Page 4 of Heart of Dixie
“Hmm.” I gave it another glance, but left the imagining for someone else.
Ruby shrugged it off. “They’re adding a special election to the Founders’ Day celebration. You may have already heard.” Ruby interrupted my musings with this seemingly off-the-wall comment.
“Why on earth would they need an election this time of year? It’s a little early, even for a preliminary.” I’d been gone a decade, and put this small town in my rearview, but I dealt with the political machine on a regular basis.
“Well, you remember Handy Dougal.”
My face must have shown my confusion, but I had no recollection of anyone named Handy.
Ruby merely lifted a shoulder. “Maybe not. Anyway, the old guy passed back in June—sudden stroke, you know—and left the town in need of a new mayor. Your daddy and that tightwad Harriet Cleary were on the ballot for November, but . . . well . . .” Ruby twisted her sweating glass in her hands; the condensation coated her palms. Her gaze lifted to the porch rafters. Tact hadn’t always been her strong suit, but what did I know after all this time?
“Now that Cooter’s dead the town needs a replacement for the ballot, huh?” I didn’t give her a chance to answer me. “Who are the town’s choices?” And why did I care? I didn’t know these people.
“Well, there’s that goofy Trip Pierce.” Ruby turned up her nose as she mentioned his name. “Threw his hat in the race in the last election and then lost against Cooter. Nuttier than a Mars Bar, I say. More balls than brains.”
Yeah, I didn’t know goofy Trip Pierce, either. But I let Ruby ramble on about him and his people, my mind wandering again until my brain registered a phrase that brought me crashing back to the present. “I’m sorry, Miss Ruby. Can you say that again?”
Ruby paused in her monologue, her eyes sliding back and forth as though searching for the phrase that snagged my attention. “You mean about Deke?”
I was afraid that was what I heard. My heart thumped in my chest and I could only nod.
“Word is they’re trying to talk him into running against Trip. Nearly a done deal from the chatter making its way around.” My heart raced so fast I laid my hand over my chest to keep it from escaping.
“He’d be a good candidate, you ask me. Fair, committed to this town and its values. Not bad to look at, either.” Ruby winked and grinned and suddenly looked ten years younger.
What was it with the women in this town?
It shouldn’t matter to me. I shouldn’t care. No, that wasn’t right at all; I should care. Deke had always been a good person. The best. We were friends once. And before we became lovers, we found our way to beingbestfriends.
I left Deke here in Kissing Creek with harsh words between us. With the experience of age, I could admit those words should have been tempered with tact, but words once spoken can’t beunsaid. So I lived with the guilt of my actions for the past ten years. And even now felt the weight of regret.
I rose. Set my empty glass on the tray before me. “I really should be on my way. I didn’t mean to take so much of your time. I have so much to do today, too.” I’d set myself a tight timeline and sticking to it was the only thing that would get me out of here and back to my real life.
Ruby hefted her bulk from her chair and followed me down the porch stairs that were lined on either side with blooming shrubbery. “You be sure to stop by the diner before you leave. “I want a chance to cook you a good meal. You’re so thin.” She removed a few dead blossoms as she spoke, pocketed them in her apron. “I’ll want a chance to chat with you again too, girl. You can tell me about the city.”
I edged my way toward the gate and my getaway car. “I’ll be sure to come by often while I’m here.” No problem keeping that promise; Kissing Creek wasn’t bursting with eating establishments. “As a matter of fact, I’ll be meeting Beth Williams there for lunch today.”
Ruby chuckled. “Ah, the new deputy. Always been a good girl, that one.”What the heck?I beeped my car unlocked and decided I wouldn’t let my feelings be hurt. But those were easy lines to read between.
Cool air blew from the vents when I turned on the engine. Ruby waved from the waist-high fence so I lowered my window. “See you at lunchtime, Ruby. Thanks for the drink and the chat.”And the dent to my ego.
Ruby just flapped her flabby arm and yelled as I turned the car around to go back the way I came. “I’ll see you in a bit, girl. Make you something special. You’re too thin!”
I needed coffee.Sleep would be better but that wasn’t happening anytime soon, so like a junkie scrounging her next fix, I searched the streets for my next dose of espresso. The bakery coming up was a possibility, but the curious eyes of the crowd out front kept me driving until it was behind me. I’d be running into old neighbors while I was here—there was no way around it—but I didn’t care to run a gauntlet my first hour back.
At the corner I turned to the right. The Piggly Wiggly used to be just ahead . . . oh, there it was. Caffeine was caffeine, no matter what concoction they hid it in. I’d just run in for a soft drink.
I pushed open the door that led inside and paused to get my bearings. The store was larger than I remembered—had they expanded?—and filled with shelves of canned goods and household staples. A refrigerated case ran the width of the far wall.Bingo!
“Hello, can I help you?” The voice came from my left. I turned to find the same woman sitting behind the store’s nearest register who’d been there the last time I entered that door, ten years older but wearing the same sour expression. A gossip rag hung open in her hands.
I craned my neck to catch the headlines. Drew had managed to escape this edition. “Good morning. Mrs. Marshall, right?”
“Of course. And you’re George’s girl, Dixie. Do you need a basket?”
George? Who the heck called Cooter by his real name?“No, thank you. I’m just here for a soda.” I pointed toward the refrigerated case. “Unless you have a fountain?”
“Hrmph. This ain’t Mack Donald’s. Fetch yourself a can.” She gave her magazine a snap and went back to reading.
