Total pages in book: 53
Estimated words: 49458 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 247(@200wpm)___ 198(@250wpm)___ 165(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 49458 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 247(@200wpm)___ 198(@250wpm)___ 165(@300wpm)
“Jennifer, wait,” Zander called after the cute girl before stopping to haul Essie back to her feet. “Are you okay?” he asked Essie.
“Sorry, Zander.” Essie couldn’t even meet his gaze. She wished the floor would open up and swallow her.
“Did they take your money?” Zander demanded in a hard voice.
She nodded. When Zander whirled to confront the jerks who waved her ten-dollar bill at him, Essie quickly said, “Don’t worry about it, Zander. It’s my fault for not holding onto the bill better.”
“Give it back,” Zander demanded.
“Dude. She doesn’t need a malt,” Pete said with a sneer.
Zander didn’t hesitate. He swung, and blood spouted from Pete’s nose.
“You can’t hit me. My dad’s the mayor.” Pete blubbered as he cupped his hands over his crimson nose.
Zander plucked the bill from his fingers and handed the ten to Essie. “Go. I don’t need any more trouble today,” he told her.
Essie fled for the door as tears cascaded down her cheeks. She ran back toward Ferguson’s Folly, crying the whole time. Zander had talked to her so meanly. Her heart broke as she worried about him getting in trouble. Essie was appalled at the chaos her attempt to see her friend had provoked. By the time her mother pulled up next to her on the road, her tears had dried up.
Zander’s enraged mom had visited later to talk to Essie’s mom and Aunt Esther. Pete had tried to get Zander arrested for assault. Witnesses had spoken up to stop that, according to his mother. Thank goodness. Unfortunately, Essie’s mom and Zander’s mother had fought over who was to blame for this event. The threat of charging Zander with a crime had cemented in his mother’s mind that Essie was a troublemaker who needed to be avoided at all costs. She didn’t want a dark cloud over her family name and Zander’s future.
Fuming at the negative label Zander’s mom had bestowed on Essie, her mother had countered, alleging that Zander was completely at fault for being a hothead. Aunt Esther had tried to mediate between the two but had failed miserably. The emotions were too high for logic to gain traction. Finally at Esther’s suggestion, the two mothers decided together that Essie shouldn’t contact Zander anymore when she was in town. No matter how much Essie pleaded for her to reconsider, her mother had refused to change her mind and warned that they’d stop visiting Esther if Essie didn’t follow her rules.
Obviously, Zander didn’t agree with his mother’s decision either since he’d shown up at Ferguson’s Folly the next day. Essie hadn’t been allowed to talk to him. She’d watched from a window in the upstairs hall as he walked back to his car with rounded shoulders. To her despair, he’d never tried again. He’d moved on. After that, Essie had stayed inside when visiting, escaping into reading. That habit had continued when she returned to take care of Aunt Esther.
Essie stared at the empty plate. Over the years, the friendship Zander and Essie had shared disappeared. Silly kid stuff. Now was a good time to stop regretting the past and move on. Ferguson’s Folly was what mattered. She shivered at a sudden chilly breeze that wafted past her.
“Edmund?” she asked, looking around. No, of course not. He wasn’t there either.
Chapter Five
After several weeks of construction, making design selections, and talking to anyone who would share their experience and knowledge, Essie leaned back in her chair and stared hard at the circled date on the big desk calendar in front of her. Tomorrow was the first day of the rest of her life. She crossed her fingers at that thought.
“Essie. Sara asked if you would come to lunch,” Zander asked from the doorway.
Without thinking, she leapt to her feet and started forward. “Why aren’t you herding cows or counting bedbug screams?” she asked, hearing the sharpness in her voice.
“I don’t need another mother, Essie,” Zander said, before muttering under his breath. “The one I had already screwed up the best thing I ever had.”
“What are you talking about? Your mom was the sweetest. Well, other than deciding she hated me.”
“My mother made mistakes like all of us. Are you coming?”
“Sure. I need to speak to Sara about the menu tomorrow, anyway.”
They walked down the hallway for a short distance before Essie stopped, blocking him from advancing. “No. Tell me what you meant.”
“This isn’t the time, Essie. You’re busy. The events start tomorrow. You’ve got a thousand worries on your mind. Just forget I said anything,” Zander said and tried to go around her.
“Not going to happen, Zander,” Essie told him and held her hands out to each side, blocking his path.
Over the last two weeks, she’d enjoyed having Zander in the mansion. He didn’t cause any trouble. He made sure she ate when everything was hectic and lent his muscle to moving the supplies dropped off willy-nilly at the door. A half-dozen toilets waiting to be installed lined up on the front porch would not have made the impression she wanted when a client walked up the stairs to book an elegant wedding venue.