Facing the Music by Andrea Laurence Page A

this?”
    “Don’t raise your voice at me,” Adelia snapped and met his gaze. “I didn’t tell you because I didn’t feel it was necessary.”
    She immediately held up a hand to quiet his protest. “Sometimes being a Chamberlain means doing what’s best for the town. Putting Rosewood’s needs above your own. It’s not always the easiest thing to do. I knew it would be difficult for you. So, yes, I left out the offensive details.”
    Blake’s hands tightened to fists in his lap. “So you admit you knew it would be hard for me and yet you set me up anyway?”
    “I did not ‘set you up.’ I said it would be difficult for you to put the town’s needs over your own. I withheld the parts that would keep you from doing what needed to be done. If you knew everything you know now, would you still have agreed to participate?”
    He opened his mouth to say “Yes, of course I would,” but he couldn’t lie to his grandmother. Blake would not have agreed to this. He would’ve felt bad, but he would’ve requested some changes. At least then it would’ve been early enough in the planning stages that the changes wouldn’t wreck the whole plan. He would still have helped Rosewood rebuild. He just wouldn’t have had to bleed for it.
    “You’ve proved my point with your silence, Blake. Rosewood is not just a town. It’s our family legacy. It’s the Chamberlains’ duty to watch over the land and the people that call it home.”
    Blake crossed his arms over his chest. “If it’s all so important and our family has a responsibility to the town, why not just write a check for the gym and spare me the public humiliation? You and I both know you can afford it.”
    Adelia watched him for a moment before delicately taking a sip of her tea. “And what good would that do? While I will be contributing to the cause, writing a check for the whole thing does nothing but rebuild the gym itself.”
    Blake frowned at his grandmother. “Isn’t that the point?”
    “No. This is about more than just a gymnasium. It’s better for the town to work together to rebuild. It generates a sense of pride and community. While Rosewood is still a small town, it grows a little larger every year. The sense of intimacy is being lost. People aren’t shopping downtown; they’re shopping online or driving to Birmingham. They’re getting burgers at the drive-in place on the highway instead of eating at Ellen’s or Pizza Palace. The attendance at the Fourth of July picnic was lower than ever this year.”
    She shook her head. “Sometimes I go into town and I don’t even recognize people anymore. There was a time when I knew every family in Rosewood. We don’t just need to rebuild the gym, Blake. We need to rebuild the network that holds this town together. The tornado was a tragedy, but it offered us the perfect project to make that happen. And as the oldest of the Chamberlain children, you’re going to lead the charge. It doesn’t make a lick of difference who’s working with you, because you’re working for the common good.”
    Blake sat back in his chair. He reached out for the platter and shoved a butter cookie into his mouth. He might be a teacher, but he’d just been schooled.
    “Now, if you’re quite finished complaining, I’d like you to move along. My guest should be here any minute.”
    Blake was sitting forward, gripping the arms of the chair to stand, when he caught a glimpse of movement at the back door. Winston was escorting his grandmother’s guest outside. The hair and the clothes were quite different from this morning, but even from this distance, he knew who it was.
    “You know, you could’ve told me you were having Ivy over. I would’ve put off this discussion until later.” He leaned across the table, narrowing his eyes at her and speaking in a lower voice. “Did you plan this?”
    His grandmother smiled and folded her hands in her lap. It seemed like a sweet smile, but it was unnerving to Blake. His