“Hey, what about these reindeer? I could use some help.”
“Get the instructions off the Internet,” she shouted as she crossed the street. “I heard that you’re a whiz at that online stuff.”
Wyatt shook his head and chuckled. Toni might have grown up and he might have moved on, but they still had something buzzing between them, he thought as he went back to sorting reindeer parts. The question was, with such a short stay in Brody’s Crossing, did he want to find out whether the buzz was a good one or if it might be bad for both of them?
WYATT ENTERED THE CAFÉ for lunch with Louisa and Cassie. He still wore his work clothes from the reindeer challenge, which he’d conquered at last. The small herd of critters were now bobbing and swaying away in the yard of the community center.
“I see an empty spot,” Cassie said, guiding them down the aisle between the old-fashioned counter and stools and the red vinyl booths. Wyatt brought up the rear, taking time to look around at the people having lunch. He recognized a lot of them. Some didn’t look any different, but a few of the men had lost their battles with baldness and one or two of the ladies had gained a few pounds since he’d last seen them.
“Why, Wyatt McCall,” a plump middle-aged lady called out as they passed.
He took a moment to realize this was Clarissa Bryant, owner of the beauty shop on the main street in town. His mother didn’t frequent her shop, saying it was a hotbed of gossip. Which meant she thought the ladies were talking about her.
“Hello, Mrs. Bryant. How are you?”
“I’m just fine. It’s good to see you back in town.”
“Glad to be back.”
“Just in time for the holidays. I think we’re going to have the best Christmas yet.”
“I’m not sure how long I’ll be staying, but I’ll be here for the parade on Saturday for sure.”
“I hope you can stay,” she said with a sparkle in her eye, “but only if you keep yourself out of trouble.” She nudged the lady next to her, also middle-aged but not as flamboyant.
“Venetia, do you remember when the Settlers’ Stroll was attacked by wild Indians?” Mrs. Bryant asked the other lady.
“That was something to see,” Venetia replied, “not that I’m looking forward to it again.”
Wyatt smiled and shrugged. “You never know, but I suspect all the wild Indians in the region have been tamed.”
The ladies laughed. “Wyatt, this is Venetia Williams, who works at my shop, and you remember Caroline Brody, of course.”
“Yes, ma’am, I surely do,” he said. She was the mother of his best friend in high school. “How are you, Mrs. Brody?”
“I’m doing just fine, Wyatt. Working part-time in James’s law office.”
“And how is Mr. Brody?”
“He’s doing real well. He had a mild stroke and retired from the hard work, but he’s keeping busy at the ranch. You should come out and see us. James lives over his office with his wife, Sandy, but it would be like old times if everyone could come out to the ranch.”
“Yes, it would. I’ll have to do that. I was going to see James later, or tomorrow maybe. The mayor’s keeping me busy at the community center.”
“We heard,” Clarissa said, giving credence to his mother’s claim that the beauty shop was the place to hear gossip. “Myra Hammer said you were busy putting up those lighted reindeer.”
“Yes, ma’am. They’re just about ready.”
“Don’t forget the lighted Christmas trees,” Venetia reminded him. “You can’t have the reindeer without the white trees.”
“I’ll be sure to ask about those,” he replied. “If you’ll excuse me, I’d better get to our booth before the ladies order without me.”
“Good to see you, Wyatt,” Mrs. Brody said.
As he walked away, he heard Venetia whisper, “Do you think one of those young ladies is his girlfriend?”
“Maybe both,” Mrs. Bryant replied, and then they chuckled.
He should have introduced Cassie and Louisa, but they’d already walked past when Mrs. Bryant spoke to him. Next time, though, he’d make sure everyone knew that they were employees. He didn’t need rampant speculation that he’d brought two young women to town for his amusement while he completed his sentence. Besides, they were both professionals, even if Cassie looked as though she would be scared to death if someone whispered “boo,” and Louisa was so petite a blue norther could blow her away.
“What’s good here?” she asked as he sat down across from them.
He took another look at her thin face. “You really should try the cheese fries,” he said with a smile and picked up a menu.
What a blast from the past. This place had barely changed. Even Mrs. Brody looked the same. She was the mother of his best friend from childhood through high school. He and James had been a pair, getting into more trouble than any of their parents could handle. Well, to be honest, Wyatt reminded himself, he’d gotten James into more trouble than the Brodys could handle. From the comments of the ladies in the booth and the people he’d already talked to on the street, everyone expected him to continue to get into trouble.
Well, this time he wasn’t going to meet their expectations. Despite wanting to provoke Miss Mayor, he was going to be on his best behavior while in town. Decorating the community center for Christmas was a mild sentence, one he could work through as long as he didn’t have to assemble many more mechanical displays. And he wouldn’t be terrorizing the Settlers’ Stroll or streaking past the church or painting the water tower. His old paraglider was long gone, as was his souped-up pickup truck. He was pretty sure his parents had gotten rid of the ATVs and dirt bikes, so really, how much trouble could he get into in one small town in only a week’s time?
“YOU’VE HAD TWO CALLS FROM the national press, one from the Graham Leader and one from the Wichita Falls paper,” Eileen Breslin told Toni as she entered the municipal building. “They all want an update on Wyatt’s community service. And here’s the report from last week’s zoning commission meeting.”
“Thanks,” Toni said as she accepted the multiple pink message slips and a stapled report from the city government receptionist-secretary-information desk. Eileen could also fill in as the police dispatcher, serve on the volunteer fire department and substitute teach if she had to. In addition, she coached her eleven-year-old daughter’s softball team. Toni always felt like a slacker around Eileen.
Toni walked down the hallway toward the mayor’s office. It wasn’t a very big space, since the day-to-day operations of the city were taken care of by the city manager. The mayor was part of the city council, voted on issues coming out of zoning and other departments, developed ideas for possible projects and performed ceremonial duties, mostly.
Ceremonial duties such as introducing Wyatt McCall at the chili dinner on Saturday at the community center. She’d say some nice things about him, he’d say some nice things about the town, and then he’d ride off into the sunset. Again.
She closed the door to the office, blocking out the soft Christmas music playing throughout the building, and spread the message slips in front of her. Everyone wanted to know what was going on with him. Not much, as far as she could tell. He had managed to assemble five reindeer, despite his earlier frustration. Then he’d taken a two-hour lunch. He was probably accustomed to such leisure pursuits, especially now that he was semiretired.
“Retired,” she mumbled. Who retired at age thirty-three?