Last Chance Book Club(20)
Author: Hope Ramsay

“So,” Nita said, “I have a number of questions I can pose, but before I do, does anyone have a particular topic related to the book that you might want to discuss?”

“I do,” Jane said, looking up from her knitting. “I have to say I lost all respect for Charlotte when she decided to marry Mr. Collins even though she didn’t love him. I mean, the man was a peanut-brained weasel, and she even knew it going in. I found myself cheering for Lizzy when she told the preacher to take a hike.”

“I admired Charlotte for taking her life into her own hands,” Molly said. “She had gumption.”

“Well, that may be true,” Jenny countered, “but she was also a cynic. Remember how she tells Elizabeth that once you get married you’ll eventually end up hating your husband? Even if you start out loving him.”

“Amen to that,” Lola May Lindon said. “It didn’t take more than six months before I knew Lyle had to go. He just got so resentful every time we went fishing and I caught more than he did.”

“Oh, hush, you said the same thing about Michael and Charles,” Cathy said. “A woman who’s been married and divorced three times is no judge of what it takes to make a good marriage.”

Lola May shrugged. “Well, all those husbands sure have weaned me off happy endings, I can tell you that. I’m thinking we should stick with Nita’s books next time. This one was dumb.”

“I think Charlotte would have remained unmarried if she could have,” Savannah said, stepping in to ease the conflict between Lola May and Cathy. “I mean she didn’t have any means of supporting herself. It wasn’t like she could go out and get a job.”

“Or renovate a theater,” Jenny said. The hostility in the comment took Savannah aback. She hardly knew Jenny, except for her pies. The mousy math teacher was staring at her from across the table, her cheeks going red. It sure looked like Jenny believed she had some prior claim on Bill Ellis. Savannah needed to find a moment to tell Jenny that she didn’t have anything to worry about. If Bill was in love with anything, it was her biscuits. Of course, that might be enough to make Jenny jealous. After all, Bill was arguably in love with Jenny’s pies.

“Well,” Hettie said, “you’ve got a point, Jenny. Charlotte didn’t have anything else to fall back on. But Savannah does. I mean, she’s going to be a great success. In fact, ladies, I have an announcement to make.”

“Now, Hettie, we’re talking about the book, not making announcements.” Nita glared at Hettie, and Hettie glared right back.

It was a standoff until Rocky said, “Y’all, Hettie, Sarah, Lark, and I have created this new development corporation. We—”

“It’s called Angel Development,” Hettie said with a grin. “And we’re giving Savannah half a million dollars for the theater. So, honey, if you want to be like Lizzy and tell Bill Ellis not to darken your door, you can do it.”

Savannah’s mouth dropped open. “A half a million dollars? But how—”

“Dash gave me your business plan,” Rocky said, “and I shared it with Lark and Sarah and Hettie. We were all impressed.”

“He what? I’ve been waiting for him to give me his thoughts on it. I didn’t think it was very good.”

“Well, it’s a moot point now, honey, because Angel Development is giving you everything you need to bring The Kismet back to life,” Hettie said with a big grin.

Rocky laughed. “Don’t look so surprised. You can do this, Savannah, and we think it could be the beginning of a real downtown renaissance.”

Hettie beamed and nodded. “Yes, ma’am. So don’t you do anything stupid like that Charlotte character, you hear? The old ladies of this town are just like that Mrs. Bennet, always trying to match folks up. But you have us. And we’re your angel investors. We’ll make sure you’re okay.”

Savannah stared at Hettie like she’d blown in from some other planet. “Half a million dollars?” she said again. “Is this a loan?”

“No, honey, it’s a grant. We want that theater reopened.”

They were angels. And they had answered her prayers.

“Well, darn,” Dash said. “You beat me by four strokes. Son, have you ever played golf before?”

Todd shrugged. “My dad took me to play putt-putt once up in Atlantic City. But that place wasn’t as weird as this one.” The kid waved his hand to encompass the entirety of the newly refurbished miniature golf course located a few miles south of Last Chance.

“You might be careful using the word ‘weird’ around Aunt Miriam or any of the other members of the Ladies’ Auxiliary. They held a whole lot of bake sales to raise money for the renovation of this place.”

“Why?”

“Well, it’s our main tourist attraction.”

“It’s still weird.” Todd rolled his eyes as he looked up at the fiberglass statue of Jesus that presided over the eighteenth hole.

“Just remember that the church ladies in town have embraced this place. In fact, your momma will probably praise me for bringing you here.”

“Why?”

“Because of all these Bible verses.” He pointed to the verse on the eighteenth hole.

“Mom isn’t all that into God.”

Dash laid his hand on Todd’s shoulder, and for once, the kid didn’t shake it off. They’d had a pretty good evening out here at Golfing for God. And while putt-putt was no real test, Todd was showing some serious eye-hand coordination. Dash was determined to get Todd into the football program that Red Canaday, the Davis High football coach, ran every summer for younger boys. After playing catch and Ultimate Frisbee with him, Dash was starting to think the kid might make a heck of a running back. He had real good hands.

They turned in their putters and headed home. Dash was surprised to find Savannah waiting for them out on the porch, sitting with Miriam. Savannah must have gotten home from the book club a little early.

“Hey, Mom, have you ever played miniature golf at Golfing for God?”

Savannah smiled. “Many times.”

“It’s kind of weird, but fun.”

“I always liked the plague of frogs best,” she said.

“I liked it, too. Dash said that at the Easter Egg Jubilee they have a frog jump. He said he’d take me down to the river to get me a frog.”

Savannah frowned. “A frog jump?”

“Oh, yes,” Miriam said. “It’s so much fun. You missed a lot coming only in the summers. Your granddaddy took Dash out to the river on a lot of frog hunts. You remember that frog you had that took second place that time?”

“Her name was Frogzilla. She was one big bullfrog.”

“You guys aren’t kidding, are you?” Savannah said.

“Nope. Last Chance is a homey kind of place. Mark Twain would have felt comfortable here,” Miriam said. She turned toward Todd. “Have you ever read that Mark Twain story, the one about the jumping frog?”

He shook his head.

“Well, you should. I think it’s in Harry’s library. I’ll get it for you. You should read the story before you enter the frog jump.” Miriam gave Dash a big smile that he felt down in his middle.

But Savannah looked at him as if he’d lost his mind. She turned toward her son. “Have you finished your homework?”

Todd gave her an eye roll. “Mom, Dash made me do it before he took me to Golfing for God.”

Savannah’s expression softened just a little, and Dash felt a rush of warmth. Damn. Pleasing Savannah was kind of fun. But dangerous. He had to remember that. He was already halfway hooked on her smile.

“It’s time for bed. You get ready, and I’ll be up to tuck you in,” she said.

“Jeez, I’m way too old for that.” The kid turned and stomped into the house, slamming the door behind him.

Miriam chuckled. “What is it about boys and screen doors?” she mused.

“You got a minute?” Savannah asked Dash.

His warm fuzzy feelings evaporated. Savannah was ticked off about something. He could sense it. Her shoulders were all tense. “Sure.” He started toward one of the rockers, but she stood up.

“Not here. Inside.”

“Honey, you be careful with him, now, you hear?” Miriam said.

“Be careful with me how?”

Miriam smiled, her eyes twinkling in the porch light. His aunt was up to something.

He followed Savannah into the living room. She turned and put her fists on her hips.

“Who gave you permission to show my business plan to Rocky?”

“I didn’t think it was a secret.”

“Well, I wasn’t totally finished with it. I gave it to you so you could give me advice on how to improve it. I didn’t expect you to hand it off to Rocky or for her to hand it off to Hettie and Sarah and Lark. I don’t even know who Lark is.”

“She’s the sheriff’s wife. And the sheriff is Rocky’s older brother, Stone. You remember Stone from your summers here, don’t you?”

“Vaguely. Look, Dash, I gave you that plan in draft form so you could tell me all the things I did wrong.”

“But you didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I didn’t?” She seemed genuinely surprised.

“No. It was a really good plan.”

“Oh. Why didn’t you tell me that?”

“I didn’t think you wanted my advice.”

“Of course I did. Why would I have given you the plan in the first place?”

“Because I told you I would invest in the theater.”

She squinted at him. “And I told you I didn’t want your money.”

“Exactly, which is why I gave your plan to Rocky and the gals. I figured they were planning a fund to reinvest in downtown Last Chance, and you had a plan for reviving The Kismet. I just played matchmaker. Sort of like Aunt Mim, only different.”

She stood there frowning at him.

“What did they do, honey? Criticize your plan at the book club tonight?”

“No, they want to give me a grant of half a million dollars. I don’t think I even need that much. What the heck am I going to do with half a million dollars?” Her voice rose into the stratosphere, and she turned around and strode across the room to the fireplace. She was really upset.

“Honey, getting half a million dollars to realize your dream is not something to get upset over.”

She didn’t say anything. She just stood there all stiff in the back.

He battled his feelings for a long moment. He should walk away. He should tell her the truth. There was a long list of things he should do.

But instead, he behaved exactly like the addict he was. He walked up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. Her bones were so tiny. Her skin so warm. He wanted to spin her around and plant a kiss on her like she’d planted one on him last Friday. He had to fight that urge with every sinew in his body.

“I’m so angry at you.” Her voice was low and didn’t sound angry at all. The sound of it burned a hole in his middle.