box. I haven't remembered to bring them back."
He wouldn't have thought anything of it except for that brief embarrassment. Those teacups meant something special to her. He didn't like the idea of them still in their packing box, ready to be moved at a moment's notice. They were all Maya had that were truly hers, he realized.
He'd learned that confronting Maya wasn't any easier than getting direct answers from Constance. Instead, he took the indirect route. "Stephen's band took that show at the club in Charlotte?"
She pulled a bottle of mineral water from beneath the counter and threw it in his direction. "The album's done and the tour won't start for months. They have to do something."
Axell caught the bottle and unscrewed the top. It gave him something to do while he quelled the jealous imps wreaking havoc with his stomach. He couldn't object to a father wanting to be near his daughter, not with any rationality anyway. It was Stephen's proximity to Maya that was driving him crazy. He glanced up at the ceiling separating them from the apartment above. "He's back then?"
Maya grinned and sat cross-legged on the cushion of one of the giant high-backed wicker chairs she'd added to the inventory. "If I know Stevie, he's sawing logs. He doesn't come awake until the owls do. Sit down, Axell. You make me nervous prowling around like that."
Instead, he crossed the room to examine the row of painted sneakers behind the counter. "You're still taking orders for these things?"
"They're fun, and almost pure profit. I'm working up a book of different characters people can choose from. I took in fifty dollars yesterday," she added defensively.
At fifty dollars a day, the shop could scarcely pay the utilities, but it was better than where they'd started. He hadn't come in here to criticize. Axell swung around and took the other chair beside her. Thank heaven she'd sold those hideous wrought-iron things.
"The transportation board is going ahead with land condemnation proceedings. They're calling for a public meeting next month." He hadn't wanted to tell her. The school had just had their first full summer session this week, and Maya had been so excited, she'd almost closed Cleo's shop in celebration. Only a curt note from her sister had dimmed her exuberance and forced her to agree to teaching afternoon classes only.
It seemed Cleo might be getting time off for good behavior. She hadn't been very polite in her inquiries about Matty and the store. He was having grave doubts about the sister.
He didn't know which was harder on Maya, the shop or the school, but he loved having her close at hand for breaks like this. Usually, she had the kids with her, but today, Matty and Constance were on a field trip, leaving just Alexa to coo in her cradle. If it weren't for his unhappy news, he could be using the time to woo her a little.
At his warning, Maya bit her bottom lip and turned troubled eyes toward the dancing prisms in the window. The speakers blared a mournful Gaelic folk song, and Axell had the urge to smash them into plastic grounds.
"Well, I suppose we'll have to see to it that the public supports us," she finally responded with her usual cheer. "The Pfeiffer property is practically an historic monument. How could they want an ugly old road in its place?"
Very easily, Axell wanted to remind her. People preferred shortcuts to the grocery store over historic monuments. But he didn't have the heart to shoot down her cloud. By now, he realized Maya knew when she was ignoring reality. She did it deliberately. It saved a storm of tears and rage and avoided the confrontations she so thoroughly disliked. He couldn't argue with that attitude, since it saved him tons of grief too.
"We'll start a campaign," he replied gently. He didn't have much hope of it working, but he didn't want to let her down either. They were still at that awkward stage of courtship where they skirted around all the issues while warily testing each other's boundaries. Well, he was wary. Maya had a habit of treading his toes whenever it occurred to her. The purple larkspur on his dining room walls had grown six-feet tall.
"Won't it be costly to build a road in a flood zone?" she asked, wrinkling her brow as she sipped her tea.
Pow! Right between the eyes. Axell stared at his amazing wife in incredulity. "Sometimes, you're a lot more connected than