2. Frannie
Ever since Iwas a little girl, I’d always felt the same on the first day of school. Butterflies filled my belly and beat their wings against the walls of my chest. Nerves gave way to anticipation as I stood by the front doors of Beaver Bluff Elementary with Pete the Dog by my side. Students flowed past us in a steady stream, pausing to pat the dog on the head or respond to my “Good morning.”
Once the first bell rang, I herded the stragglers into the building and entered the office. A huge bouquet of fall-colored flowers sat on my desk. Pete the Dog headed straight toward them and jumped up to put his front paws on my desk and stick his nose into the arrangement.
“Get down from there.” I tugged on his leash, and he set all four paws back on the ground. “Where did those come from?”
“There’s a card,” Charice said. She was the school counselor and over the past few years, had become one of my best friends.
“And how do you know that?” I crossed to my desk and looked for some sort of card. Pete the Dog let out a huge sigh, then turned in circles before plopping down into the doggy bed next to my desk.
“I was here when the florist dropped them off.” She leaned against the doorway, her arms crossed over her chest. “You’ve been holding out on me. Are you seeing someone?”
Heat flushed my cheeks as I pulled the small card from an envelope with my name scrawled across the front. “It’s not a big deal.”
“Not a big deal? How many men have you dated in the past five years?” Charice laughed as she reached for the card. “None. Zero. Zilch. That’s how many.”
I whipped around, blocking her attempt. “That’s why it’s not a big deal. We’re not even dating, really.”
“Nooooooo!” Her eyes went wide, and she grabbed my hand. “Don’t tell me you and Evan have finally become friends with benefits?”
I gasped. It wasn’t that the thought had never entered my mind, but Evan would never be interested in me as more than a friend. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
“Fine. Then who are the flowers from?”
“If you’ll let me read the card, I can find out.” I tugged my hand away from hers and glanced at the card.
I hope you have a good first day back at school.
Andrew
My lips spread into a soft smile, and I held the card against my chest.
“Well?” Charice pressed.
“They’re from a friend.”
“Friends don’t order big-ass bouquets for each other.” She shook her head, not buying my explanation for a second.
“That’s not true. When you won the award for School Counselor of the Year, I sent you flowers.” Knowing she wouldn’t agree that was the same at all, I rounded my desk and slipped the card into the top drawer.
“Don’t try to pull that crap with me. You’ve got a guy, and if you don’t tell me who it is, I’m going to start asking around. Someone has to know something. This town’s way too small to be able to keep a secret this juicy.” Charice arched an eyebrow. She knew she had me.
I’d rather die a thousand deaths than have my private life become a hot topic of conversation around Beaver Bluff. People talked about me enough already. I was constantly fielding questions about why a nice girl like me hadn’t settled down yet. The rest of the world might have progressed into the twenty-first century, but sometimes it seemed like Beaver Bluff had been stuck in the 1950s.
“Fine.” I moved closer, lowering my voice. “You can’t tell a single soul, though. Do you promise?”
Her eyes lit up with anticipation. “Of course.”
“Say it.” Though I trusted Charice more than anyone else—anyone except Evan—I still needed to hear her say the words out loud.
“I promise to keep your secret.” She mimed locking her lips and tossing the key over her shoulder. “Now spill.”
I closed the door to my office, shutting out the curious looks from the school’s attendance clerk. “It’s new. We met over the summer at the watermelon festival in Bordent. Remember? I begged you to go with me, but you had something more important to do.”
“It was my mom and dad’s thirty-fifth wedding anniversary dinner.” Charice’s eyes widened. “You can’t hold that against me.”
I rolled my eyes. “Right. What it was doesn’t matter. What matters is, I went by myself and ended up hanging out with this guy.”
“And?” Charice sat down at the small round table in my office. “Tell me everything.”
I took the seat across from her. “He was nice. We paired up for the watermelon seed spitting contest, and he asked if he could call me.”
Her brows furrowed with disappointment. “There’s got to be more. A man doesn’t send flowers like that if all you did was spit seeds together.”
“We met up for a couple of hikes. Then I saw him again in Asheville when I took my dad on that weekend trip to tour the Biltmore.”
Charice bounced in her chair. “Now we’re getting somewhere. You had a weekend fling with him? Who is he?”
“No weekend fling. Dad and I stayed with my cousin, and he was in a hotel. We just happened to be in the same place at the same time.”
“What’s wrong with him?” The expression on her face said it all. Brows drawn, lips twisted into a grimace, she knew me well enough to know I was hiding something.
“Nothing’s wrong with him. We’re taking things slow.”
“Honey, you take things any slower and your hoo-haw is going to have so many cobwebs blocking the entrance, you’ll never be able to have a man.”
“Charice! Keep your voice down. We’re at school.” I ground my molars together. She wouldn’t give up until I told her everything. Charice had the tenacity of a coonhound who’d cornered a rabbit and wouldn’t give up.
“If you’d tell me what’s going on with you and Mr. Flowers, I wouldn’t get so worked up.” She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at me. “Last chance, Masterson.”
“Not a word to anyone.”
She nodded.
“I’m serious. No one can know.”
Her brows lifted, but she nodded again.
I got up and paced the short distance between the table and my desk. “Like I said, it’s new. He’s a nice guy and we have a lot in common. And I’m getting older. I thought I’d be settled down by now with at least one kid on my hip and another on the way.”
Charice’s eyes softened. “You’re not even thirty yet. You’ve got plenty of time.”
“That’s easy for you to say. Your dad’s not breathing fire down your neck and asking about grandbabies.”
“It’s your life to live, not your dad’s,” Charice said.
“I know, it’s just…” My chin dropped to my chest. I didn’t want to get into my relationship with my dad, especially not on the first day of school when I had so many other things to do, or with someone who’d been trained in psychology and knew the highlights of my messed-up past.
“Hey,”—Charice got up and put her hand on my shoulder—“I’m glad you found someone who makes you smile. Are you going to tell me who he is, or do I need to start guessing?”
“That might be fun.” No telling who Charice would come up if I made her start naming names. She gave me one of her no-more-BS looks—the kind she reserved for kids who’d been sent to her office after getting into trouble. I couldn’t afford to alienate my bestie. Besides, it would be nice to have someone to talk to about my developing friendship with Andrew.
“I need to get to my office. There’s a new kid starting today who’s just moved to the area. His mom’s bringing him in soon so we can talk about ways to make sure he’s comfortable.” She held out her arms to give me a hug. “I didn’t mean to push. You can keep your secrets to yourself and share when you feel up to it. I mean, if it were me, you know I’d have no problem confiding in you, but I understand.”
Evidently, we’d moved on to the guilt-tripping part of our conversation. I returned the hug, knowing that as soon as Andrew’s name left my lips, there would be no taking it back.
Charice released me and shrugged her shoulders, still sending out wounded friend vibes. “We still on for lunch?”
“Of course.” I bit down on my lip and watched her walk toward the door. “Charice?”
“Yes?” She turned, her eyes bright, her lips spread into a knowing smile.
“His name is Andrew.” Relief whooshed out of me, though my pulse ticked up as I prepared myself for her next question.
“Andrew who?”
I lowered my voice to a whisper and braced myself for her reaction. “Stewart.”
“You’re dating a Stewart?” Her eyes almost bugged out of her head. “Have you lost your mind?”
“He’s a cousin and doesn’t have anything to do with the distillery.” Everyone in town knew about the feud between the Bishops and the Stewarts. It had been going on for generations, though no one could remember what started it in the first place. Along with the Devine family, the Bishops and Stewarts co-owned the biggest employer in town—Devil’s Dance Distillery. How they managed to operate a successful business while trying to run each other off was one of Beaver Bluff’s greatest mysteries.
“I can’t believe Evan is okay with this.” Charice let out a sharp laugh. “What did you tell him?”
“I haven’t yet.” Though Evan had been my closest friend since grade school, I hadn’t figured out how to tell him I was semi-dating a Stewart. Even though Andrew didn’t have anything to do with the feud, he was still part of the family that had antagonized Evan’s ancestors for decades.
“You’re playing with fire, Frannie. If you’re going to keep on dating this guy, you’d better tell Evan before he finds out from someone else.”
“That’s just it. Andrew is a nice guy, but there’s no big spark. I don’t know if I want to keep dating him, but what if no one else ever comes along? My dad’s greatest wish is to walk me down the aisle and meet his first grandchild before he dies. Time’s running out for him.” Tears welled in my lower lids.
Charice clucked her tongue and pulled me into another hug. “You shouldn’t date someone just because your dad’s guilting you into getting married and having kids. Besides, if you really want to have a baby—and I’m not saying you should just to make your dad happy—you don’t need a man for that anymore. You can thumb through the big sperm catalog and pick out your own baby daddy.”
I shook my head. “That’s an option for sure, but I want to do things the old-fashioned way. First, the husband, then the babies, then the house in the country with a dog and a cat. I even want the minivan to haul everyone around in.”
“I know.” She patted my back. “You’re so weird like that.”
“It just feels like time’s running out. Andrew checks off a lot of boxes on my list, and—”
“Not the list again.” Charice let me go as her gaze flickered up to the ceiling.
Someone knocked at my door. Pete the Dog lifted his head. I glanced at the clock, noting it was almost time for me to make my annual announcement over the speaker system to welcome everyone back for another year of school.
“Come in.” I moved toward the door, with Charice right behind me.
Our administrative assistant, Ms. Jenkel, poked her head through the doorway. “You’ve got a visitor, Ms. Masterson.”
“A visitor?” I tried to peer around her, but her body blocked my view. “Who is it?”
“I just wanted to stop by and wish you a happy first day of school.” Evan’s deep voice carried into the room before the door opened wide and he stepped through. He held a box with the Jackie Jay’s logo across the top. “Brought you a cinnamon roll to celebrate.”
I was a sucker for a cinnamon roll from Jackie Jay’s. Just one look at the box and my mouth started to water. Pete the Dog recognized Evan and jumped up from his pillow to nudge his nose into Evan’s crotch.
“Hey, buddy. I brought you a treat too.” Evan pulled a biscuit out of his pocket and instructed the dog to sit before he handed it over.
Eager for that cinnamon roll, I reached for the box as Evan’s gaze shifted to something behind me.
“Who sent you flowers?” he asked.
“Oh, those aren’t mine. They’re for Charice.” The lie rolled off my tongue faster than butter sliding off a square of cornbread fresh from the oven. “She just brought them in to show me. Aren’t they beautiful?”
Evan’s mouth ticked up on one side. “Who’s the lucky guy? A man sends flowers like that, there’s something serious going on.”
“It’s a secret.” Charice eyed me like she wanted to strangle me.
“Can you give us a minute?” I picked up the vase and handed the big bouquet to Charice, begging her with my eyes to not rat me out. “Don’t forget your flowers.”
“Thanks. I know just where I’m going to put them.” She swept the vase out of my hand. “It was good to see you, Evan.”
“Always good to see you, too.” He waited until she left the room before he set the box down on the edge of my desk.
“Thanks for stopping by. I’m about to go live on the PA system, then I’ve got a pretty full day. Did you need anything?”
Evan shook his head. “Just wanted to wish you good luck. I’ll see you for dinner, right?”
For the past couple of years, Evan had treated me to dinner on the first night of school. We hadn’t made actual plans this year, so when Andrew had asked if he could take me out to dinner, I accepted his invitation. “Um, about tonight. Can I get a rain check? Something’s come up, and I’m not going to be able to make it.”
“Yeah. We can take a rain check on dinner. Is everything okay?”
I nodded, not wanting to tell him exactly why I couldn’t make it, and hoping he didn’t ask for details. Charice was right, I’d have to tell him eventually, but there really wasn’t anything to tell yet.
“Nothing’s wrong with your dad, is it? You know I’m more than willing to help if you need a hand.” He was so sweet to ask. Evan would do anything for me, and I’d do the same for him. My heart squeezed tight. I wasn’t exactly lying, but I also wasn’t coming clean. “No, I’ve got it. We’re still on for burgers on Friday, right?”
“Right. Burgers on Friday. I’m sure I’ll talk to you before then.” He held out his fist so I could tap mine against it. “Have a great first day, Principal Masterson.” Then he turned around and walked out of the office, leaving the scent of the great outdoors mixed with a hint of whiskey trailing behind him.
Shame flooded my chest. I’d done something I never thought I’d do… I’d pretty much lied to my very best friend. With no time to think about what that might mean for our friendship, I headed out into the main area of the office to make my announcements for the day.