Mad About The Man (21 page)

14

"
H
e
'
ll lie through his teeth,
"
Gaby said, filing into the Women
'
s Auxiliary Hall behind Char.

"
At least he changed his mind about making time to talk with all of us tonight,
"
Char said.
"
Give the man a chance.
"

Give him a chance?
"
What do you think I
'
ve been doing?
"

Char raised a single eyebrow at Gaby and said nothing.

Gaby felt herself turn pink. She hadn
'
t actually
said
she and Jacques were lovers, but Char
'
s sharp-eyed glance suggested she
'
d arrived at that conclusion.
"
Promise me you
'
ll take good care of Mae tonight,
"
Gaby whispered urgently.

"
As if I
'
d do anything else.
"
Char didn
'
t deign to look at Gaby again.
"
I
'
ve been loving her since she was a baby. Why would that change just because her mother
'
s turned into a pig-headed idiot?
"

"
Don
'
t
mention pigs to me.
"

"
Hush. He
'
s coming.
"

Jacques was indeed coming to the gathering he
'
d called for seven o
'
clock on the very Saturday evening when he intended to give Goldstrike
'
s history to a carnival maker.

Striding through the double doors of the creaking,
white clapboard building, he smiled from side to side and waved like
a confident young politician…
or a television evangelist.

A television evangelist in a
tuxedo.

Gaby
'
s blood began to simmer.
"
Now
do you believe what I told you?
"
She crossed her arms and shrank against the back wall.
"
Look what he
'
s wearing.
"

Char
'
s brow puckered.
"
He could have decided this was an occasion for formal dress.
"

"
A chat with people he considers the insignificant local yokels of Goldstrike? Oh, give me a break!
"
Jacques leaped up the steps to the platform and smiled his marvelous smi
le in all directions as if wait
ing for applause to cease.

Silence had fallen upon the previously grumbling audience.

"
Good evening to you all,
"
Jacques said, bracing his feet apart and managing to make his deep, clear voice carry throughout the hall.
"
I really appreciate your cooperation. You didn
'
t get much notice about tonight
'
s meeting, and this is a great turnout.
"

"
He makes it sound as if all he did was post a flyer on a tree,
"
Gaby whispered.
"
Hand-delivered invi
tations complete with the promise of complementary Ledan chocolates might just have swayed one or two into appearing.
"

"
He was being gracious. And he
'
s here to make you happy. If you hadn
'
t given him the cold shoulder all week he probably wouldn
'
t have bothered.
"
Char sighed.
"
He
'
s
so
good-looking.
"

Char was another Jacques Ledan conquest. Gaby looked over the women present and decided they all appeared dazed by Mr. Wonderful.

"
I
'
m sure you all have other things to do on a Saturday night, so I
'
ll keep this brief,
"
Jacques said.

"
Because
he
has other things to do,
"
Gaby intoned.
"
Only he
'
s not going to get to do them.
"

Char glanced at her.
"
I hope you know what you
'
re doing.
"

"
What would you say to a new school right here in Goldstrike?
"
Jacques
'
s voice rang out.

A rumble of conversation broke out among the assembly.

"
Would having your children go to school in their community again please you?
"

Scattered shouts of Yes rose.

"
We can do that, my friends. You and I as a team can bring our children back where they belong. With the healthy, and very acceptable, rise in population my expansion plans will bring, there
'
ll be enough young people in Goldstrike to warrant providing for their education in the town where they live. And— when they graduate and, we hope, go on to college— they
'
ll leave with enough enthusiasm for their hometown to want to
come back!

"
I say, let
'
s get rid of busing for good. Let
'
s take back the right, and the opportunity, to have a real impact on the formative years of our greatest resource—our young people!
"

"
Yes!
"
The response was deafening.

Jacques grinned endearingly. He strolled back and forth on the stage lik
e a pleased, exceptionally hand
some and wholesome movie star who had proven that his vaguely devilish face and lean, commanding body, were merely a disguise.

A big man in the center of the crowd rose to his feet.

"
That
'
s one of Sis
'
s brothers,
"
Char said.
"
I didn
'
t think they spoke.
"

The following silence lasted so long, Gaby began to believe the man must be mute.

He coughed, hitched at baggy blue overalls and coughed.
"
What
'
s it all going to cost us, then? That
'
s what we want to know. Don
'
t get nothin
'
for nothin
'
in our book. Our Sis says you
'
re plannin
'
to change everythin
'
around here. We wouldn
'
t hold with that. No sir.
"
Abruptly he sat down again.

Jacques leveled a long finger on the man.
"
I
'
m very glad you said that. Very glad. If I don
'
t hear these silly rumors, I can
'
t put your worries to bed. And that
'
s where they belong, folks. I want you to trust me. I
'
ve been coming to Goldstrike since I was a baby. My grandfather built a little house—not much more than a cabin—where La Place stands now. My father enlarged the building and I
'
ve added on a room or two.
"

"
It
'
s the size of a castle,
"
Gaby mumbled.

"
My family and I have a stake in this area and that
'
s why I
'
m setting out to make a new future for all of us. It would take too long to explain everything we intend to do, but I
'
ve got a compromise.
"

"
A compromise that
'
ll get him to a more important meeting on time,
"
Gaby said.

"
Shh.
"
Char pressed a finger to her lips.

"
Within a month there
'
ll be a detailed mock-up of the entire project available for viewing.
"

Gaby shifted.
"
He makes it sound like a body.
"

"
As soon as the location
'
s been fixed, I
'
ll make sure every one of you is informed. I
'
ll be personally responsible for conducting lectures with full explanations of each phase.
"

"
Mae
'
s playing out front,
"
Gaby said.
"
I
'
d better get started.
"

"
I really wish you wouldn
'
t.
"

"
He
'
s got to be stopped.
"

A smattering of applause gusted through the room, and Gaby glanced at Jacques once more. He looked directly at her and smiled.
"
Please believe me when
I
say that what happens here is important to me personally.
"
His mouth became serious, but he continued to hold Gaby
'
s gaze.
"
In fact, it
'
s very probable that you can expect me to be spending more and more time in Goldstrike.
"

She made herself look away.

"
I
'
ve got to leave you,
"
Jacques announced.
"
But first I
'
m going to show you just one reason why I
'
m determined to change the future for all of us. Come here, Mae.
"

Gaby froze.

Through the doors came Mae. Jacques jumped down from the platform and strode to meet the child. He gave her ponytail a playful tug and took her small hand in his. Side by side they walked to the front of the hall and Jacques lifted Mae to stand before the townspeople.

"
That
'
s it,
"
Gaby said through barely parted lips.
"
Now he
'
s really going to find out who can play dirty.
"

From the floor, Jacques indicated Gaby
'
s adorable daughter.
"
Mae McGregor is a friend of mine. And she
'
s just one of many reasons why we
'
ve got to band together as a team and make a future worth having.
"
With that he bent to retrieve the companion Mae had brought with her.
"
We
'
re going to make sure this is always a down home place where children can
grow up enjoying the special things city kids only dream about.
"
He set Mae
'
s new piglet on the platform.
"
Meet Shortcake. He belongs to Mae. My parting words to you are— A pig for every kid. Thank you for coming.
"

"
You
'
re going to wish
you
hadn
'
t come, Jacques,
"
Gaby said as she dashed from the hall.

H
e never remembered holding a child
'
s hand before. An alien, poignant sensation surprised him. Mae was an intelligent little girl, full of fun, but with a serious side, too. Yeah, he might be able to enjoy her
…
only because she was Gaby
'
s though, of course.

Jacques drove the Jeep away from the Women
'
s Auxiliary Hall. As he
'
d walked down the aisle to leave, the tentative smiles and nods from a number of people had pleased him.