Warm Nights in Magnolia Bay Babette Jongh (best romance ebooks .txt) 📖

the front row. “Here he is, holding a baby pig.” That photo began to make the rounds. “And here he’s holding a bunny in his lap.”

“You know what that kid is doing now?” She put her knuckles on her hips, though she still held a fistful of photos in each hand. “He runs the veterinary medicine department at a major university. I called him this afternoon, and you know what he credits for his success?” She paused and looked over each and every person in the audience, letting her gaze linger on the real estate developer for a heartbeat before moving on.

“He says he learned respect for others—both animals and humans—by visiting Bayside Barn every year. Two of his older siblings who came up through school before we started the field trips to the barn are in prison now. He says he’d probably be there himself if it weren’t for the unconditional love those animals gave him every time his school class went to Bayside Barn.”

Edna paused for effect, smiling at the crowd, making eye contact with several people. “He still has a collection of the plastic Bayside Barn Buddies sheriff’s stars that they were giving out back then. He said he’ll be happy to write a letter or sign whatever he needs to sign, but I only found out about this thing earlier today when…” She nodded at Tammy, who nodded back. “Well, when I found out.”

So Edna had known even before Abby called. That made sense; Edna had only said, “Of course I’ll be there, honey. Don’t you worry.”

Edna gave a stack of photos to the folks in the front row of the hard-seat gallery. “Pass those around. Look at the joy on those children’s faces. Some of those kids didn’t ever get hugged at home, but they damn sure got hugged by the animals at the barn.”

She moved on to the second row and handed out more photos. “Some of those kids got everything they ever wanted given to them on a silver platter, but they never learned how to treat animals. Some of those kids had loving parents who taught them respect for other beings, but they weren’t accepted by their peers. All those kids, each and every one, needed what the animals at Bayside Barn gave them freely without asking for anything in return.”

She gave the remaining photos to the last two rows. “That’s what animals do for us. And most of the time, we need them more than they need us.”

Some of the photos had made the rounds, and Edna started gathering them up. Others were still being passed up and down the rows. The person next to Abby handed her a yellowed Polaroid of a kid’s beaming, gap-toothed smile while he sat on a shaggy pony that Reva’s husband Grayson held by a lead rope. Abby felt an unexpected rise of tears, and her throat clogged with emotion. She slipped the photo into her purse to give to Reva when she came back home.

Edna went to the podium with the tap of her sensible low heels. “This time,” she said, sending her schoolteacher gaze around the room, “this time, the animals at Bayside Barn need us. They need us to stand up for them, even in the face of people who would offer us the moon to turn our backs on the lowly creatures of this world so they can tear up the environment and make money.” She nodded at the crowd, then let her gaze linger on Miami Vice Ken while her mouth drew up in a parsimonious frown. “Those developer folks have their petition, and we all know what they’re after.”

She gave the orange clipboard to the first person in the front row. A Bic pen dangled from a thick loop of braided embroidery thread. “I’m starting a petition right now to support the animals of Bayside Barn. This time, I hope we’ll have the courage to do what’s right.”

A hush fell over the room as people started passing around the petition. Most people signed, but some passed it along without looking.

Edna went back to her seat, winking at Abby as she walked past.

Tammy took over the podium. “If no one else has anything to say, we’ll adjourn this meeting.”

Abby sent a panicked look to Quinn. Should she try to follow Edna in speaking on behalf of Bayside Barn? Edna had done such a good job; maybe they should quit while they were ahead.

He gave a slight negative headshake.

And anyway, it was too late. While Abby sat there paralyzed with fear and indecision, President Tammy adjourned the meeting.

* * *

After the meeting, Quinn took Abby and Edna out to the town’s only Mexican restaurant to celebrate Edna’s moving presentation.

Quinn knew that Edna and Abby thought the first battle in this war had been won. But Quinn had seen his smarmy ex-business partner in action before. Jefferson Pearson didn’t care what anyone thought of him, and he didn’t play fair.

“Who was that guy who looked like a throwback from Miami Vice?” Abby asked.

Quinn didn’t answer her, but when he’d seen JP walk into the courtroom, he’d struggled with a knee-jerk feeling that he should run for cover and hide. Even though Quinn hadn’t known that JP had been padding costs and fudging estimates to get more money from their clients, he should’ve known. And some would say that as JP’s business partner, Quinn was just as guilty—he certainly felt that way. In any case, though no one ever pressed charges, word had gotten around well enough that the fledgling business had failed. Quinn was just lucky that JP had been the “face” of the business while Quinn had led the work crews. Lucky for him, he’d been forgettable enough that JP’s stink hadn’t stuck to him.

“He’s some real-estate developer from New Orleans,” Edna said. Quinn held his breath at first, half-fearing that Edna knew that he and JP had been business partners for a brief time.

Edna leaned closer to Abby. “I’ve heard