Home to Walnut Ridge (23 page)

“
Is he gonna shut up and
let the rest of us have a chance to speak?” Alex whispered in her
father’s ear, loud enough for those around her to
snicker.

Deacon slammed his gavel down, his
face reddening. “Miss Collins, did I not make myself clear that we
would not abide disruption of any sort in our proceedings this
evening?”

“
Sure you did, Deacon,”
Alex shot back. “I was just wondering how long you’re gonna listen
to yourself bloviate before letting some of the rest of us have our
say. Isn’t that why we’re here?”

A ripple of restrained laughter rolled
across the room. Deacon adjusted his glasses and turned his
direction to Buddy. “I see your daughter Alex is as caustic as
ever. I suppose that’s no great surprise. Apparently, the apple
doesn’t fall far from the tree.”

Buddy turned toward his daughter.
“Actually, she just took the words right out of my mouth. Thanks,
honey.”

“
No problem,
Dad.”

The polite chuckles sent another wave
through the room.

Deacon straightened the pile of papers
in front of him. “Well, I see no need to take any more time. As
anyone can see, this is an open-and-shut case. The Collins wish to
change zoning. The Council stands on the laws on our books which
prohibit such a change. There’s really no use in‍—‍”

“
Let them have their say!”
Sadie Woolsey warbled in a shout from the other side of the room.
“Deacon, you know perfectly well it’s in the bylaws that folks can
speak their mind before a final vote is taken. I’d be more than
happy to read the pertinent bylaws if you’ve forgotten
them.”

“
Now, Miss Sadie, there’s
no need to‍—‍”

She raised a booklet in the air. “I
have the bylaws right here.”

“
I’m sure you do, but
we’re all adults here. I believe we can‍—‍”

“
I’m glad you see it that
way,” she said. “Now who’ll speak first?” She turned to look
around, her back to the chairman whose face crimsoned even
more.

“
Miss Sadie, please take a
seat before‍—‍”

“
I’ll speak first,” Alex
said, already making her way to the microphone at the front of the
short aisle. She tapped the mike. “Is this thing on?”

Deacon let out a loud sigh as he
groaned, “Yes, Miss Collins, I’m afraid it is.”

“
Good. I’ll make this
short and sweet.”

Tracey watched her sister with
fascination. Alex wasn’t the least bit flustered, looking each
council member in the eye as she spoke.

“
Ladies and
gentlemen,
we
all
know what this is about. As most of you know, the ‘shack’ Deacon is
referring to is, in fact, the old smokehouse that has been on our
property since the mid-1800s. As many of you know, my great-great
grandfather later opened that smokehouse to the public during the
depression to give the folks of Jacobs Mill food when they had
none. Fortunately, there were no ‘laws on the books’ prohibiting
his benevolence.

“
Several weeks ago when we
started renovating that property to turn it into a storefront, Dad
complied with all the paperwork and petitioned for the zone
change.”

“
Yes, well, Miss Collins,”
Deacon said, stifling a fake yawn. “You have as yet to tell us
anything we don’t already know.”

Alex smiled sweetly. “I’m getting
there. But please, go ahead and take a nap if you’re bored. We’ll
wake you when we’re done.”

Laughter erupted then quickly abated
with the glare on the chairman’s face. “Miss Collins, I will not
warn you‍—‍”

“
Yeah, yeah, I heard you
the first time. Now. Where was I?” Alex snapped her fingers. “Ah, I
remember. As I said, Daddy petitioned for a zone change. Deacon sat
on it. Even refused to discuss it with his fellow council members
here. We’re about to open for business, and yet our esteemed,
self-appointed town
dictator
‍—‍”

“
That’s enough!” Deacon
shouted, pounding the gavel over and over.

“‍—‍
has handled this
simple request‍—‍”

“
I said that’s
ENOUGH!”

“‍—‍
the same way he
handles everything in Jacobs Mill. By bullying everyone on this
council the same way he’s bullied me and my father and everyone
else in‍—‍”

“
MISS COLLINS! I SAID SIT
DOWN!”

Everyone froze. The gravel fell to the
floor as Deacon clutched at his chest. His purpled face quickly
drained of all color. “I said . . .” His eyes rolled
back in his head just before he fell backwards, hitting his head
against the credenza behind him then slumping to the
ground.

For a split second, no one
moved.

“
SOMEBODY GET THE
PARAMEDICS NEXT DOOR!”

Suddenly, the room exploded into
action as people rushed toward the front to help the fallen
chairman. Others backed away in shock. Buddy, Tracey, and Alex
joined the other council members who knelt beside Deacon. Seeing
the blood pooling beneath his head, Buddy yanked out his bandana
and placed it gently beneath Deacon’s head.

“
Where’s Ginny? Is she
here?” Alex called back to the crowd, looking for Deacon’s
wife.

“
No. She’s in Texas with
the grandkids!” Flossy cried, standing beside her chair at the
table. “Should I call her?”

Just then paramedics from the Fire
Station rushed into the room. “Clear out, folks! Give us
room!”

Tracey backed away from the knot of
council members circling Deacon. As she looked up, she saw Stump
calmly urging everyone to leave the room.

“
That’s it, nice and quiet
like,” he said. A few of the townsfolk looked at him with
suspicious eyes, but followed his instructions.

“
Do as he says,” Mrs.
Peterson instructed, appearing beside her big friend. “Let’s gather
ourselves outside.”

With the paramedics checking Deacon’s
vitals, Tracey and her sister stepped back to give them
room.

“
Can you believe this?”
Tracey whispered.

When her sister didn’t respond, she
turned to find out why. Alex’s eyes were glued to the back of the
room.

“
No, I can’t believe
this,” she whispered. “And neither will you when you turn
around.”

Alarmed by the look on her sister’s
face, Tracey turned around. There, standing amidst the outgoing
flow of the crowd, stood Noah.

Chapter 20

Moments before, Noah had arrived at
City Hall just in time to witness Deacon’s outburst and fall. He’d
rolled back in town a few minutes earlier, stopping by Walnut Ridge
in hopes of seeing Tracey. But the house was empty, as were the
shop and barn. Not until he drove down Main Street had he seen the
crowd and stopped to ask what was happening. Someone he didn’t know
had told him the Collins were having a showdown with Deacon and the
City Council.

He’d parked his bike and elbowed his
way through the crowded outer room. Squeezing into the council
room, he’d spotted Alex at the microphone, though her back was
turned. He searched for Tracey, finding her up on the front row
with Buddy. Then, before he’d even caught his breath, Deacon
collapsed.

As the room cleared out, he pushed his
way through the last of the townsfolks as he made his way toward
Tracey and Alex. This wasn’t at all how he’d planned to face Tracey
after his absence. As she turned to face him, he swallowed hard.
Closing the space between them, he then stopped.

“
Hello,
Tracey.”

“
Noah,
when . . . where did you . . .” Her
expression seemed to crumble, a mix of emotions rushing through her
eyes. He held out his arms, not knowing what to say, wishing her
into his embrace. As a tear slipped down her cheek, she stepped
closer‍—‍close enough that he could wrap his arms around
her.

He buried his face in her
hair. “Tracey, I’m
so
sorry.”

He felt a hand cover his and looked up
to see Alex, her eyes pooled with tears as she simply nodded then
passed by them. Buddy followed, giving him a hearty pat on his back
along with a knowing wink before he joined Alex.

Tracey looked up at him. “I wasn’t
sure I’d ever see you again,” she said, her voice rasped with
emotion.

He pushed a strand of hair
from her eyes and wiped her tears away with his thumb. “I wasn’t
sure you’d ever
want
to see me ever again.”

A nervous chuckle escaped as a smile
tugged at her lips. “Noah, I want you to know‍—‍”

He put his forefinger against her
lips. “Shh, not here. Not now. Can we go somewhere and
talk?”

A paramedic interrupted them, guiding
a gurney down the aisle. “Might be best for you folks to join the
others outside.”

“
Sure thing,” Noah said,
reaching for Tracey’s hand.

She didn’t move, her gaze turned to
those assisting Deacon. “Noah, do you remember that day we left on
the ride when I said I wished Deacon would just drop
dead?”

Noah put his arm over her shoulder and
steered her away. “You didn’t mean it.”

“
I know, but it’s like
I
willed
it to
happen or something. I feel awful.”

He looked down at her as they made
their way toward the door. “Don’t. You had nothing to do with what
just happened, okay?”

“
But I should never
have‍—‍”

“
Tracey?”

“
Yes?”

He rested his hands on her shoulders
and leaned close to her ear. “You and I both know you didn’t wish
the man dead,” he whispered. “So let that go, okay?”

She pressed her lips together, then
finally nodded.

They stepped outside into the throng
of folks still milling around in the early evening darkness, all
waiting for news about Deacon. The quaint streetlights shone like
spotlights on those gathered and others joining them from The Depot
across the street. Noah wished he’d thought to exit through the
back door to avoid seeing everyone. Right now, all he wanted was a
chance to talk to Tracey. Alone.

Suddenly, Stump bear-hugged him.
“Noah! When did you get back?”

Tracey stepped away, giving the guys
plenty of room. At the moment, Noah’s friends seemed anxious to
fill him in on all he’d missed, most of the animated conversation
involving the council meeting. She noticed that he kept an eye on
her, even as she joined her sister across the street in front of
the pub. She watched him as well, thankful the Elders were making
such a fuss over him.

“
Well? What did he say?”
Alex asked. “Where’s he been? Did he tell you?”

“
No, we barely said a word
before all this. We’ll have a chance to talk later.”

Just then, the doors of City Hall flew
open again as the paramedics pushed Deacon’s gurney outside and
into the waiting ambulance.

“
I see the chairman
survived after all,” Alex said sarcastically.

“
Alex, stop that kind of
talk.” Tracey noticed the oxygen mask over Deacon’s pale face. “I
sure hope he makes it.”

Alex folded her arms
across her chest. “Well, that makes
one
of us.”

Tracey pinned Alex with a glare.
“Stop. Please.”

The ambulance pulled away, its
flashing lights sending a bizarre light show bouncing against the
buildings. As it turned the corner at the end of Main Street, the
siren blared into the night.

People started chatting again, many
making their way into the pub. Tracey looked for Noah again,
finding him still across the street, but this time with her father.
The two seemed locked in serious conversation. She envied her
father, wishing for the same opportunity, but not about to
interrupt them.

Everything had happened so fast with
so much confusion. And then, in the midst of all the chaos, Noah
had appeared out of nowhere. Where had he been? Why hadn’t he
called? She couldn’t help the impatience gnawing at her
nerves.