Leaving Liberty (21 page)

           
The room seems to let out collective sigh of relief. Nita walked to the front
and said, “Say goodbye to Officer Lane, everybody. We’ll see him again this
summer at the last week of the program.”

           
“Are you going to get dunked again?” A pig-tailed girl in a bright green jumper
raised her hand.

           
“Sure. Whatever the library needs, I’m here.” He popped up from his kneeling
position, giving one more pat to the little guy who had looked at the
handcuffs. “And if you’re ever in trouble or need help, remember to call
9-1-1.” He paused, hand to his ear. “What’s the number?”

           
A few kids answered, hesitantly. “9-1-1.”

           
“I can’t hear you,” he said, frowning.

           
More answered this time, but he pretended he couldn’t hear them. “What?”

           
The room seemed to shudder with force of their response. “9-1-1!”

           
“Better.” He smiled hugely. “Bye for now.”

           
The kids yelled their goodbyes at the same volume and Lane chuckled as he met
Daisy in the doorway. “Great group of kids this year.”

           
She nodded. “Thanks for coming. What was that about the dunking?”

           
He put on his cap and straightened it before responding. She couldn’t help thinking
how different he looked, more official and less playful. “Every year we would
have an end-of-the-summer fundraiser. I would be in the dunk tank and people
would buy tickets to give me a plunge into the cold water.”

           
She felt her eyebrows go up in surprise. “I thought you wanted the library to
close.”

           
He made a sound of exasperation. “I’ve never wanted that. But I do want it to
be safe. And selling tickets to dunk a small town cop isn’t going to pay for a
new roof and new support beams.”

           
 “I’m working on a few ideas. I’m not a quitter.”

           
He straightened up like she’d slapped him. “Neither am I. But I’m a realist and
I think these kids deserve something better than rotting timber.”

           
They stood, gazes locked for an infinite beat of time, then his eyes shifted to
someone standing behind her. She turned to see Mayor Featherstone standing a
few steps above her on the narrow stairway. His gray suit matched his flat gray
eyes and his face was fleshy and pale. He didn’t bother to smile. He’d been
mayor for so long that he didn’t bother with the usual politician’s palm
pressing.  At election time there was only one name on the ballot and
everybody knew who would win.

           
“Lane, I think you’ve been down here long enough. We don’t want to leave our
streets unprotected.”  He didn’t acknowledge Daisy verbally, but his eyes
coasted over her silk top and down to her sandals. “I know you’d prefer to hang
out with the pretty substitute librarian, but you’ve got to show you’re part of
the team. I’d hate for you to miss out on any more promotions.”

           
Daisy had never liked Featherstone, mostly because when she was a teen she
didn’t like the way he wore a bad comb-over that barely concealed his shiny
bald head. It had been petty and shallow then, but now that she was actually
having a conversation with the man, she didn’t see any reason to change her
opinion.

           
“Yes, sir.” Lane’s voice was calm and he moved to pass Daisy. She could smell
his cologne, felt his warmth as he brushed by.

           
“Mayor Featherstone, thank you for loaning us Officer Bennett. He really helped
the children understand some safety issues today.” It wasn’t much, but her
throat was aching at the thought of Lane quietly following the mayor up the
stairs as if he was a dog caught in the neighbor’s yard.

           
Featherstone grunted. “Marie always had Lane come to the program. No need for
us to keep it up. She’s gone and won’t know the difference.” With that he
turned and trudged up the stairs, wheezing faintly.

           
Lane shot her an apologetic glance and started up the stairs, but Daisy grabbed
his hand on impulse. He looked back in surprise, brows raised under his cap.
She held on for a moment, feeling the faint callouses on his fingers and the
warmth of his palm. She wanted to say she understood, that Featherstone was an
idiot, that she admired how Lane was professional at all times, how great he’d
been with the kids. He’d lost a promotion because of her drunk father, lost his
girlfriend, forgave them both, and still got to hear the nasty reminders from
people like Featherstone. 

           
Lane looked down at their hands, fingers entwined. When his gaze met hers
again, his eyes were soft. His lips turned up a bit at the corners, as if he
understood what she was trying to say. “We’re on the same side. Right, Daisy?”

           
She nodded. “Right.”

           
He gently let her fingers slip through his and turned back to the stairs. She
took a deep breath and wrapped her arms around her middle.
On the same side.
How really strange it was, but there was no denying it. Lane, officer of the
law and defender of Liberty and Daisy, temporary librarian and reluctant summer
resident, were indeed on the same side.  

           
Daisy surveyed the room of preschoolers and let their excited chatter wash over
her. Nita passed out sheets of coloring pages, her gray head bent close to hear
a small girl with a band aid on her nose. He’d been generous with his time and
his friendship. He acted as if he didn’t have time to be bitter or to wallow in
the past. Daisy considered, just for a moment, if Lane was right about Rocky.
Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to hear him out. She didn’t have to see him around
forever. Just one meeting to let the man say his piece, then he’d be happy and
she could feel like she’d done the right thing.

           
Maybe. Maybe not. She shook off the thought and strode into the room. She
wasn’t ready. She would cross the bridge when she came to it. Right now, she
had a program to run and a library to save.

                                                                   
Chapter Seventeen

           
Daisy stretched her arms over her head and wished it was Friday. Not that she
had any plan for the weekend, but this particular Monday was living up to its
reputation. The grant applications were still pending, the fund-raising was
barely off the ground and there was a whole week of summer reading program
classes to wade through. It had finally stopped raining so her bike ride into
town today had been a lot more comfortable than the last few trips. The creek
was swollen to the very top of its banks but maybe that was the last of the
rain and they could settle into a real summer. It was late June and it seemed
like summer had barely even started.

           
 Chet’s inspection was thorough but his estimate for repairs had made her
heart stop in her chest when she’d seen the number of zeros. Reality was a
killer. Daisy had hoped, just for a week or two, that maybe the library wasn’t
in that bad of a state.  No doubt about it. Lane had been right all along.

           
She glanced down at the contractor’s repair sheet and Lane’s face flashed
through her mind for the tenth time that morning. After that day on the stairs,
she’d tried to keep her mind off the handsome cop, but it had been an utter
failure. Finally, she’d decided that a few thoughts wouldn’t hurt anybody and
physical avoidance was key. But not even an hour later he’d walked through the
library door looking for a good book. And in the next week she’d seen him at
Nancy’s coffee shop, the grocery store, and passed him on the sidewalk. Each
time he’d smiled, even stopped to chat, and her heart had reacted like it had
taken a shot of adrenaline.

           
By this morning, she’d finallygiven up and just admitted that she was crushing
on Lane. It hadn’t made the reality any easier, but maybe if she just accepted
that fact, he wouldn’t seem so attractive. He’d never know, anyway.

           
It was definitely the lure of forbidden fruit. She’d known plenty of men in
Fresno who could compete with Lane’s looks and were much more successful. Maybe
even a few who could match his strong character. Daisy bit her lip, stalled in
the middle of her own argument. To be fair, she hadn’t known any as kind or as
faithful. Forbidden fruit didn’t completely explain what she felt. Lane was so
much more than a small-town cop. He was faithful and loyal and honorable. And
she liked his dog. Daisy sighed. She even missed Sammy.

           
She rubbed the ache that had started above her eyes and crossed off a few more
names on her fundraising list. Noontime sun blazed through the small office
window and landed squarely on Daisy’s back as she dialed the next number. She
gripped the phone tighter and focused on the wall, planning her words. She
couldn’t imagine why Marie’s desk faced the wall, but it was six weeks after
she’d arrived and it was still in that same position. She shifted
uncomfortably, feeling the sweat at the back of her neck combining with a
particularly scratchy tag. No answer on the other end, until a machine picked
up. It was a Monday through and through.

“Thank you for letting me know you won’t
be able to donate to our fundraising effort. If you change your mind about
supporting our renovation project, I would be happy to go give you a tour of
the library.” Daisy smiled her way through another depressing phone message and
then broke the connection with a sigh. It was one thing to ask for money and
another to be turned down. It was a whole different universe to call up the
person and give them a cheery speech disguised as one last chance at a
donation.

           
Daisy dropped her head into her hands. This morning was a total loss. Not a
single donation and she’d been stuck in the office for hours on the first clear
day in weeks. It would be great if she had a tiny coffee machine in Marie’s
office. If she emerged into the lounge area, Nita and the girls might ask if
there had been any progress. And there was nothing good to report.

           
Daisy rolled her head from side to side, trying to ease the tension in her
shoulders. She wasn’t a quitter, but she had to take a break. There were only
so many times a girl could handle rejection before she needed chocolate. She
balanced the pen between her fingers and beat a staccato rhythm against the
desk. Maybe it was hard for everybody, but she felt sick to her stomach when she
asked for money. It reminded her of so many years when she’d had to ask for
what other kids had handed to them.

           
A soft knock interrupted her thoughts. Nita poked her head inside and nodded at
the phone. “Much luck?”

           
“Nope. Our best bets are the grants.”  Even with all the grading she did,
Daisy hadn’t ever filled out so many papers in such little time. It felt like
graduate school all over again. “I’ll just work on the assumption that God will
bless us with the funds to renovate but we won’t know anything for another
month.”

           
They were both quiet at that. Time was getting short. There might not be a
happy ending to this project.

           
“It would be great if we could get some of the community businesses involved,
but everyone says they’re as cash strapped as the city. The recession has hit
hard.”

           
“My brother lost his hardware business last summer.” Nita said. “He’s still
trying to get out from under the debt.”

           
“You mean Ace Tools? I didn’t know Joe was your brother.” Now that she said it,
Nita looked an awful lot like the old hardware store owner, but with earrings
and a lot more hair.

           
“Tough times.” Nita gave Daisy a long look, brown eyes narrowed. “Enough time
of phone. You need to take a break. Maybe the whole afternoon. Get some sun.”

           
She blew out a sigh. She wanted to refuse, but honestly was tired to the core
of cold calling folks in town and begging for donations. “You won’t mind
watching the library? I can be back by closing.”

           
Nita waved a hand. “Not a problem. With two volunteers here today shelving, I
won’t have any trouble handling the desk.”

           
The idea of a bite of lunch, a leisurely bike out to the cabin and maybe a
short nap was more than she could resist. “Your bike is saving my health and
sanity, you know.”

           
“I’m glad you’re getting good use out of her.” Another smile and Nita retreated
to the front.

           
Her? Daisy chuckled. The old blue bicycle must be fifty years old, with
gleaming chrome, wide handle bars, and a basket big enough to carry a small
suitcase. And apparently, also possessed a gender.

           
An hour later, after a consuming a fresh roast-beef-on-rye sandwich from
Nancy’s bakery and a chocolate cupcake with mocha frosting, Daisy started for
the cabin. She’d noticed the strength in her legs growing each day she biked to
the library and back. This wasn’t her usual highway commute, for sure. She
flipped back the hood on her rain jacket, hoping the clouds would stay away the
entire week. Bright sunshine and impossibly fresh air cleared out the cobwebs
in her head, giving her a serotonin boost that couldn’t be matched by any
antidepressant.