Free Son of a Preacher Man by Arianna Hart

year. The secondary school closed down before I came back. There just weren’t enough students to justify keeping it open. Now the kids go to a regional school near Canton.”
    “That’s a long ride every day.”
    “Yup. The town is arguing about what to do with the old school building. Some folks want to turn it into a town hall slash recreation center. Other people want to keep it as it is in hopes we’ll have enough students to re-open it.”
    “Do you think that will happen?”
    “I doubt it. Besides, even though they have to ride the bus an hour each way, the kids are getting more opportunities than they would at our little school. The regional school has a football team, a band, foreign-language classes and computers. We couldn’t afford any of that in Dale.”
    “If that developer gets his way and builds a bunch of McMansions, we’d have more families than we could handle,” Bill said as he walked into the kitchen. He’d changed out of his brown uniform into jeans and a T-shirt.
    “That’s not necessarily a bad thing,” Mary Ellen said, handing him a beer. “We could use some fresh blood around here. And building means jobs. Lord knows, we could use more of those as well.”
    “There are better ways to spark the economy than cutting down acres of woodland and building a bunch of overpriced houses. Our infrastructure can’t support a new development of the size being proposed.”
    Nadya tried not to let the shock she felt show on her face. Billy Michaels was using words like economy and infrastructure. Hell, he was speaking at all. She’d heard him use more words in the twenty minutes he’d been home than she had the entire time she’d lived in Dale.
    “Where would the new development be, if it gets approved?” she asked.
    “Right behind the cabin,” J.T. said. “Apparently, the only street access is my driveway. The proposal calls for widening it and expanding it.”
    “But that would mean tearing down the cabin.”
    “Yup.”
    Dismay hit her heart like a bullet. Even though the cabin was never hers exactly, it was still where she’d grown up. More importantly, if the drive got widened, it would ruin the little grove along the creek and tear down all the woods around the house.
    “Don’t look so sad. It’s not a done deal. The developer is still in negotiations with the owner of the property. I guess there’s been some probate issues or something. This could get held up in the courts for years.”
    “Enough of this serious talk,” Mary Ellen declared. “Dinner’s ready and I want only happy conversations. Bill, call the boys in to wash while I ladle out the stew.”
     
    “I’m stuffed. I don’t think I could fit another bite,” J.T. said as he leaned back along the bench. The only thing he wanted to bite right now was Nadya’s neck. With her hair all piled up on her head, it left the long line of her throat open and mouth-wateringly vulnerable.
    “That’s too bad, because Nadya brought chocolate éclairs from that fancy bakery in Canton.” Mary Ellen gathered the dishes but slapped at Nadya’s hands when she went to help. “Don’t you lift a single dish, Nadya Sarov. You’re company, and company doesn’t clear.”
    “I spent as much time in this house as I did my own, I don’t think I’d qualify myself as company anymore.”
    “Doesn’t matter. You and J.T. go sit on the porch while Bill and I clean up the kitchen and put the boys to bed. That will give you some time to digest so we can enjoy dessert. Go on with you, shoo.”
    J.T. grabbed Nadya’s hand and pulled her out of the bench. “Come on, before she realizes I’m not company anymore either and makes me wash dishes.”
    The night air was cooler but still plenty warm, so he turned on the overhead fans on the porch. Nadya headed to the swing and set it in motion. After he lit some citronella candles, he joined her on the bench seat, sitting closer than was strictly necessary.
    “No one makes chicken and