Lee could still hardly believe that he was going to be a father. And each time he thought about it, it brought a bigger and wider smile to his face. He was thinking about it now, and smiling too, as he half-listened to the man in front of him. The smile slightly faded as he jolted back to the realities of being mayor and he made himself focus on what the man was saying. "…over my land, don't you think?"
"I…uh, sure." Lee offered lamely. "What were we talking about again? I'm sorry, my mind was somewhere else."
"My land." The man said irritably. "I was telling you that the side piece is mine, but my neighbor insists that it's his."
"I see." Lee nodded, now remembering the conversation. "Well, Mr. Malden, isn't this more for Judge Avery to deal with?"
"You are the mayor." Mr. Malden pointed out.
"That's true. Let me talk to Bill and I'll see what I can do. Can you come back tomorrow?"
"I'll be by after lunch tomorrow."
"Thank you." Lee rose and shook the man's hand, then Mr. Malden turned and left. Lee leaned back in his chair. More land disputes. Did people have nothing else to dispute about? It didn't help that Wyman Walden was buying up land. Some people were not pleased about that. He cast his glance over to the papers on his desk, bills of the town. There was another concern – the town needed money. Just as he leaned over the estimations, his door opened again and Rosemary walked in.
"I need your help." She said breathlessly.
"Help?" He looked her over quickly. "Are you okay, Rosie?"
"Me? Yes, fine." She leaned on his desk, catching her breath. "But, I just overheard Jesse talking to Bill and they were talking about Wyman Walden and I remembered that I never did finish investigating him. And then I also remembered that you must know somethings about him, being mayor and all, and so I need your help." She finished in one breath.
Lee paused for one moment, trying to take in what she had said. "So you need my help to investigate Wyman Walden?" He repeated back to her.
She nodded quickly. "If you know anything."
"Rosie, that's really none of my business," he began.
She ignored him. "Do you know anything?"
"Yes, but I really can't say. Town business." He hedged.
"And I'm not important enough to know the town's business?" Rosemary asked impatiently.
Lee sucked in a breath. Must be those emotions Abigail was referring to, he thought grimacing. "Not if you're going to publish it in the newspaper when it's private."
"Fine then. I'll just go investigate myself." Rosemary huffed, then turned and walked back out. Lee shifted his attention back to his bills. Oh boy.
"Have you heard anything yet?" Florence asked from her place at the switchboard.
"No." Ned shook his head.
"Hopefully we know soon if they're coming or not," Florence frowned. Just then, the telephone rang, interrupting their conversation. She plugged the line in. "Hello? Yes, I am. Of course; one second." She placed the phone down and turned to her husband. "It's your sister. She wants to talk to you."
Ned smiled and walked over to the phone, picking it up. Florence plugged in the second line and he answered. "Hello? Yes…yes….of course. Okay then. We will. Bye." He put the phone down and turned back to Florence, who had gotten off her chair and come into the mercantile. "My sister and her husband are coming next week."
"That's wonderful!" Florence squeezed his hand excitedly. "And Katie will be home that week too, right?"
"Yep." Ned nodded.
"Great. I can't wait to finally meet your family." Florence smiled. Ned nodded again, and the bell above the mercantile door tinkled as a customer walked in. They were, once more, back to business.
I can't believe him! Rosemary huffed to herself. Telling me that it was none of my business! Well, I won't hear of it. If he won't help me, I'll help myself. She was focusing on her anger so much that she nearly ran into Elizabeth. "Excuse me!" Elizabeth said, noticing Rosemary's absent-mindedness. At the sound of her friend's voice, Rosemary came back to earth.
"Oh. Sorry." She paused, then launched into her story. "Can you believe it? Lee told me that my investigation into Wyman Walden isn't any of my business!"
"Did he actually say it like that?" Elizabeth asked.
"Well, not quite," Rosemary admitted. "But he said that the town's business wasn't any of my business and he implied that I was a busybody! Hmpf!" She set her lips in a straight line.
Elizabeth thought for a moment before replying, then spoke carefully and softly. "Rosemary, did you think that maybe you're letting all your pregnant emotions get to you?"
"I don't need to be pregnant to be mad at my husband!"
"No, but maybe you're overreacting just a little too much. I know when I was pregnant with Little Jack, I often got really emotional. You just need to take a step back and breathe." Elizabeth advised.
"I suppose. But still…" Rosemary motioned with her hands. "My job is to investigate." She looked at her friend and smiled slightly. "But I see what you are saying. Now, what brings you out this way?"
Elizabeth smiled, both at Rosemary and at the question. "Nathan and I are having a dinner party on Friday, and you and Lee, Abigail, Bill, Clara and Jesse, Joseph and Minnie, Florence and Ned, and Mollie are invited."
"Ooh! A party sounds great! Do you need any help? I could bake, or decorate, or-"
"I'll be fine. Abigail's having it at the Café because of the party size, and Allie's going to help a little too." Elizabeth quickly interrupted before Rosemary could finish. "Besides, don't you have work to do?"
"That's true; I do." Rosemary paused, then a brilliant smile lit up her face. "I'd better get going. I'll see you Friday."
"See you then!" Elizabeth said, then turned and walked the opposite way as her friend.
Rosemary continued walking down the street, looking around town. The town was growing, that was for sure. Even though she hated to admit it, Wyman Walden's business had brought growth to the town. That aside, she was still sure that he was up to no good. She pushed open the door to his office and walked inside. "Good afternoon," she said cheerily.
"Good afternoon, Mrs. Coulter." Mr. Walden replied. "How can I help you?"
Rosemary decided to be honest. "I'd like to do an article on town growth, and you seem to fit into it. Can you answer a few questions?"
"Of course." Mr. Walden smiled, but Rosemary could tell he didn't want to.
"Great. First, why did you choose Hope Valley as a prospect?"
"I saw potential here, and I wanted to capitalize on it."
"How do you plan to go about doing that?"
"Buy up property, buildings, and then resell it to folks coming in."
"Does it bother you what people have been saying about you?"
"No. I'm just doing business. That's their problem." Mr. Walden said firmly.
"So, are they telling a bit of truth then?" Rosemary asked pointedly.
"Is this still about town growth?" Mr. Walden asked just as pointedly.
Rosemary caught herself. "Yes, it is," she replied icily. "Do you see the town growing more yet?"
"Of course. Otherwise I wouldn't have come here." Mr. Walden was now cold as well.
Rosemary had gotten a little too close, and she knew it, so she hastily left his office. Her stomach twisted as she walked down the steps. She was still feeling the effects of morning sickness. She decided that she'd come back later and investigate more. One thing was certain, Wyman Walden was up to something.
On Friday night, Rosemary and Lee went to the Café for Elizabeth's party. Due to the size of the party, Abigail had volunteered to have it at the Café since the rowhouses were so small. Most of the party was already there, and the Café was filled with laughing and talking. Lee began talking to Mike and Lucas about business, and Rosemary excused herself to find Elizabeth and Abigail.
In one corner, Joseph, Jesse, Bill, and Ned were talking. In another were Lee, Mike, Nathan and Lucas. Clara, Faith, Fiona, Florence, and Mollie were chatting around a table, and Rosemary found Elizabeth, Minnie, and Abigail in the kitchen. "Good evening, ladies," Rosemary said cheerfully as she entered the kitchen.
"Evening." They replied in unison.
"Smells delicious." Rosemary commented.
"Thanks," Abigail smiled. She opened the pot lid. "Looks like its ready too."
"I'll tell everyone." Minnie volunteered.
"I'll help you. Those men will need two of us." Rosemary said. Minnie nodded, and the two of them turned to go back to the dining room.
"Can you guys pull the tables together? Supper is ready." Minnie announced in a loud voice.
"Sure." Joseph replied. The men pushed the tables and chairs together, creating two long tables. Then Abigail and Elizabeth brought the food out, and everyone sat down. Before long the Café was filled with laughter and talk.
"It's delicious, Abigail." Rosemary commented to her friend as she swirled her noodles around her fork.
"Thanks." Abigail smiled. "How are you feeling?" She asked quietly.
"Pretty good. Sometimes I can hardly believe it, it's so exciting, but it's going well." Rosemary smiled, then changed the subject. "Have you met Wyman Walden yet?"
"No, I haven't. But I've heard about him a lot."
"Are you talking about Mr. Walden?" Elizabeth asked from across the table.
"Yes. I talked to him a couple days ago, but I must have said the wrong thing. I was thinking about going back and talking to his men." Rosemary paused as she thought. "Something," she jabbed her fork in the air. "Something is going on, I just know it."
Elizabeth and Abigail shared a glance, one that Rosemary knew well and chose not to notice. It was what they did when she overstepped the bounds of common sense. "Are you sure?" Elizabeth asked again.
"I'm sure. Something fishy is up, and, mark my words, I'm going to find out what it is." Rosemary took the fork and stabbed it back into the food on her plate. "I will." She repeated quietly.
A few seats down the table, Nathan was talking to Lucas, Fiona, and Mike. Clara and Jesse were in on the conversation too, but they weren't saying much. Neither was Nathan, until the conversation turned to the pipeline problem. "Have you discovered anything, Nathan?" Mike asked.
Nathan nodded slowly. "I think I might have. I'd like to set a trap, if you don't mind, Lucas."
"Of course." Lucas agreed. "Anything to catch the vandal."
"Good. Here's what I had in mind…" Nathan outlined the plan specifically.
"Sounds like a plan." Mike nodded when Nathan had finished. "We can set it up tonight."
At the second table, Joseph was talking to Lee. "How is it going, being mayor?" He asked.
"Fairly well. It's definitely harder than I thought, and it's a lot to manage. I'm glad that Jesse is so good at working in the mill, or else I don't think I'd be able to everything. I've been busy lately," Lee admitted.
"Is the town doing alright?"
"As far as growth goes, yes, we're growing exponentially. But there are some complications that need to be settled." Lee lowered his voice. "Don't tell anyone, but I'm afraid that if something doesn't happen soon, we're going to be in big trouble."
"Is something wrong?" Joseph's face turned serious.
"Yes, and let's just say that I am doing my best to make sure that we don't crumble." Lee looked concerned.
"I'll keep you in my prayers." Joseph nodded.
"Thanks. That'd be a huge help. Right now, my main problem is-" Lee got interrupted by Robert dashing into the Café, out of breath and puffing.
"It's Little Jack!" He said loudly. "He's gone!"
All heads swiveled towards him and Elizabeth shot out of her seat, followed closely by Nathan. "What happened?" She asked worriedly.
"I was watching him, and then I went up to check on him and he was gone." Robert explained. "I don't know where he is!"