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She most certainly was not. “A director?”
He nodded. “I travel around the country, helping to open new stores. It’s one of the reasons I decided to move back home right now. Store 35 is about to break ground.”
“You came out because it fit in with your schedule?”
“And I wanted to help Mrs. Wyzecki.”
Remembering their conversation in the garage, Minnie folded her arms over her chest. “Why didn’t you tell me this earlier?”
He played dumb. “When? I’ve barely been here a week.”
“There’s been loads of opportunities. Like when you were in my card shop. Like when we were in the garage.”
To his benefit, Matt did not point out that it would have been pretty darn awkward to bring up his job while she was complaining about her financial future. “Minnie, I don’t go around telling everyone my business.”
There it was. To her, he was special. To him, she was “everyone.” “Well, now I know. Thanks for telling me.”
Blue eyes blinked. “You don’t have to put your arms over your chest like I’ve done something wrong.”
She glanced at her arms, then glared at him. “Don’t tell me where to put my arms, Matt Madigan.”
“Then don’t say my name like it’s your next favorite curse word.”
“It just might be.” Memories of her whining about SavNGo kept slapping her in the face. “I wish you would have told me before I sat there and complained about you in Wanda’s garage.”
“Minnie, I’m not your enemy. I just work for SavNGo…I don’t own it. If you have any questions, I’ll be glad to answer them. I answer questions about SavNGo for a living.”
“No questions come to mind, but I’ll let you know.” As a matter of fact, Minnie didn’t know what was in her mind at the moment. All she could deal with was the sudden loss she felt. She’d been so excited to see him again.
Now he was the reason she was going to lose her business. “I’m not mad. I’ve just got things to do.” She pointed to the long line of cards. “As you can see.”
“I do see.”
“And thank you, Matt, for carrying over the dishes. It was really kind of you,” she said, all super sweet and fake.
He stepped forward. “Minnie—”
The front door slammed, followed by the patter of tiny feet in sparkly purple tennis shoes. “Minnie?”
In alarm, Minnie looked at Matt. Kimber had had enough to deal with without witnessing an argument. For one second, she met his eyes and forgot to be angry. Please don’t say anything, she silently pleaded. Please just act like we’re old friends.
“I’m in the kitchen.” Turning to Matt, Minnie whispered, “Listen, don’t—”
And then, to her dismay, in popped Kimber, a bright smile on her face as big as the Royal Gorge. The smile was unexpected. In her experience, Kimber didn’t smile for anyone without a whole lot of coaxing.
Why was Matt different?
“Who are you?” Kimber asked.
“Matt.”
“Are you Aunt Minnie’s boyfriend?”
Minnie was sure she couldn’t blush anymore. “No, he isn’t. He’s just an old—”
“Friend.” Matt leaned closer and held out a hand. “You must be Kimber. Glad to meet you.”
With wide eyes, Kimber shook his hand.
“Oh my goodness, look at you, Matt,” JoAnn Clark said, hauling in a Tupperware container filled with what had to be a hundred cookies. “It’s so good to see you. I had forgotten you were back.”
“Mrs. Clark, nice to see you again.” He squatted down to Kimber’s level. “I like those shoes.”
“They’re purple.” Kimber was all girl. As if she was stepping right out of Sex and the City, she pointed a foot so Matt could have better access.
Matt touched the toe. “Cool sparkly lights.”
Floppy bangs that begged for a trim shielded her eyes. “Minnie got them for me. Where did you come from?”
Matt stood up. “Pennsylvania, but I’m here now for good. I’m going to be your neighbor. I’m going to live in Mrs. Wyzecki’s home.”
JoAnn looked like Christmas had come early. “Did you hear that, Minnie?”
“I did.”
Matt took a step back. “I suppose I best get a move on. Kimber, Mrs. Clark, it’s nice to see you again.”
Kimber blocked his way with a sparkly two-step. “Guess what? I’m getting me a guinea pig.”
“When?”
Kimber turned to Minnie. “When did you say?”
She’d never wanted a guinea pig. “Soon.”
“I’m gonna name him George.”
Matt flashed another smile. “Maybe when you get him, you can introduce him to me.”
Minnie was pretty sure that would only happen when it snowed in July.
Chapter Five
“Why didn’t Matt tell me that he worked for SavNGo the first chance he got?” Minnie griped as she grabbed hold of a dandelion and yanked hard on its stem. “He had any number of chances to tell me the whole reason he was here, but he didn’t.”
As a tiny gust of warm wind floated around Minnie’s front yard, Wanda repositioned the brim of her floppy straw hat. “Maybe it was because he knew you’d react this way?”
“React how?”
Wanda motioned to the limp weed Minnie was clutching in her hand. “Like you’d pay money for his body to be buried in the ground near here.”
In reflex, Minnie dropped the dandelion as if it were covered in red ants. “That’s unfair. I certainly don’t wish Matt was dead.”
“Just maimed?”
“No, of course not.” Minnie fumed as she pulled up another weed, grasping it in a chokehold the way she was envisioning wringing Matt Madigan’s neck. “I just hate being surprised, that’s all. And I embarrassed myself, too.”
“Embarrassed yourself? When?”
“I don’t know. A couple of times.”
“What did you say when he brought the dishes over?”
“Too much.” Minnie tossed a handful of weeds into her wheelbarrow. “Wanda, I know you love Matt like he was your own, but you have to try and see things from my point of view.”
“Oh, I think I can see your side, plain as day. But I can see Matthew’s, too.” As if weighing her conscience, she slowly said, “Matthew never could abide conflict or confrontations. He doesn’t trust easily, Minnie. I don’t know if he ever has.”
This was news to Minnie. “Because of his dad?”
“Because of a lot of things. Matt is a pleaser on the outside. He does what people expect, says what they want to hear. It’s charming. But unfortunately, it makes all those feelings and emotions inside of him get all bottled up. He hasn’t been able to count on too much, you know. His mama died when he was nine, and, well, his daddy had never been the type to listen to complaints or secrets.”
Minnie picked up her spade. “Can you keep a secret?”
“Of course.”
“Years ago, I had such a crush on Matt.”
“Oh, honey. I already knew that.” Under the brim of her straw hat, Wanda grinned broadly. “Everyone knew that.”
Well, that was mortifying. Minnie pushed at the ground with her spade to cover up her embarrassment. “Oh.”
Wanda chuckled. “Don’t worry, Minnie. You weren’t the only girl who was sad to see Matt leave town. And I don’t think you’re the only one who has entertained a thought or two about Matt Madigan over the years.”
Watching a bumblebee zip around her geraniums, Minnie added, “Maybe I’m just thinking about what could have been.” She looked Wanda’s way. “I guess you remember about Matt dating Paige?”
“I do. I remember she failed him, too.” She shook her head sorrowfully. “Oh, Paige. What a mess that girl was!”
“Paige was so mean to him.”
“She broke his heart.” Incredibly, Wanda was probably the only person Minnie could trust to be objective when it came to her older sister. Paige had been born thinking that she knew everything, and the sad part of it was that most people thought she was right. Minnie sometimes felt that she was the only person to see that Paige had a healthy case of impulsiveness and arrogance that got her into trouble.
Minnie looked down the street, thinking of Matt, thinking of Kimber. “It’s not just broken dreams I’m anxious about, Wanda. I’m worried about everything. I’m worried about Kimber. I’m worried about SavNGo coming in and taking away my only means to support her.”
“You have every right to be troubled, dear. Those are all justified fears.”
Minnie brushed off her hands. That was why she liked her neighbor so much. Wanda Wyzecki never tried to shrug off Minnie’s concerns or sugarcoat bad news. From the day Minnie had met her, Wanda had always been the kind of woman to call a spade a spade.
“Have I told you lately how glad I am that you live across the street?”
“No.” But the lady’s lips twitched. “But I love you, too, Minnie. Don’t worry so, okay?”
Minnie glanced at the new pile of weeds next to her knees, their leaves and stems already shriveling up in the hot afternoon sun. “What should I do about Matt?”
“Whatever you think best, I suppose.”
“I’m going to have a real hard time looking at him every day if his SavNGo puts me out of business.”
“Some might say you would have every right to feel that way.”
“But not you?”
“I’ve been around long enough to know that feeling bitter doesn’t help a person sleep at night. Just like I know that work isn’t the only thing that matters.”
“The only people who say that are the ones whose jobs are going real well.”
Wanda stood up. Minnie noticed that her crisp white capris were still, well, crisp and white, and her red T-shirt looked straight out of the dry cleaners. She, on the other hand, had a coat of dirt all over her.
“I best get going,” Wanda announced. “Matthew said he’d help me organize Jim’s golf things this afternoon.” Looking fondly at Matt’s truck, Wanda smiled. “I tell you what, though, no matter how you must feel about that man, one thing just can’t be denied. He sure is handsome.”
Saying Matt was handsome was like saying the sky was blue. Neither did the reality justice.
As Wanda walked back home, Minnie scooped up the last of the weeds and tossed them and her spade into the wheelbarrow. After pulling off her gloves, she walked to her front porch. The shade was a blessed relief. She sat down on one of the wicker rocking chairs and tried to look everywhere besides Matt’s shiny black pickup truck across the street.
It was sure hard to realize that heroes were made of flesh and doubts.
“NEVER THOUGHT I’D SEE the day when this field would be made into a parking lot,” Lane Henderson said as they watched yet another dump truck roar out onto the street. For the past five hours, earthmovers had cleared out shrubs, grass and rubbish while Bobcats had followed, smoothing over what used to be the Crocker Ranch. “If all goes well, you’ll be opening right on schedule, in eight months’ time.”
In less than a year, Crescent View would be making progress. Providing jobs. Giving people like Lane a good bit of money that was sorely needed in the current economy. “Yep. Everything’s moving along like clockwork,” Matt said.
“The town council couldn’t be more pleased. Some are even talking about moving the Chicken and Bread festival to next March.”
The Chicken and Bread festival was the town’s biggest event. Years ago, Crescent View’s founding fathers had decided to capitalize on the three things their sleepy town had going for it: area poultry farms, wheat fields, and the beautiful countryside covered with bluebonnets and Indian paintbrush, a byproduct of Lady Bird Johnson’s efforts to beautify the nation’s highways and byways. Consequently, Crescent View hosted thousands of people in the summer, people ready to enjoy the beauty of wildflowers and fried chicken. “Think so?”
“Maybe. Lots of tourists come in for the festival. We’ll be pleased as punch to show off our new SavNGo while we’re at it.”
Matt felt a hearty surge of satisfaction. He could hardly count the number of times he’d sat in his Ford pickup and watched a ground-breaking. Usually he oversaw one or two construction sites and did his best to meet with the town councils and local construction crews at the same time. He’d also become adept at putting the best possible spin on the incoming store.
Here in Crescent View, he hadn’t had to do any fast talking at all. He genuinely believed that SavNGo was going to help boost the town’s economy, and he’d do everything he possibly could to ensure that the vision became a reality.
What people didn’t know was he’d done a lot of fast talking to even get SavNGo in the county at all. Not everyone in the company had thought Crescent View had a future.
Lane rolled back on the heels of his work boots. “Things are going to be a lot different round here soon.”
That was no lie, SavNGo might have a bad rap for taking out small businesses, but it had also given back to a lot of communities. Jobs were created, other businesses flocked to the areas surrounding the supercenters, and people enjoyed paying less money for everyday necessities. He liked working for the chain.
Of course, he’d never had to come face-to-face with brown eyes that filled with tears at the thought of SavNGo’s impending arrival.
“We’re real pleased you asked our company to install all the heating and air-conditioning,” Lane said. “Henderson HVAC is going to make sure everything goes as smooth as silk.”
