Page 98 of Pity Parade

Exhaling loudly into the receiver, she tells me, “I think good. I told him that I loved him, and I wanted to make our marriage work. I said I would do anything it takes.”

“Good for you, Shel. What was his reaction?”

“He looked kind of sad and happy at the same time. I feel like he might have already decided to end our marriage, and I’m making things hard on him by suddenly taking such an interest.”

“It’s okay if it’s hard,” I tell her. “Good things are worth the work.”

“I think he’ll do the right thing. I just don’t think it’ll be easy.”

Changing the subject, I ask, “Did you have a chance to check out the information I sent you from Jeremiah Engle?”

“On the plane,” she says. “It looks interesting, but it’s not like anything we’ve ever done before.”

“It’s not,” I tell her. “And that’s one of the reasons I like it so much.”

She declares, “If nothing else, it’ll be good for our image.”

“Forget our image. It’ll be good for humanity.”

“It will be,” she says. “But you have to give me a beat to change directions. I mean, for ten years we’ve been all about the next big thing.”

“Helping people is a big thing,” I tell her.

“I know. I liked your idea about getting Allan involved too. He was very passionate about social work, and I know he’s not been happy that he wasn’t able to do all of the things he wanted to before leaving his job to take care of the kids.”

“He’s a great dad,” I tell her. “But I think it’s time he gets back to doing the work he loves.”

“It’ll be good for his self-esteem and good for the family. I’m planning on calling him later this afternoon to talk about it.”

“My appointment with the television producer is in two days,” I say. “We’re meeting at a restaurant near the building site for lunch. Jeremiah’s press conference will be at the site at two.”

“Are you sure the best way to handle Trina’s producer is by giving him a hard time?” she asks.

“Maybe not the best, but it should be sufficient to get him to leave her alone.” I filled Shelby in earlier in the week about Trina’s troubles with Tom. As a successful woman in business, Shel was ready to hire a hit. The idea that any man would use his power to intimidate a woman really sets her off.

“I’ll see you at the press conference, Heath. I’m looking forward to it.”

I still haven’t worked out all the details regarding Tom yet, but at the very minimum I’m going to get him to back off. And who knows, maybe I can steer him in a better direction than the one he’s heading for.

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

TRINA

Heath has been acting weird the last couple of days. It’s like he’s keeping a secret, but trying hard to act like he’s not. He’s going to Chicago today to take care of some business concerns, but he won’t give me any hints about what those are. He also declined my offer to go with him, claiming he needed me to stay in Elk Lake and meet with the city about getting our permits for our glamping tents.

While I know permits are important, I can’t imagine it would hurt anything to wait an extra day. That’s why I’ve decided to follow him to Chicago. I know how sketchy this is going to sound, but I downloaded the “Where Are You” app on his phone so I can track him.

I feel bad about having doubts about Heath, and while I’m inclined to trust him, I still need to look out for number one. Who knows, maybe I’ll even stop by Tom’s office while I’m in the city and drop a bomb on him. I know Heath said I should wait, but I really want to see the look on my old producer’s face when he finds out I’m not doing his stupid show.

There’s a knock on my door, so I call out, “Come in!”

Heath walks in and makes a show of looking me up and down. “You look nice.”

“Thank you.” I preen in front of him before falling into a curtsy. “I figure no one can turn me down for glamping permits looking like this.”

He smiles. “Thanks for taking care of that. I have Prim coming out to the location tomorrow to help decide on placement, and I want to make sure we know how many tents we’re allowed to have per acre.”

This seems like something we can ask over the phone, which is why I feel perfectly comfortable not taking care of it today. “Well, get going.” I shoo him toward the door. “You’ll be home tonight, right?”

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