by Regina Hart
“Who are you going to get to run against her?” Grady cast his gaze around the table as though prodding the other members’ memories. “That’s how she got elected the first time, remember? And that’s how the mayor before her got elected. Twice. No one ran against them.”
Ean glanced at Megan before turning to the others. “I think Megan would make a great mayor.”
Megan’s stomach dropped. “No, I wouldn’t.”
Tilda gestured toward her. “See? You won’t even run against her.”
“She’s my cousin.” Why had Ean brought this up?
“Why are you giving her special treatment?” Tilda mocked Megan’s earlier words.
Megan looked at each member in turn. “I’m not a leader—”
Ean interrupted her. “Yes, you are. You’ve taken the lead on this issue with the center.”
Megan spoke in a firm tone. “This is the first time I’ve ever been active on a government issue. I can lead an organization. I can run a business. But leading a town, balancing the needs of hundreds of people within a budget, is a completely different set of skills. We have to find someone else.”
“I don’t know who.” Doreen sounded disappointed.
Megan blinked. Doreen had been active in community organizations all of Megan’s life. Had their future mayor been sitting among them this entire time?
CHAPTER 23
The bell above the front door to Ean’s business suite chimed Monday afternoon. He straightened from the box of office supplies he was transferring into his supply closet and stepped into the hallway. He froze when he saw Leonard George standing in his waiting area.
“Your office looks good.” The older man shoved his hands into the pockets of his winter coat as he glanced around.
“Thanks.” Ean had arranged a couple of chairs and a corner table with current magazines in the waiting area.
Leonard met Ean’s eyes. “Are you busy?”
They’d just spent Thanksgiving together. What did Leonard want now? Ean glanced over his shoulder toward the supply closet. He resisted the temptation to further delay their conversation. Coach George had always been persistent.
Ean gestured Leonard into his office and followed him. “It can wait.”
Leonard settled into one of the black leather chairs in front of the large mahogany desk. “I like this furniture.”
“Thanks.” Ean circled his desk and lowered himself into the matching executive chair.
He sensed the other man’s discomfort, which meant they had something in common besides affection for his mother. Neither of them wanted this meeting.
Leonard’s shoulders lifted and settled in a deep breath. “I care about your mother.”
“I know.” Ean’s tension rose in the beat of silence that followed his response.
“I mean . . . I’m not . . . using her.”
Ean really didn’t want to have this conversation. “My mother wouldn’t allow anyone to use her.”
Leonard gave in to a short laugh. “That’s true. It’s one of the things I admire about her. Dorie is a strong woman.”
Dorie. Ean cringed on the inside. “Yes, she is.”
Leonard shifted in the visitor’s chair. “Look, Ean, I know you’re not happy about my dating your mother. I don’t understand why. I’m not trying to replace your father. You just said you know I’m not using your mother. Then what is it?”
Ean studied his high school football coach while he tried to put his feelings into words. “I’m having trouble adjusting to the change in your relationship with my mother.”
“Is that really the problem, or are you wondering whether your mother and I were together even before your father died?”
Ean tightened his grip on the arms of his chair. His former coach was coming too close to the line. “My parents loved each other very much. Neither would ever have been unfaithful to the other.”
“But you didn’t know how sick your father was or for how long. It’s natural to wonder what else you didn’t know.”
It was a struggle to control his temper. “Maybe you’d wonder, but I don’t have to.”
“Then what would it take for you to accept my relationship with your mother?”
Ean wanted to rewrite the past to prevent this relationship from ever coming to fruition. But that wasn’t possible. Barring that, “Time. I need time to adjust to my mother’s new life.”
The chime distracted Ean from the anger boiling in his blood. He rose from his chair when Megan moved into his office doorway.
Her smile faltered when she saw Leonard seated across from Ean. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
Leonard stood. “Don’t worry, Megan. I was just leaving.”
Megan sent a look at Ean—part concern, part accusation—before returning her attention to Leonard. “Please don’t leave on my account, Coach. I’ll come back later.”
“No, it’s fine.” Leonard turned back to Ean. “I’m glad we cleared that up, Ean. I’ll see you later.”
Megan frowned at Ean again as she switched places with Leonard. “Coach, I know a lovely lady who’s free for lunch.”
Leonard paused in the threshold. A grin brightened his still-youthful features. “That’s good to know. It was nice talking with you, Ean.”
He hadn’t enjoyed their conversation and couldn’t bring himself to lie. “I’ll see you around, Coach.”
Megan sank into the seat Leonard had vacated and started unpacking the picnic basket. The chime of the bell above the front door as Leonard left seemed to loosen her tongue. “Your mother likes Leo. That alone should convince you to be nice to him.”
“Why do you think I wasn’t being nice?”
Ean looked at the food she was unpacking. All healthy stuff—salad, fruit, soup and what appeared to be chicken sandwiches—without cheese or mayonnaise. Who ate like that?
“When I arrived, I could cut the tension in your office with a knife.” She lifted two cartons of plain milk onto the table.
Plain milk. Ean smothered a groan. “I’m not used to my mother having a boyfriend.”
Megan closed the picnic basket and looked him in the eye. “She has a boyfriend. Get used to it.”
Ean fought a smile. She was delicate on the outside, but a bully on the inside. “I’m trying.”
Her fierce expression eased slightly. “Coach was a very good friend when Doreen needed one.”
Ean’s humor faded. “I should have been here when she needed someone.”
Megan stood, circled Ean’s desk and settled onto his lap. She twined her arms around his neck. “You’re here for her now. She’s still adjusting to her life without your father. She’ll need your encouragement and support.”
“She’ll have it.”
“I’m still trying to figure out my next step.” His mother’s words made him think of his own future. He knew his next step. But would the woman sitting on his lap be willing to take it with him?
CHAPTER 24
Ean left Books & Bakery on Wednesday morning after breakfast with Megan, his mother, Quincy and Darius. A smile lingered on his lips. Brisk strides carried him through the cold December wind that was blowing across the town center’s courtyard. His smile faded and his pace slowed when he saw Ramona waiting in front of his law office.
She balanced on navy leather stiletto boots. Her faux-fur coat covered her from neck to midthigh. Her teased raven tresses danced in the wind.
A glance at his bronze Omega wristwatch showed nine o’clock. This couldn’t be good. “Isn’t this early for you?”
Ramona ignored his question. “So you’re a member of the town’s business association now.”
He was right. This wasn’t going to be good.
Ean pulled his keys from his jeans pocket and gestured toward his office door. “I suppose you want to come in.”
“That would be very gracious of you.” Ramona’s gloved hand clutched the high collar of her coat closer to her neck.
Ean led her into his office
and waved her toward the same black leather visitor’s chair Leonard and Megan had used two days previously.
“What’s on your mind?” Might as well get to the point. Ean shrugged off his fleece winter jacket and hooked it onto the coatrack.
Ramona handed him her coat before settling into the seat. “You can’t possibly agree with Megan’s plan to allow the center to stagnate.”
“It’s not stagnating.” Ean sank into his executive chair and propped his elbows on the armrests.
Ramona flung an arm toward the bay window. The view overlooked the center’s courtyard. “The same businesses have been in this center since we were in elementary school.”
“They’ve continued to thrive and meet Trinity Falls’s needs. That’s something to be proud of.”
Ramona crossed her legs, smoothing the skirt of her navy blue power suit. “This center could be so much more. The town’s people deserve so much more. And I want you to help me get it for them.”
“Get what for them?”
“I want to modernize the entire town, not just the center. Think about it.” Her face glowed and her voice sang with enthusiasm. “If Trinity Falls were more sophisticated, I wouldn’t have to move to New York. I could stay here with you, and we could become the town’s power couple.”
Ean didn’t want any part of her plans. “I like Trinity Falls the way it is.”
“It can be better.” Ramona was insistent.
“Has anyone asked you to change the town’s shopping options?”
“No, but—”
“Then it’s only your opinion that the center needs more sophisticated shops.”
“Yes, but—”
“Your opinion isn’t the only one that matters.”
“Would you stop interrupting me?” Ramona snapped the command. “People don’t understand what they’re missing. Not everyone has lived in New York like we have. When they see the sophisticated, trendy shops we bring in, they’ll be so much happier.”
“What about the businesses you’ll be displacing? What about your family’s bookstore?”
“It’s called ‘progress,’ Ean.”
“Not to the center’s business owners.” Ean stood as his irritation rose. “I have a lot of work to do today.”
Ramona looked up at him, stunned. “You’re not going to help me?”
“No, I’m not.” Ean crossed his arms over his chest. “Nor will I be one half of your power couple. I’m already in a relationship with Megan.”
Ramona stood. Her surprise morphed to deep displeasure. “You’re compounding one mistake with another. With my connections, I can make or break your practice.”
Ean’s lips curved in dark amusement. “I’ll do fine on my own.”
“Go ahead. Laugh.” Her voice was ragged as she glowered at him. “You’re standing in the way of progress. When it runs right over you, we’ll see who laughs last.”
Ramona spun on her heels, snatched her coat from his coatrack and stomped from his office.
The slamming of his front door sounded like a cannon blast from the opening salvo of a battle—loud, long and threatening. Ean returned to his seat.
Ramona was determined to change the business makeup of the town center. The business association appeared to have two choices: elect a new mayor or buy the center from the town. They were running out of time for the first, and they didn’t have money for the second. Was there a third option?
CHAPTER 25
Later that afternoon, Ean looked up from reading The Trinity Falls Monitor while waiting to have lunch with Megan at Books & Bakery.
Tilda and Belinda settled into the table beside him before Tilda spoke. “Saw Ramona leaving your office this morning. What was she doing there?”
In his peripheral vision, Ean saw Megan enter the bakery section of the bookstore. The other women weren’t aware of her approach.
He took in the pugnacious angle of Tilda’s chin and the suspicion in her gray eyes. “You sound as though you already know the answer.”
Tilda laughed without humor. “Going to play that game, huh? Well, I’ll tell you what I think. I think you’re in cahoots with her. I think you’re helping her to undermine the rest of us.”
Megan came up behind the older woman and took the chair beside Ean. “Why would he do that?”
Tilda’s expression remained combative. “Ramona and Ean have hated our small-town ways since they were kids.”
He couldn’t let that comment go unchallenged. “I never hated Trinity Falls. I was born here. I grew up here. At the time, I thought I wanted more than the town had to offer. Now I realize it has everything I’ll ever need.” Including the woman he was falling deeper in love with every day.
Tilda’s rough voice cut across his realization. “You came back to Trinity Falls with your New York ways. Now suddenly Ramona wants to bring big-city stores to the center. That can’t be a coincidence.”
“This isn’t sudden.” Megan’s voice was cool and measured, but Ean sensed her tension. “I have a feeling Ramona started planning this the moment the original center owners defaulted on the loan.”
Belinda flipped her glossy mane behind her shoulder. “I agree. Ramona’s crafty that way. And we never saw it coming. That’s a kick.”
“Then why was Ramona in his office this morning?” Tilda pointed at Ean. Her voice reeked of spite. “Rekindling old flames?” The old woman was determined to cause trouble.
Ean struggled to match Megan’s cool. “You’re right, Tilda. Ramona did ask for my help with her plans for the center—”
Tilda sprang from her chair. “You see? I told you!”
Ean ignored her interruption. “I turned her down. I also told her, I wasn’t interested in being the town’s power couple with her.” He couldn’t read the look in Megan’s eyes.
“‘Power couple’?” Belinda blew out a breath. “Girlfriend has a lot of balls. No offense intended, Megan.”
Megan’s inscrutable gaze remained on Ean. “Thank you for letting us know about your conversation with her.”
Tilda reclaimed her seat. “How do we know we can trust him?”
Megan experienced another stir of irritation. Tilda’s negativity had hindered the association almost since Megan had formed the group.
“Ramona has been in all of our stores. Should we start suspecting each other?” She gestured toward Belinda. “Are we going to question Belinda whenever Ramona buys a product from her salon?” She inclined her head toward Tilda. “Should we worry about you whenever Ramona buys a birthday card?”
Tilda scowled. “I’ve lived my whole life in this town.”
Megan’s voice hardened. “Ean wouldn’t sign a long-term lease and pay exorbitant rent just to help Ramona take apart the town center.”
Tilda gave Megan a grudging look. “I suppose you have a point.”
Megan was more than happy to change the topic. “Instead of wasting our time suspecting each other, we have to identify a candidate to run against Ramona in the next election. That person has to register in two weeks.”
Belinda waved a mahogany hand between Megan and Ean. “Why don’t one of you run?”
Megan looked at Ean. “What about it?” She liked the idea of Ean as mayor. For one thing, it meant she’d know how long he would stay in town. “With your legal background, you’d be a strong candidate.”
Ean was shaking his head even before Megan finished speaking. “I’m starting a law practice. It’s going to take all of my time to get it off the ground.”
Megan looked away to mask her disappointment. Was his business the only reason Ean wouldn’t run for office?
“What about you, Megan?” Tilda’s tone made the question an accusation. “You started the association. You’d be the best person to represent our interests to the council.”
Megan glanced over her shoulder toward the bakery’s counter, where Doreen shared a pastry with Leonard. “The mayor needs to represent all of the town’s interests, not just the associat
ion’s. We need a candidate who can speak intelligently to all of the community’s needs.”
“Who would that be?” Tilda sounded frustrated.
Megan turned back to the group. “I can think of one or two people.”
“Who?” Ean sounded intrigued.
Megan shook her head. “Let me speak with them first.”
She suspected Ean wouldn’t support her idea, but she couldn’t allow that to dissuade her. The candidate to run against Ramona for mayor was about more than Ean. It was about the good of Trinity Falls—and, maybe, the good of the candidate.
Quincy adjusted his hold on the Trinity Falls Cuisine take-out bags and waited for Ramona to open her front door. When she did, Quincy had to remind himself to breathe. She always looked so beautiful. Like art. Just being near her disrupted his complex and noncomplex brain functions.
As usual, Ramona looked ready for a fashion photo session. Tonight she wore a long-sleeved bronze jersey, which flowed over her sensuous curves. Her black skinny pants showcased her dancer’s long legs. His eyes traced the limbs to her bare feet, accented with bronze toenail polish the exact color of her jersey.
“I asked, what are you doing here?” Ramona’s ebony eyes twinkled with humor.
She’d had to repeat herself. Quincy battled back a blush. Thirty-two-year-old men should never blush. “You offered to help me celebrate the possibility of my new job.”
Ramona’s smile broke free. She crossed her arms and cocked her right hip. “And you turned me down.”
Keep breathing. Start talking. Don’t stare. “I changed my mind.” He nodded toward the paper bags in his arms.
Ramona’s arched brows lifted. “You brought me takeout from the Trinity Falls Cuisine?”
“That depends. Are you going to invite me in?”
Her cheeks flushed beneath her perfect makeup. Ramona stepped back. “Of course.”
Quincy had never been to her home. He crossed the threshold and entered a world of perfect white. He hesitated, then toed off his shoes, using his feet to tuck them into a corner together. “Nice place.”
Ramona watched his movements with an approving expression. Quincy’s confidence increased. He peeked into the rooms they passed as he followed her down the hallway to her kitchen. It didn’t strike him as an accidental oversight that Ramona, the granddaughter of bookstore owners, didn’t have a single bookcase in her home.
