the cash register and counted out Connor’s change. Her eyes shifted toward the door.

At the sound of his name, Connor swung around to see Carolanne’s dad walking through the door. “Hey, Ben, how’ve you been?”

“Great.” He pointed to the suit hanging with Connor’s dry cleaning. “I see you’re getting ready for the big wedding, too. How’ve you been?”

“Good. Most of the time, anyway. That daughter of yours gives me a run for my money, but other than that, no complaints.” Connor reached out and shook Ben’s hand.

“Not like you didn’t know she has an opinion or two,” Ben said. “I’m so glad she’s back in town. Jill says they’ve been spending a lot of time together. That’s good for her. I know it was my fault that she left Adams Grove, but I worried about her up in New York.”

“That’s old news. She’s back now, and I doubt she’ll be going anywhere,” Connor said. “She seems pretty happy. So, how’s your new job?”

“Really good. I’m putting my master gardener certification to good use for more than just volunteer work. With Jill and Carolanne being so close, I wasn’t sure if Jill’d be comfortable with me working for her. I’m grateful they gave me the chance.”

“Jill is fair, and they needed some good help to transform that property into something presentable. It would have surprised me if she hadn’t given you the chance.”

“It’s been a heckuva job to pull off, but I’ve really enjoyed seeing it all come together,” Ben said with a smile, but his face fell. “I hope Carolanne won’t stay away from the artisan center because I’m there. I haven’t seen much of her.”

“That’s because she still has that New York state of mind, and she’s trying to make small-town work into big-city hours. I can’t half talk her into taking a lunch break most days.”

“That’s my girl,” Ben said. “Carolanne knows what she wants and, maybe more important, what she doesn’t want. She never was
one to let grass grow under her feet. We can thank Pearl for that. It was surely no thanks to me. I let her and Reggie down. My poor brother had his hands full trying to keep my stupid ass out of jail. I can’t take it back, but Lord knows I wish I could.”

“Don’t be so hard on yourself. That was a long time ago, and Carolanne turned out just fine. Although, I swear New York carved an edge on her.”

“May have, but trust me, she left Adams Grove with an edge.”

Connor wasn’t about to argue with the man about his daughter, and he was already dancing a fine line between the difficult past those two shared by being close friends with both Ben and Carolanne. “Enough about her. We need to get together for some golf. It’s been too long. I guess since Mom passed.”

“Yeah, it has. She was a good lady, your mom. We all really miss her. How are you handling all of that?”

Carolanne was an easier subject than Mom.
He needed more time to ease that pain. “It’s hard. I miss her, but thanks for asking. Your friendship was special to Mom. Means a lot to me, too. Our friendship shouldn’t wane now that she’s gone. Stop by the office, we’ll catch lunch.”

“I’m not sure Carolanne would like me dropping in at the office. I’m trying to give her some space.”

“She’s my law partner, not my wife. You’re welcome in my building anytime you please. Besides, she’ll be moving into her house next week, so she’ll only be around during working hours.” His gut twisted again at the thought of her moving. He hoped his voice didn’t carry the disappointment that he was feeling right now.

“You say that now, but don’t push your luck. I seem to remember a little prediction by Pearl Clemmons about the two of you. There never was a match that Pearl decided that didn’t work out.”

“There’s a first for everything. Besides, Carolanne has made it pretty clear that she’s not getting married. I think Pearl’s record ends with Jill and Garrett.”

“I left my daughter with a lot of baggage, but I pray she’ll come around.”

“Well, that, my friend, is none of my business, but beating you in a round of golf is, so let’s plan to get together soon.”

Ben handed his ticket to the girl at the counter. “I’ll be pretty busy up until the grand opening of the artisan center, but after that I should be available just about any Tuesday. Let me know.”

“Plan on it.” Connor swept the twist-tied hangers off the rack. “I better get back to the office, or Carolanne is likely to dock my pay.”