Nobody's Fool Y'all

8

 The details were hushed up, but the rumors of his death had fueled many tales at the Beauty Boutique, the pink beauty shop and gossip mill  on Main Street in Hope Rock County.

Had his young wife somehow slipped the old man a newfangled poison that would never show up in an autopsy? Or was his ticket simply punched, and he'd gone to meet his Maker with lipstick smears and a big goofy grin on his face from his fatally attractive hot-and-bothered baby bride who'd tripped the old goat's fuse while engaging in too much whoopie? 

Nobody knew. Several people speculated that more than a few palms had been greased. The body was cremated and his ashes spread before anybody could say 'boy howdy.'

Percy came back to Hope Rock County to take over the family business. He had married while he was away, and he'd picked a shy, mousy woman he had met up north. They had two kids. He built a sprawling mansion, as sprawling as mansions went in Hope Rock County, and moved into it with his family. He immediately set about working to expand the family's timber business.

But things did not go as Percy had planned.

In a matter of a few years, he managed to run the thriving enterprise straight into the ground. After his father's death, and in search of a way to make an easy living, he did the only thing he could think of doing. 

Percy decided to throw his hat into politics. His plan was to start small, win a few local elections, and move up the grid. He had a lot of influential friends. He might end up a state senator or even governor.

Through some slick campaign speeches and a lot of grand promises, Percy nailed the election for mayor. Folks seemed to forget the bankruptcies and the business failures. 

But Bill wasn't fooled by Percy's slogans or his pledges. The sheriff remembered the lazy boy who had paid others to do his homework. He remembered how Percy had always been proud of his father's money and the privileges it brought him growing up.

It wasn't just sour grapes. Those who knew Percy Lovelace best wondered if he would ever fulfill half the campaign promise he'd made to the townsfolk.

***

Bill, on the other hand, came from an entirely different background. The Whitakers sprouted from more humble beginnings. Bill had had to work hard for everything in life. There were no shortcuts and no silver spoons in his family's silverware drawer. Only cheap metal ones that rusted over time.

Bill earned the respect of the town the hard way – through honesty and hard work. He knew Percy detested him. The feelings were mutual. Rumors were spreading that Percy had targeted Bill and a few others as some of the elected employees in need of early retirement. Political officeholders often spun their own webs of intrigue. Time would tell, Bill guessed.

Hope Rock County had a new mayor, and Asa was history. Out with the old and in with the new. 

Bill had to work with Percy Loveless, but he did not have to like it.