Axell was still occupied—he was watching her as he spooned soup into bowls—and lowered her voice.
"He says the bartender can heave out the drunk or call the cops, and you can handle the staff problem in whatever manner you consider most efficient. He'll be down there after he's eaten and put the kids to bed. After all, we wouldn't want him accused of neglecting his daughter, would we?"
The dead silence on the other end indicated a direct hit. With a smile, Maya gently hung up the receiver.
"Problem?" Axell inquired as he set the bowls on the table between the kids.
"Nothing someone else can't handle. I didn't have enough shortening for the cornbread. I hope it turned out all right."
His eyes narrowed at her evasion, but he did no more than go for the dishrag as Matty knocked over his glass of milk.
* * *
"May I come in?"
The elderly voice quavered, and Maya jerked her head up. She hadn't heard the bells chiming over the door, but then, she'd been feeding Alexa and not paying much attention.
"We're not open," she answered gently, wondering why on earth an old man would even bother with a New Age store like this. The sunlight through the windows behind him cast his face in shadow, but he seemed vaguely familiar.
"That's all right. The girl who worked here before, is she coming back?"
All her protective instincts leaped into gear. Cautiously, Maya leaned her head to one side so she could better see the newcomer without the glare in her eyes. "Mr. Pfeiffer?" she asked incredulously, finally recognizing his silhouette. "You know my sister?"
"We talked sometimes," he answered diffidently. "She's an angry young woman. I hope she's all right."
Maya laid the sleeping infant in the car cradle. Axell had objected to her coming to the store, but she'd pointed out that if she could stand in line at the courthouse to get a marriage license, she darned well could do the shop books. She couldn't believe she'd actually agreed to the marriage license. Still, she had time to argue him out of going through with a real wedding.
"If being in prison is all right, then I suppose Cleo is just dandy," Maya replied with more sarcasm than she intended. Mr. Pfeiffer had never done anything to harm her. She had no business taking her irritation out on him. She'd tried calling Cleo with the announcement of Alexa's birth, but her sister had never returned the call.
"She got that self-destructive streak from your grandmother," Mr. Pfeiffer continued, as if he'd heard her thoughts. "Back then, it was alcohol, though. We didn't have drugs." He hesitated, leaning on his cane more heavily, then glanced at Alexa. "Your daughter?"
The crack about their "grandmother" had nearly stolen Maya's wits. Unscrambling them wasn't easy. "You knew our grandmother?"
"Too well," he admitted wryly in his squeaky voice. "But that's ancient history. Will you be keeping the school open?"
She wanted to hear ancient history. She had vague memories of a yard and a puppy, but she thought maybe they'd been reinforced from Cleo's reminiscences. Cleo was three years older and remembered their parents much more clearly. Whatever memories Maya had of the Carolinas had been printed over with layers of other places, other people, and other traumas.
"We just had to close while the creek was up. Selene is looking into asking the Department of Transportation for a bridge through there, but we seem to be at odds with the prevailing establishment." Maya gestured toward the other chair at her table. "Won't you have a seat? I can fix some tea, if you like. I'd like to hear about our grandmother."
"No, I can't stay. Maybe some other time. My nephew is on the transportation board. He may be part of your problem. I'll talk to him. I hope the other building's collapse didn't hurt anyone. It was tainted and I'm not sorry to see it go, but I worried until I'd heard you'd moved your things here."
Maya was still on the grandmother remark and only half heard his condolences. The word "tainted" stuck though. "Why tainted?"
He shuffled toward the door. "Bought with bad money. Don't ever sell yourself to the devil for money." He halted with his hand on the knob. "Tell your sister I asked after her. I hope her little boy is all right."
"Matty's doing fine." Maya hastily got up as the old man turned the knob. "Please, I'd like to talk with you sometime. Could I call on you?"
She caught a glimpse