Chapter Seventeen

The whirlwind of the New York trip had done little to ease the stabbing ache in her heart. “Serves you right for being so gullible.”

Asa sat at her kitchen table to scanned the list, checking off items with her red pen. Everything was in place. Simeon couldn’t do anything to stop the rally now. With any luck, he didn’t even know what she had planned. She folded the piece of paper and slipped it into the pocket of her shorts.

Her plan to get the community involved in stopping his project might not save her house, but at least she hadn’t curled up in bed and cried. Fighting for something felt so much better than giving in. Putting her life back together was worth every nail clawing, back breaking effort she could think of.

The last time she saw Simeon the dark, fiery look in his eyes made her wonder how far he would go for his project. At least he never misled her. Never once did he let her think her house was safe. She smiled as she admired his honesty. But she knew he wouldn’t change his mind.

From the window she watched while Scruffy sniffed the hydrangea in the back yard and then she scrolled through her cell phone log. No calls from Simeon since he dropped her off a week ago. She wanted to call him, to hear his voice, or feel his arms around her, but that was silly. His position was clear, it always had been.

She ran her thumb over the screen. The log was full. Eric’s name appeared twice. She studied the phone for several moments then shrugged her shoulders. Life was cruel.

Her cell phone vibrated. Eric’s number blared at her. She didn’t answer. When the phone quieted she deleted his number from the phone then blocked his calls.

She closed the phone just as it vibrated again.

“Are we all ready for the big rally?” asked Dakota.

She sighed. “It starts in an hour. And thanks to all your hard work we’re ready.” Asa spotted the dog as he raised his leg against the sad looking bush. She snapped her fingers to get Scruffy’s attention. “Thanks for all your support. I know you think I’m nuts, but--”

“I want to support you and based on the number of calls I’m getting you have a lot of people that agree with you. So if you want the house, I don’t want Simeon to tear it down, either.”

“I’m in a good place. No matter what happens I feel good because at least I’m doing something to help myself. Here in Bristol I don’t feel like I have to prove myself.

“You never had to prove yourself to those that love you, Asa,” Dakota offered. “Did you call the councilman?”

“The earliest I could get an appointment is next week,” Asa said. “A lot of good that will do me.”

“What time do you want me at the rally?”

“I’m heading down there in a few minutes. Come early, I can always use help setting up.”

“Okay, I should be there in about thirty minutes.”

Asa ended the call and gathered everything she needed.

She held the car door open for the dog. He hopped into the passenger seat. Her car had been in front of her house when she returned from New York.

No note.

No call.

No card.

Simeon probably had someone drop it off. She should have called to thank him, but she refused to dial his number. Instead, she sent him a check for the new radiator. This way she owed him nothing.

A tingle of guilt ran along her spine for inviting Simeon’s brother, Brian, to the rally. But he insisted on helping when she called to thank him for his help with the car. Brian was easy to talk to and valued community.

She pulled her car into the parking lot. The park was crowded already. This was a good sign. A huge turnout was bound to get attention. It would look great for the media coverage.

Scruffy yanked at his leash as Asa walked to the entrance of the park. She heard her neighbor, Mrs. Donald’s hearty laugh drifting across the field, but she couldn’t see the stout woman. A flash of warm air blew over her as happy memories of the block parties awakened in her. The smell of food, the laughter, the festive chatter all rushed back as if the last block party had taken place only few days ago. She half expected to see her grandfather and father standing behind a charcoal grill turning hot dogs and hamburgers.

The vision vanished just as quickly as it had come when she spotted Mrs. Donald instructing the caterer how to set up the food table. The caterer’s lip disappeared behind a frown.

Before Asa could rescue the woman Brian Harper stopped her. “There you are.”

“Brian, I’m so glad you could make it.”

“It was nice of you to allow the men at the mission to come along. They don’t often get invited to private affairs.”

“You all helped me with the car, I wanted to say thank you again.” Asa leaned closer to him and asked, “Did you...”

“No, I didn’t mention anything to Simeon. I’ll let you and him work that out.”

She sighed with relief. “Thank you for keeping my secret. I don’t think he would have liked this idea.”

“I’m sure of that.”

“It won’t cause any problems between you, will it?”

“I’m the older brother. It’s nothing I can’t handle. But if you really want to thank me and the mission, we’re always looking for volunteers. If you can fit a few hours into your busy schedule we’d really appreciate a helping hand.”

“Between the rally and the organizers of Fashion Week, I’ve been busy, but I’ll be there next week. I’ll even try to drag my sister along with me.

Before he could reply they were interrupted. Two rally supporters rolled out the banner. Golden Leaf Community danced across the white batting in thick green letters. “Where do you want us to hang the banner?”

Asa pointed to a cluster of trees at the entrance of the park. “Hang it there. String it from one tree to the next, so everyone can see it as they walk up.”

As she talked to the supporters, Brian walked away. His shoulders were as broad as his brother’s, but his demeanor was a little more relaxed than Simeon’s. He smiled more easily. There was a contentment in his eyes that she never saw with Simeon.

“Asa, can you come over here and tell us where you want these pies?” Mrs. Donald called to her from a group of women gathered around the table. Mrs. Donald reminded her of Mim. The party couldn’t start until the food table was just right.

Asa hurried to settle the pie argument. “The caterer can handle all of this. I’m sure whatever she decides will be fine.” She rubbed her hand along Mrs. Donald’s back hoping to relax the older woman.

“Your caterer is fine, but Meryl from the church brought this pie anyway. Honey, look at this here apple pie. Meryl brought this pie and sat it in the middle of the table like it was some kind of prize. What little crust it has is burned. It looks about as runny as soup. We can’t serve this.”

“Well...” Asa wasn’t certain how to respond. She didn’t know Meryl. She didn’t want to hurt the feeling of anyone that was nice enough to help make the rally successful. “Well, let’s cut it. We can scrape off the burned part. I’m sure it’ll be okay.”

Mrs. Donald gave her a skeptical look. “You just don’t want to hurt her feelings do you?”

“I really don’t.”

“Okay, we’ll do things your way, but if anyone asks me for pie, I’m going to tell them to eat the peach or blueberry cobbler instead.” Mrs. Donald stuck her knife in the pie like she was butchering a piece of meat.

“Look, the camera crew has arrived.” Asa motioned to the front gate. “Can you handle this?”

“Yeah, baby, I got this.” She waved Asa away. “You go ahead.”

Asa scurried to the other side of the park.

“Oh good, Asa, there you are,” the news anchor said. “We’re going to set up right here. We’ll want to talk with a few of the neighbors first and we’ll talk with you last.” She waved a clipboard at her crew. “I also want to get a few shots of the area. It looks great. We’ll be live for the early news and then run a clip of the event on the evening segment.”

“Thank you for doing this.”

“It’s not a problem. We needed a human interest piece tonight. We’re always looking for local stuff that our viewers might be interested in. Once I heard your story, I thought the rally might make a good segment.” She looked around. “You’ve done your part of getting the people here. It’s a nice crowd.”

“I think this crowd will send a message.”

“Have you had any luck talking the developer into changing his plans?”

Asa bit down on her lip. After several dates with Simeon, she was no closer to understanding him or negotiating with him. “No, no change. So I’m counting on you to make this good.”

“I’ll do my best, sweetie. Go greet your guests and I’ll come find you shortly.”

§ § §

Simeon dropped his pen and sat back in the chair. The house was too quiet. Deathly quiet. He massaged his temples. A tension headache was mounting an attack behind his eyes.

He opened the folder on the desk. Everything was in order, his neat, tidy project. He pulled open the top drawer to his file cabinet, plucked through the files until he found the one labeled location alternatives. His finger rolled down the list of parcels of land that had been under consideration for the strip mall. One particular lot was larger, but more expensive and further away. He hunched over the specifications for a closer look.

His pulse raced. He sat back in the chair. His skin prickled with interest. After a slow, measured breath he snatched open his desk drawer and took out his protractor and surveys. With the point pressed firmly in the drawing he measured the distance from both parcels of land. Switching the strip mall to the new site produced possibilities. It provided access to more people. Selecting the Golden Leaf Community had been easy, maybe too easy. A bitter taste formed in his mouth. He’d never intended to bully his way into Golden Leaf. Business was never personal, but maybe this time, this project came too close.

Maybe she was right. There was an alternative worth considering. He picked up the phone to call her, but placed the receiver back in the cradle. They hadn’t spoken in over a week. He hadn’t even bothered to call her about the car. She wanted more than he could give. Moving the project to a new location didn’t mean they would settle in for happily-ever-after. But at least he could offer her some hope about her house.

This news he had to deliver in person. He raced to the kitchen, grabbed his keys and jumped in the car. He chose the sporty Porsche. This wasn’t a leisurely drive. The sooner he shared his news with Asa, the sooner he could stop feeling like the Grinch that stole her Christmas joy. He shifted into fourth gear as he neared the turnpike. The thought of seeing her radiant smile and hearing her soft voice were enough to turn him on.

His phone rang. He hit the voice control command, “Yeah, Simeon here.”

“This is George, from The Plaid Group.”

“Hello, George, what can I do for you?” Simeon turned onto Route 100 without tapping his brake. “Did you receive the contract?”

“Do you know about this rally?”

“What are you talking about?” The tone of George’s voice made his chest tighten. He pulled onto the shoulder of the road. “I don’t like guessing games, what are you talking about?”

“There’s a rally taking place right now in the park near Golden Leaf. I don’t think it’s in support of the project. We don’t need negative publicity just as we’re getting ready to break ground. It makes the backers nervous.”

Simeon closed his eyes. His free hand massaged his brow. “There’s nothing to worry about, George.”

“You’re sure?”

“George, this is not the first time you’ve done business with Harper Enterprise. You know how I operate. You have nothing to worry about.”

“That’s what I figured.”

“We’ll talk Monday.” Simeon ended the call. He sat frozen for several moments as cars sped past. He snorted. His fingers clenched the steering wheel baring his knuckles. This stunt had Asa Conroy written all over it.

After several deep breaths, he punched the accelerator and headed for Golden Leaf. He knew exactly what was going on and who was behind it.

Simeon rounded the corner of Buchanan Street. His car rims scraped the curb before screeching to a halt. He drummed his palm on the steering wheel as he tried to stem the anger igniting in his stomach. He searched the enormous crowd for Asa. The Conroy stamp was on this event from the banner, the music and the food. This might as well be one of their damned block parties.

He continued to drum the steering wheel, each slap harder than the last. He swallowed the bile rising from his stomach. Had Asa intentionally betrayed him? Did she think he would give in to her because of this rally? Sitting in the car, watching from a distance was like observing ghosts from his past. The battle in his heart churned up feelings of emptiness, of not being good enough, that should have been gone.

Up ahead, he spotted Asa walking to the park entrance with that reporter from the local network. He watched her gesture to the crowd and point to the huge banner draped across the entrance to the park. Asa laughed at something, her face lit up with a radiant smile. It was time to confront this situation, head on.

After a final smack of the steering wheel, he barreled out of the car. Without taking his eyes off Asa he crossed the court. There was no way to know how this would end, but her betrayal carved a hole in his heart. Anger and disappointment guided his steps. Forget the new parcel of land. Everything would go back to the original plan. Nothing could stand in his way of taking down that block now. The city needed the planned community and senior center and he intended to make sure he gave them what they needed.

“Asa, I need to talk to you,” Simeon’s voice boomed across the park. She jumped. Activity stopped.

She frowned but signaled for him to wait while she continued to talk with the reporter. He shifted his weight and scratched his forehead. His heart roared in his chest, threatening to force its way out. Several deep breaths did nothing to calm him. He shoved his hands in his pockets and stared at Asa.

She ignored his gesture and took her time.

Simeon folded his arms across his chest. One long breath. Another long one and he felt his Hulk-like demeanor diminish. There was no sense making a scene, so he allowed her a moment. Waiting was one of his virtues; most of his adult life had been spent waiting. He walked away from the crowd.

After the camera crew packed up their equipment and drove off in the news van, Asa stomped toward him.

“Can you tell me why you’re yelling at me?” She stood in front of him with her hands planted on her hips. Her eyes blazed like hot coals.

“What is this?” He swung his arms wide to encompass the park. “Is this supposed to make me change my mind? Do you think a block party will make me change my mind? You’ve been gone years, now all of a sudden you’re back and everybody is supposed to redirect their life because you said so?” His didn’t try to stop the rage from entering his voice.

“Why do you think all these people are here? They’re here because they care about this community. They care about their homes. If you weren’t so arrogant you’d see that.”

“What I see is deception. Were you planning this all along?”

“No, but you left me no choice. I had to do something.”

“What do you expect to accomplish? Am I supposed to change my mind now?”

She scowled at him but didn’t respond.

“I stayed behind, Asa. Everything I’ve done has been for the benefit of this community. The strip mall will give the people a place to shop without having to drive or catch a bus to the other side of town. Do you have any idea where the closest grocery store is?”

Asa averted her eyes, then he continued. “Do you know that some of these people, your neighbors, go weeks without fresh fruit or vegetables because they have no transportation across town? So don’t think you’re so high and mighty because you pulled together a little block party.” He lowered his voice, but the rage remained.

“It’s not a party, it’s a rally. A rally to let you and everyone know we love this neighborhood and we don’t want you to tear it down.” There was an edge in her voice. “We don’t want to be pushed out of our homes.”

The slow hum of a chant rose from the crowd. “Save Golden Leaf. Save Golden Leaf.” The chant crescendoed, rolling across the park like thunder. Some participants threw their fists into the air. He shoved his hands in his pocket until the rebellion slowed to a soft rumble by a few diehards. A group of older women glared motherly disapproval at him. The same kind he’d seen in his mother’s eyes when he was being difficult.

Simeon grabbed her hand to turn their backs to the crowd. “Th—this—” he snapped his fingers. “We can make this work out.” He lowered his voice.

The determined look in her eyes smoldered with defiance. Beneath her stare was a hint of pain, her sparkle was gone. Her bottom lip trembled for a second before she grabbed it with her teeth. An urge to pull her into his arms rushed over him. There had to be a way to make this work for everybody. Her fiery temper gave him no room to think.

“Look, Asa, I’m not trying to hurt you.” He rubbed the goosebumps on her arms, his tone softer now.

“Well, what are you trying to do? You charged into the park like a snorting bull. You must have wanted to accomplish something. Were you trying to intimidate me? Do you want me to go running back to Atlanta? Or would you prefer I get out of your life in general?”

Her brown eyes pierced his. The chanting stopped. He turned around to survey the thick crowd. A few people continued to stare at them. He wanted to share his news with her, but this wasn’t the setting. “Can we talk later? I’ll come by your house.”

Simeon looked up to see his brother striding toward him.

“Simeon, are you okay?”

“Brian-- What...what are you doing here?”

“Asa invited me and the guys from the mission.”

Simeon looked from his brother back to Asa. His stomach dropped. Brian held up his hands. “Whoa, Simeon, it’s not like that.”

He faced his brother. “Explain it to me then.”

“I asked him not to tell you.” Asa stepped closer to Simeon. “I didn’t want you to interfere with the plans.”

“I see.

“I just go where I’m needed and help where I can. You know that, brother.”

“What I know is my brother betrayed me.” He turned to Asa. “And you asked him to.”

That woman is so infuriating and I let her under my skin.