Crain's Landing (7 page)

We had four full-time employees on staff, yet the library was closed on the weekends, when it would have been the most prudent time to be open. Ashley shared with me that she had worked at the library since she was a senior in high school and felt at home here with no desire to go anywhere else. My blood boiled when she told me how she’d made the mistake of telling Brittney of her crush on Drew Foster, the owner of the local butcher shop. Brittney had told her sister, Kate, who had then told their aunt, whom I wasn’t surprised to learn was my neighbor, Janice. They had all teased Ashley relentlessly and now she avoided him at all costs. What did disturb me was how it was rumored that Brittney had intentionally seduced Drew with the intent to, and I quote, “Give him a test drive for Ashley.” If this rumor was in fact true, it just confirmed yet again men were slimeballs and regardless of how sweet the tea was or nicely dressed they appeared to be, just like the rest of the world, they could be rotten to the core.

I decided, based on this new information, some big changes were on the horizon. I sent all my employees a message informing them of the mandatory meeting to be held this week, said goodbye to Ashley, and then headed out to pick up my baby girl. I felt terrible for leaving Peyton much longer than I had originally planned. As I entered the daycare, I could hear my little girl squealing with laughter. Her laugh was music to my ears and I made my way to the playroom where I had left her earlier. Lily was sitting in the middle of the room, two little girls on her lap. Peyton had Lily’s face in her tiny hands, attempting to blow raspberries on her cheek, while the other little girl did the same to the other cheek. They were having such a good time I almost didn’t want to break this up.

“Mama!” Peyton said when she finally noticed me standing there.

“Hi, sweet girl.” Peyton removed herself from Lily’s lap and toddled her way to the door and to me. I bent over and wrapped my arms around her, taking in her warm baby smell. The calming effect of her sweet smell was better than the feeling any drug could ever give me. “Oh, how I missed you.”

I hugged her tightly and moved my body from side to side, causing her to giggle, her feet flopping back and forth at my waist. Her tiny hands found my face and she placed kiss after kiss to any skin she could find. I couldn’t help but laugh and thank her, small pools of her saliva now coating my face.

“Nothing quite like baby spit on your face, huh, Mom?” I looked at Lily, who was now holding the second little girl. It was then I noticed the child’s bright blue eyes and blonde ringlets. Peyton began to blow kisses at the little girl, who returned the gesture. “It seems our Savannah and your Peyton are best friends now.”

I nodded my head in agreement as I looked back at Peyton. “Isn’t it funny how children are able to be instant best friends, no one has told them they have to be leery of others. They have no boundaries, no social images that keep them from just approaching and playing.” Lily agreed with a smile, placing Savannah back on the ground so she could join Peyton. They continued to play as if I had never entered the room. I’ll have to contact her family and set up some play dates.”

Lily looked at me and then began to clean up the table. “Well, that’d be very easy if you accept her grandmother’s invitation to dinner this evening.”

I shouldn’t have been surprised, as I had learned all day, news traveled fast in this small town. But I was, and total strangers leaving messages at the daycare for me to just pop in for dinner was a little too freaky for me. Lily picked up on my thoughts as she continued to collect the stray toys and put them away.

“Relax, Natalie. Savannah’s grandmother is my mother-in-law. Savannah is my niece. Mom knew you just got into town and feels the need to mother everyone. I know your answer to this invite, but don’t think for a second it’ll be the last one you’ll ever receive.”

I extended my apologies to Lily for leaving Peyton for so long, but she waved me off and said Peyton was more of a help with occupying Savannah. I returned to the grocery store, and this time, thankfully, a young teenage girl was working the checkout. She, at least, had a clue and was pleasant. I found out she was one of the high school students who volunteered in Peyton’s daycare. I asked her if she would be interested in volunteering at the library. She excitedly told me she would love to and she would spread the word at school that the library was now open to volunteers. She explained due to the limited hours of the library, it made it impossible to do anything there. I assured her the hours would be changing.

Since it was still light outside, I took a chance and drove around the main part of town. I noticed there were several convenience stores, gas stations, beauty shops and nail salons. However, there were no movie rental places, bakeries, or coffee houses. I found this last deficiency hard to believe, especially in the time we lived in where it seemed there was a coffee shop of some sort at every corner. I decided I would confirm this was in fact true and placed a call to my father. Dad confirmed the town had plenty of hunting and fishing supply places, but there were no family-oriented places or coffee houses. The wheels began turning in my head. After I unloaded my groceries, fed and bathed Peyton, I was itching to get rolling on the offers I’d gotten from the companies I had contacted. I made certain Peyton was fast asleep as I sat down and began to do my research.

The next morning, I had all four employees sitting at one of the tables. I went around the room and asked everyone what they thought should change about the way things were run. Brittney said she thought everything was fine, no surprise there, she seemed to do nothing but her nails. Ashley stayed quiet; she had already shared many ideas in our private conversation. Austin shared he would like to see more community involvement; such as using the large empty space we had in the back for different classes like yoga, pottery or painting.

My first impression of Austin had me questioning if he was gay or just moved to the beat of his own drum. His zebra-print glasses, shimmery gold shirt, and obvious use of mascara added to my speculation. He seemed nice enough, though, and I agreed with him we should constructively utilize every inch of space available to us. He was so excited that I decided to have him do the research on his ideas and then get back to me. You would have thought I’d given him a million dollars, as happy as he was.

Kayla was the last employee and, by the looks of her, I would swear she was twelve. Her manner of dress rivaled that of me and Ashley. Apparently, Ashley and Kayla had grown up together, attending the same Sunday school class and church camps. She felt there weren’t enough children’s activities. She explained that she and Ashley had put together a Saturday book reading event for the local kids and it had been a hit, at least until Mr. Barrow decided he didn’t think it was economical anymore. This puzzled me, and I asked her to continue. She told me the kids were given a snack at the end of the reading. The library had used local ladies to make the treats so it didn’t come out of the library budget. It became somewhat of a fun competition for the ladies, each trying to outdo the other as to who could be the most creative. However, Mr. Barrow decided the cost of being open and paying for an employee on the weekends wasn’t feasible anymore. Austin informed me that Crain’s Landing had its share of different ladies organizations; such as church groups, quilting bees, and canning clubs. They even had a number of scrapbooking clubs and a few photography clubs. This information only served to make the wheels spin faster in my mind.

I was far from surprised when Brittney gasped as I announced the hours of operation for the library would be changing at the end of the month. I had given myself three weeks to get everything together. I had heard back from each company I had contacted and it was overwhelming what they were willing to help us with.

“Ms. Reid, you may not have a life outside of this place, but I do. I can’t work on weekends or after three o’clock during the day.” I looked to Brittney as she informed me of her schedule conflicts.

“Actually, Brittney, I do have a life outside of this place. However, it doesn’t mean anything if I can’t work and support myself. It seems you have a decision to make; you can accept the new hours and be willing to work them, or you can hand in your resignation and I’ll hire someone else who’d be grateful for the job. The choice is yours.”

Later that week, Austin came to me with his proposal. He had signed confirmations from several artists in the community who would be willing to give free lessons for one year to help build the program. Many of the ladies’ groups were overjoyed at the prospect of hanging their works on one of the many vacant walls. The photography club had called him and begged to hang their pictures on the wall as well. Austin felt it would be a good idea to let them change the photos once a month or so, that way everyone in the club could display their work. He further informed me his boyfriend’s cousin was the woodshop teacher at the local community college. They were interested in building us anything we needed as long as we would allow them to hang a plaque giving them credit for the piece—that way the creator could use it as a reference when they needed one. I was thrilled and readily agreed.

Kayla had contacted the ladies in her church, and they were ecstatic the reading programs would begin again. A schedule had already been worked up and the menu was all set. Now all we needed were the children. That night as I picked up Peyton, I mentioned to Lily the news about the reading program and asked if I could hang some fliers on her boards. She was so excited, and then she surprised me when she suggested I take some over to Crain’s Landing Family Medical Center, as it was the office of the only pediatrician in town.

So here I stood outside the medical center. I told Kayla I would do this, as I also needed to get Peyton a regular doctor. I opened the glass door and was immediately assaulted with an overwhelming pleasant aroma. The fragrance was of sugar cookies baking—warm, comforting, and inviting. I was suddenly starving; my yogurt I’d had for breakfast had long since worn off.

To my left was a large glass-enclosed room. A flat screen TV was mounted in the middle of the wall and a Disney movie was playing. The floor was designed to look like different wooden blocks, Peyton would love that. Against the opposite wall a line of computer screens rested on small tables, various learning games played samples of their skill levels.

“Hello, Ms. Reid.” A soft feminine voice startled me, and I turned to face the beautiful woman sitting behind the front desk.

I smiled as I approached. “Good afternoon. I’m sorry, but I don’t know your name.” I extended my hand out to shake hers over the counter.

“Oh, my goodness, dear, why would you? I’m Carolyn Crain.” Her face was warm and kind and I could tell she had earned every laugh line she had. Her smile was so real that I couldn’t help but feel content and happy.

“It’s so nice to meet you,” I replied honestly. I could just tell Carolyn was the kind of person who came into your world and made it better.

“How are you adjusting to Crain’s Landing? Lily tells me your daughter, Peyton, is the loveliest child.” The way she smiled, I knew Carolyn’s words were the truth and not merely an attempt at making pleasantries.

“I’m enjoying the challenge of the library and to be honest, it’s both my position and my daughter that brings me in today.”

“Oh, how can we help with the library?” I reached into my messenger bag and retrieved the fliers Kayla had made. I handed one to Carolyn and she looked it over. Excitement appeared on her face as her eyes met mine again.

“Oh, thank God, you’re bringing back the Saturday children’s reading groups. I was so angry at Mr. Barrow when he canceled it that I went over there and gave him a piece of my mind. He was always a cheap old bastard. He’s the reason we have copper tubing with the way he stretched pennies.” I chuckled, enjoying Carolyn’s choice of words a little too much perhaps. I knew I would love to get to know her better. I would bet she was great fun and a pro at throwing parties. “I’m sorry, Natalie, but I simply can’t stand people who let their personal agendas get in the way of helping others.” My facial expression changed to a questionable scowl.

She placed the flier down on her desk, her hand resting on the counter. “Well, it’s no secret the reason he changed everything good in that library was because he was busy screwing Janice Debrough. The more time he spent over at the library, the less time he could spend with his face stuck between her fake boobs.” Suddenly, it made sense why Brittney had cake hours and got away with doing nothing in return for her paycheck. Again, it confirmed that men were nothing more than slimeballs.

“Enough about the darker side of Crain’s Landing; you’re here now and by the talk of the town, you’re going to make a positive difference. Now, as to your darling little Peyton, my son, Grant, is the town’s only pediatrician and he’s just finishing up with his last patient of the day. How about you fill out some information forms for Peyton while we wait for him.”

Carolyn had this look on her face I found quite disconcerting. It reminded me of the look Autumn had the other day in her office while she was talking to her brother. In all honesty, it frightened me a little. I smiled and took the clipboard she currently held in her hands. The forms were the standard medical information and HIPPA consent forms.

“All right, Dustin, you’re all set. Remember, rocks belong on the ground, not in your ear, dude.”

A woman and a boy, who I would have guessed to be about nine or ten, were walking around the counter Carolyn sat behind. It wasn’t the movement of them that caused me to look up, it was the sound of the other voice I heard coming from behind them. I did a double take as undoubtedly the most handsome man I had ever laid eyes upon walked behind Carolyn. For a brief moment, my lady parts stirred, but I effectively shut that shit down. The little boy ran over to a cabinet, opened a drawer, and removed a lollipop. I watched as he reached in again for seconds, only to be corrected by the woman.