Page 10 of Small Town Hero
I n towns the size of Copper Ridge, Arizona, word really does get around fast.
No more than fifteen minutes after Ian McKenzie’s ex-wife, Catherine, sped straight through town in a rental car, clearly headed for his ranch, half the county knew something was up.
And that included Susannah. She happened to be in the Cool Beans Coffee Shop on Main Street that evening, when Piper Harrington, a waitress from a café down the street, came rushing in, bursting with the news.
A collective gasp rose from the general population, and a few people actually rushed to the windows.
Susannah frowned. Until the young woman’s breathless announcement, she’d been calmly sipping an iced mocha latte and, using her laptop, putting the finishing touches to a website she’d been working on for weeks.
It was a huge project, and the final payment, due on the client’s approval, would be enough to cover her and Ellie’s living costs for a long time.
Her plan was to take a few months off from her web-design work, passing the most urgent projects on to other small companies; she would limit her work to fixing up the flip house for resale.
Her primary objective, naturally, was to be more available to her sister and her niece as long as they needed her help.
And it looked like that would be a while—though, according to a call from Dr. Mowgat that morning, Becky was beginning to respond to treatment. As encouraging as that news had been, it was plain to everyone that her full recovery might be a long time coming—if it came at all.
All those concerns were pushed to one side, however, as Susannah took in Piper’s announcement and sorted through it mentally, in her usual methodical way. Ian’s former wife was in town. What did that mean?
It’s none of your business , Susannah informed herself silently.
Just the same, she felt as though a trap door had just sprung open beneath her feet, leaving her dangling over a dark hole. She actually gripped the sides of the glass tabletop, the plummeting sensation was that strong.
Get a grip , warned the ever-practical voice in her head. Maybe you had a great time with Ian and the kids last night at Manuel’s, and maybe you’re attracted to the man, but you have no claim on him, none whatsoever.
She felt herself flush.
A few deep breaths restored her equanimity, if not her calm mindset.
Why did Piper, or any of these people, think it was okay to spread gossip like this? The waitress had been downright exuberant about it, for Pete’s sake.
Really—who did that?
Small-town folks, it would seem. Once again, and for only a few moments, Susannah sincerely wished she’d taken Ellie to stay with her at her place in Chicago instead of relocating to Copper Ridge.
She could have flown back and forth between there and Flagstaff to visit Becky and avoided this kind of drama.
You’re not being fair, judging a whole town like that , her inner self pointed out.
That was true.
Chagrined, Susannah sighed, closed her laptop, began gathering her belongings—several notebooks, colored markers, and sketches of features she was suggesting for the website she’d been building, pixel by pixel, or so it seemed.
“Don’t pay too much attention to the fuss,” a female voice advised. A voice outside Susannah’s head this time. “Some people around here have too much free time, and Piper, in particular, thrives on the least hint of drama.”
She turned and saw Mrs. Norman, the local librarian, standing nearby, one wrinkled and beringed hand resting gently on Ellie’s left shoulder. Susannah had met the woman that afternoon, when she’d dropped Ellie off for a meeting of the Tween-Scene Book Club, and taken an immediate liking to her.
Belatedly, Susannah acknowledged Mrs. Norman with a slight smile and a nod, but her focus had already shifted to Ellie, who looked upset.
“What’s wrong, honey?” she asked, cupping one hand under Ellie’s chin and lifting so she could look into the girl’s moist blue eyes.
“Molly Armstrong said my mom is in a lunatic asylum because she’s insane,” Ellie admitted. “Some of the other kids thought that was funny and they started moving around like zombies, making stupid faces and stuff. They laughed at me and said I’ll probably be put away soon, too, just like Mom.”
Hot rage jolted through Susannah’s system. She was glad those cruel children weren’t standing in front of her now, because she wasn’t entirely sure she could have contained her fury. The urge to set the little monsters straight was like consuming fire.
She concentrated on her breathing.
In. Out. In. Out.
Just breathe.
While Susannah was trying to quell her anger, Mrs. Norman was shaking her gray head. “As old as I am, I still don’t understand why anyone would treat another person so badly. It’s entirely unacceptable.”
Susannah hugged Ellie tight, then turned her attention back to the librarian. “More bullying,” she mused. “And in a public library, no less.”
Mrs. Norman straightened her shoulders, and her smile, though wobbly, seemed genuinely sympathetic.
“If only I’d been there when the incident began—I had to leave the room for a few minutes to take an important telephone call,” she explained.
“When I came back and found those girls behaving so cruelly, I sent them all straight home and told them they couldn’t participate in the book club again until I’d spoken to their parents.
Apologies will be forthcoming, if I have anything to say about it. ”
Susannah nodded glumly, squeezed Ellie once more, then released her.
“Thank you,” she said, very quietly. She couldn’t have asked the librarian for the parents’ contact info, that would have been unethical, but she intended to track down each and every one of them and let them know what she thought of their daughters’ reprehensible actions.
Once again, as she and Ellie headed for the exit, followed by Mrs. Norman, Susannah questioned her decision to come to Copper Ridge instead of collecting Ellie and taking her back to Chicago.
Twenty minutes later, back in the chaotic comfort of their present residence, the flip house, Ellie gathered Nico into her arms, buried her face in his fur, and collapsed onto the secondhand couch Susannah had purchased a few days before, at an estate sale.
“Why do people hate me, Aunt Susannah?” Ellie asked plaintively, her voice muffled by Nico’s soft, purring body.
Susannah set her laptop, notebooks, etc.
, on top of the upended cardboard box serving as a coffee table and plunked herself down alongside Ellie, slipping an arm around the girl’s shoulders, momentarily stuck for an answer.
After all, she herself didn’t understand what motivated some people to bully others.
Nico gave a long meow and snuggled against Ellie’s flat little chest.
“I don’t think anyone really hates you, sweetheart,” Susannah replied, after several long moments of thought.
“People can be messed up for all kinds of reasons, and bullies, especially, are usually cowards, deep down. They’re afraid, or angry with someone, often themselves, so they project their feelings onto others. ”
“What are they scared of?” Ellie asked, with a puzzled frown.
“All kinds of things, probably,” Susannah responded with a shrug and a soft sigh. “But here’s the important thing to remember: You can’t allow other people’s opinions to determine what you think about yourself. You get to decide what kind of person you want to be, no one else.”
“Is that why you always seem to know what to do when something bad happens?”
Susannah leaned in a little, stroked Nico’s silky back with a light hand as she considered her answer. “I have problems, just like everyone else, Ellie. And you need to remember that there are actually lots of people who like you. Vivian and Mabel, for instance.”
The mention of the twins brought Ian to mind and, with him, the return of his ex-wife.
Although she hadn’t seen the former Mrs. McKenzie speeding along Main Street, the murmurings of some of the other customers in the coffee shop had clued her in that the woman must have been angry, if she was driving recklessly.
Suddenly, Ellie smiled, bringing Susannah back into the flow of their conversation. The girl kissed the top of Nico’s head and said, “They want me to come out to the ranch to ride horses with them.”
“The twins have horses of their own?” Susannah asked, still a little distracted.
Of course that wasn’t major news. The girls’ father owned a ranch. He worked with horses, when he wasn’t serving as a paramedic.
Briefly, a memory of Tim Boyd’s accident and the fitful gelding flashed into her mind. Inevitably, she thought of Ian again, not as the twins’ dad, but as the quiet, confident man she’d met that day. Having supper with him and his children at Manuel’s had underscored those impressions.
Meanwhile, Ellie was nodding, her face eager. “Ponies. Vivian and Mabel each have one of their very own.”
“That’s exciting,” Susannah muttered, thrown off balance again.
That happened whenever Ian’s image popped into her mind, which was often. Once again, she had to scramble a little to get back to the present moment.
“Someday I’m going to have a horse, too,” Ellie announced, with a lift of her elegant little chin. When she grew up, she was going to be every bit as lovely as her mother.
But stable, happy and productive.
Please, God.
“That’s an excellent goal,” Susannah replied, relieved that Ellie’s thoughts had taken a positive turn. There needed to be more of that. “If I remember correctly, you enjoy ballet classes at the community center, too.”
“That’s where I met Vivian and Mabel,” Ellie confirmed.
“That was last summer, when they were visiting their dad. It was a lot of fun, but I’m too old now to be in the same dance class as them.
” That last part seemed to sadden the child a little, though she was in a much better mood than before.
“They’re only nine, and I’m already twelve. ”