Destined By Proxy

~58~ Make A Plan

To my friends affected by this horrendous hurricane, my thoughts and prayers are with you.

Magnolia's POV

"You're upset with me, ain't ya?" Eli asks softly as we walk back to our house after supper.

I watch as the children run up ahead, and Rosie stops to try and catch a butterfly.

He grabs my hand and stops walking, forcing me to stay with him. He gently spins me so I'm facing him, and when he sees me, he nods. "I don't reckon I've ever seen ya angry before. What's wrong?"

"I...You...." I start, but I shake my head and blow out a breath. When my eyes meet his, he is staring at me so intensely, my head gets fuzzy.

"Just tell me, Maggie," he says softly as he keeps ahold of my hand and gives it a calming squeeze.

"You left without telling me where you were, or that you weren't eating breakfast with us. Then you went into town and took care of something that I should have known about. This concerns Theo, and you had a secret meeting without at least warning me."

He processes my words for a moment before he lets go of my hand and scratches the back of his neck.

"Guess I was so nervous about leadin' the meetin' that I wasn't hungry. Maggie, I wasn't tryin' to hide that I went to the meetin', I....I reckon I just didn't think much about tellin' ya about it..That wasn't the right thing ta do, huh?"

"Rachel knew all about it. Micah could tell Rachel but you couldn't tell me? I know we don't have an intimate relationship, but I deserved to know about this. My brother goes to that school, and I deserve to know what's happening with his teacher."

"Yes you do," he sighs as he looks back at the children, still trying to chase the butterfly...Well, Rosie is, and she is dragging Theo along with her.

Eli sighs as he grabs both of my hands and stares hard into my eyes. "Maggie, please forgive me. Remember how I said I'm a nincompoop? Everyday I'm tryin' ta do better than the last, but sometimes I'll still be one. I'm so sorry."

I give him a true smirk and his shoulders relax. "It's alright. We're both learning how to do this."

"Can I tell ya what happened?"

At my nod he lets go of my hands and blows out a breath.

"The board members are concerned...Well, that ain't quite true, they're pretty peeved..Especially Matthew and Anthony. They all agreed to hold another board meetin' tomorrow night. The pastor is speakin' to Natasha this evenin' about it."

"Is she going to lose her job?" I gasp as I get a sick feeling in my stomach. If she does, it will be all my fault.

Eli looks at me for a long moment before he nods slowly. "They will give Natasha a chance to explain, but if her explanation doesn't satisfy the board, then the discussion of hirin' a new teacher will begin."

"And only board members can be there?"

He makes a face and then blows out another breath. "No," he sighs. "They are gonna open it up to the public, because they know Mrs. Salders will have a conniption and be there anyways...."

"So I can go?" I ask

He makes another face, and then pinches the bridge of his nose as he closes his eyes for a moment.

"I ain't gonna be that fella, Maggie...I know that the menfolk git final say in what their women do, but I ain't gonna be like the other menfolk. If ya wanna be there, then ya can be...But iffin I was like the other men, I wouldn't let ya go."