it out and fight whatever it is you're running from. You have family behind you now. It can work. We're not alone anymore."
"Oh, yeah, and Beaver and his mom will bake cookies and serve lemonade." Cleo struggled with her inner demons for a minute more, then narrowed her eyes and turned her glare back to Maya. "I'll do whatever it takes to get Matty."
All right. Step One. That's all she could handle right now. "Talk to Social Services. See if they'll give him over to you. If they won't, we'll talk about alternatives." Maya got up. "I'll finish up those shoe paintings. You talk to the system."
Miraculously, Cleo seemed to accept that order of things. She wandered off to clean up while Maya took her usual place behind the counter. It had been a very confusing few days. She needed the security of her paint and brushes.
* * *
Maya glanced up as the door chimes rang. The shop had just opened for the day and nobody came in at ten in the morning. If it was Axell, she didn't know if she was ready to speak to him. They had some issues they needed to sort out, and not the way they had done it last night.
Her eyes widened as Katherine and the mayor walked in. They stared around as if they'd never been inside a store before. She bit back a grin as they ran into the bumper sticker rack. Nobody could get by that rack without looking and chuckling, even these two starched-up yuppies.
Ralph Arnold brought a sticker to the counter saying FORGET WORLD PEACE—VISUALIZE USING YOUR TURN SIGNAL. "Maybe we could put one of these on every car in town," he said dryly, laying it down and reaching for his wallet.
Maya shrugged and waved away his money. "It's on the house." She studied the man on the other side of the counter, looking for the devious aura that would nail him as up to no good, but she could see nothing more than his narrow-minded conservatism. At least, they agreed on the poor driving habits of the local townspeople. "Maybe I could sell you a crystal ball? They're supposed to be real handy in telling the future."
The mayor looked at her suspiciously, but Katherine sauntered up and distracted him. She was wearing red, as usual, but a little more modestly tailored for a change. The skirt only rode half way up her thighs.
"Pfeiffer's heirs want to sell the school property." Katherine dived right into the issue at hand. "We thought we could offer alternative properties to expedite the sale."
Axell had taught her one or two things over these last months, and one of them was to beware wiggling bait. Maya gestured toward her high-backed chairs. "Have a seat, if you like. Dazzle me with your knowledge. But remember, the house and the lease are in the court's hands, and there isn't a lawyer or judge in the state that will break my lease. I have three years."
She watched the mayor's complexion turn purple and Katherine's eyes narrow to slits. Maya settled on her stool behind the counter and picked up her paintbrush.
"I thought Axell had explained to you that we need that property now. We can get a judgment from the court allowing the road to go through there while the estate is pending. We just need your release."
"Axell explains lots of things to me. I don't remember him telling me I had to move or sign anything. Actually, if I remember correctly, someone mentioned that if anyone wanted me out of there early, they'd have to buy off my lease."
Selene had actually mentioned that. Maya wasn't entirely clear on what it meant, but it had sounded good. Not that she had any intention of giving up the lease, but she liked shocking people.
"Axell promised!" Katherine all but shouted. "He said if we scratched his back, he'd scratch ours. He's supposed to help you find a new place."
Well, that was an entirely new perspective. Add one more issue to discuss with Mr. Axell Holm. But Maya was accustomed to keeping her mouth shut in the presence of civil servants. She smiled patiently. "So, scratch your own itches. They have nothing to do with mine. I have a lease and the school stays. There's an old depleted tobacco field just down the way. Why don't you buy it if you have to have a new road?"
"It's two miles out of the way!" the mayor argued. "It would cost