by Mia Ross
His eventful early morning finally caught up with him, and he stretched out on the couch, letting out a weary sigh. Just as he was falling asleep, a horrible thought jerked him awake again.
The covered bridge that led into Liberty Creek was more than a quaint throwback to another time. It had been built shortly after the forge to make it easier for people to access the town, and it functioned that way even now. The secondary crossing his father had mentioned was three miles from the center of the village, and while it worked perfectly well, it redirected traffic away from the charming square and boutique shops that held such appeal for visitors from spring through the end of the autumn colors season.
Without the main bridge, the upcoming tourist season might suffer. How much was anyone’s guess, but the local economy—like so many other places—was already on shaky ground. Any dip could be disastrous for the businesses that counted on increased income during the milder months to carry them through the leaner times the rest of the year. One of those businesses was Liberty Creek Forge.
Brian wasn’t usually one for doom and gloom scenarios, but as he stared at the hand-hewn beams in the ceiling, it occurred to him that despite all his efforts, his new venture might be over before it had begun.
Figuring he’d never get to sleep now, he pulled on his winter gear again and fought his way through the howling wind to the bridge. Ice stung any skin that wasn’t covered, but he gritted his teeth and kept going because he had to know—for certain—just how bad the situation was.
He got there just as an oversize wrecker was pulling in to rescue the plow from its precarious spot. As the mechanics attached a tow hook and began dragging the snowplow from its precarious position, it reminded Brian of an enormous fish being reeled in on a line. Deciding the lack of sleep was messing with his mind, he turned away and trudged through knee-deep snow, retracing the path of the runaway plow.
And there, at the other end, he got his answer.
The front third of the bridge was now lying on the ice below, leaving behind sturdy concrete support piers that had stood for generations but now held up nothing. Several of the oak trusses had collapsed, and sections of roof and decking were scattered over the frozen creek like a child’s building toys.
Stunned but not surprised, he took one last look at the carnage and went home.
* * *
“So,” Lindsay asked as she put on the wool maternity coat that had mysteriously shown up on the rack in Ellie’s entryway, “who should I thank for this lovely new coat?”
“Holly must have dropped it off earlier.”
Her gracious hostess busied herself finding her gloves, neatly avoiding Lindsay’s gaze.
“I don’t think so,” Lindsay said, muting her laughter as she fingered the white tag dangling from one of the buttons. “It still has the tag on it.”
Ellie gave her a guilty look, then fessed up. “All right, you caught me. Brian wanted to get a warmer coat that fit you better, but he didn’t know what style you’d like. He asked me to pick one up and keep it quiet. If it makes a difference to you, it was on sale.”
Lindsay had noticed his disapproval whenever she put on the too-small coat she’d been wearing. She didn’t know why he wanted to keep his generosity a secret. In their better days, Jeff had loved to crow about how much he could afford to spend on her, and she’d almost forgotten that there were guys who didn’t share that unappealing quality.
But in the interest of standing on her own, she didn’t feel comfortable accepting the gift. “I’ll get the receipt from you later so I know how much to pay him back. In the meantime, how do these town meetings work? When Mom and I lived here, we never went to any.”
The woman she considered her fairy godmother replied, “Normally, we meet the first Thursday of each month. But with the bridge emergency, our assistant mayor called one for tonight.”
Speaking of calling, Lindsay still couldn’t believe that Brian had canceled work for today. His explanation—vague and unsettling—had been that he just wasn’t up to it after his eventful night, but he’d pay her for the day since it wasn’t her fault. While she was grateful for the opportunity to rest, she couldn’t help but be worried about him. He was by nature as sturdy as granite and twice as stubborn.
The forge was now cleared for full-on production, and she’d expected him to be hard at work filling his backlog of orders when she arrived at the office. For him to retreat this way, there must be something terribly wrong.
“Have you heard from Brian today?” she asked, hoping she sounded casual about it.
“Just that he’d be at the meeting tonight. Why?”
“Just curious.”
Ellie didn’t seem worried, so Lindsay did her best to shrug off the feeling that something was amiss with him. Apparently, she was losing her skill for masking her emotions, because Ellie turned to her with a frown.
“Is something bothering you, dear?”
Lindsay couldn’t lie to this kind, generous woman who’d offered her a safe harbor from the hurricane that had engulfed her life. Grimacing, she confessed, “He didn’t sound right to me, I guess. Like something was on his mind, but he didn’t want to mention it to me.”
“Or me,” the grandmotherly woman said, her frown deepening. “Now that he’s officially in business, I can’t imagine what might be troubling him.”
Lindsay felt awful for giving Ellie something to fret about, and she forced a smile. “It’s probably just my imagination. It tends to run away with me these days.”
“That comes with the territory when you’re about to become a mother. There’s a lot more to worry about when you’re responsible for a helpless little soul.”
She’d deftly summed up the emotional weight that Lindsay had been feeling lately, and it was reassuring to know that what she was experiencing wasn’t unusual. Feeling a bit more upbeat than she had before, she stepped onto the front porch and waited for Ellie to lock the door.
The storm that had blown through seemed to have swept all the clouds away, and the evening air was balmy for late January in New England. Since the meeting was at the church only a few doors down, they decided to leave the car at home and walk. Splinters of ice mixed into the snow glittered beneath the vintage streetlights, giving the charming town a snow-globe effect.
After spending years schlepping from one cramped city apartment to another, Liberty Creek had a dignified grace that Lindsay didn’t realize she’d been missing until she saw it again. So much had gone on in the years she’d been away, it was nice to know that there was still a tiny corner of the world where things remained the way they’d always been.
When they reached Liberty Creek Chapel, light spilled from the tall stained-glass windows onto a parking lot that was jammed to near capacity. People were climbing the steps to the double front doors that led into the entryway. Greeting each other with handshakes and plenty of laughter, you’d have thought they were filing in for a party instead of an emergency town meeting. When she shared her observation with Ellie, the older woman laughed.
“Oh, honey, we’ll be fine. We’ll hear what’s going on, then come up with a plan to get through it. This town hasn’t survived all this time by accident. We don’t stand around wringing our hands when trouble comes knocking. We roll up our sleeves and get to work.”
When she was younger, Lindsay hadn’t appreciated the can-do attitude of the residents of this village tucked into the woods of New Hampshire. Now she admired it very much, and as they went up the steps together, she said, “Maybe there’s something I can do to help.”
“I wouldn’t doubt it,” Ellie approved, giving her arm a quick squeeze.
They hung their coats in the vestibule and paused outside the open doors for a moment. Inside, the place was standing room only, but there was a cheerful, energetic vibe that drew Lindsay forward in spite of being a virtual stranger here. Near the mi
ddle of the crowd, she noticed a movement and was pleased to find Brian standing at the end of a pew, waving to them.
“He looks completely worn-out,” Ellie murmured as they made their way to the seats he’d saved for them. “I can see why you were worried.”
Lindsay could think of only one thing that would cause him to so quickly crash from the high of passing his inspection and finally being allowed to work on his projects the way he wanted.
The forge.
Her heart thudded to a stop when she realized that if his business failed, she was out of a job. She’d put all her hopes into remaining here until the baby was born. Now, just as she was beginning to feel more comfortable about her situation, the possibility of all that evaporating made her sick inside. A chill crept up her spine, and she shivered despite the warm air inside the packed sanctuary.
“You okay?” Brian asked, frowning in obvious concern.
“Sure,” she replied, willing it to be true. “How are you?”
“Fine.”
Ellie gave him a long suspicious look but didn’t say anything while she took her seat next to Holly. The whole family was there, and Lindsay happily disappeared into the midst of the Calhoun clan. It kept her from wondering if anyone was staring at her, and she welcomed the distraction from brooding over her suddenly precarious circumstances.
Tugging the sleeve of his faded flannel shirt, she waited for him to look her way. Leaning closer so she could speak quietly, she said, “Thank you for the coat. It’s just my style, and very warm.”
He glanced at his grandmother, who held up her hands in a “what can you do?” gesture. Coming back to Lindsay, he chuckled. “You’re welcome.”
“I’ll pay you back,” she promised, proud that she’d actually have the money to do it soon. “As long as you don’t mind setting up an installment plan.”
He seemed to be confused by her offer, and she fully expected him to refuse. Then, to her astonishment, he nodded. “However you wanna do it is fine with me.”
“Thanks. It means a lot to me that I can take care of myself.”
“I know.”
Understanding showed in his features, and the blue in his eyes twinkled with something she hadn’t gotten much of recently. Respect.
He looked away when a middle-aged woman stopped beside him. “Are you Brian Calhoun?”
“Yes, ma’am,” he responded, smiling as he got to his feet. “Can I help you?”
“I’m Mary Peters, and I wanted to thank you personally for rescuing Darren last night. I’m a widow, and he’s my only child, so he’s all I have. If you hadn’t gone out into that storm to rescue him, there’s no telling how long he would’ve been out in that terrible cold all by himself.”
She reached out to take one of his hands in both of her much smaller ones, and he gently rested his other over top of them. “I’m sure he would’ve managed just fine, but I’m glad I could help. How’s he doing?”
“They kept him overnight at the hospital, but he’s home now. He’s got whiplash and a nasty headache, but the doctor said there shouldn’t be any lasting effects. My neighbor’s keeping an eye on him, because he wanted me to come and see what this meeting’s all about. Do you know?”
Something Lindsay couldn’t define flashed through Brian’s shadowed eyes, but it vanished as quickly as it had appeared. “I guess we’ll know soon enough. Please tell Darren I’ll say a prayer for him to get back on his feet real soon.”
“Bless you,” she whispered, beaming up at him before making her way back to her seat.
Lindsay couldn’t help noticing the easy way the two of them talked about prayers and blessings. Most of the people she knew weren’t the least bit religious, and some of them even doubted that God existed at all. Her own chaotic upbringing had left little room for belief in things she couldn’t verify for herself. Sadly, even some that had seemed tangible to her had proven to be less than trustworthy.
“Earth to Lindsay,” Brian teased, waving a hand in front of her face. “You still with us?”
“Just thinking.”
“Yeah, I figured. What about?”
She hesitated, then decided that there was no harm in sharing her thoughts. “How nice it is to have something to believe in.”
“Like God, you mean?”
“Yes. How do you manage to trust someone when you can’t prove they exist?”
Even to her own ears, the question sounded childish, and she waited for him to laugh at her. Instead, he gave her a smile tinged with understanding. “That’s a good question. I guess that’s why they call it faith.”
“I’ve never had much of that,” she confessed with a sigh.
“I know.”
He didn’t say anything more, but his smile took on a sad quality, as if he was remembering the troubled girl she’d been in high school. And, out of the blue, she heard herself ask, “Why were you always so nice to me?”
“Because you deserved it.”
A bit of the affection she used to see in those blue depths sparkled out at her now, and she leaned closer, unable to resist the comforting feel of him sitting beside her. “What about now?”
She regretted the question before it even left her lips, and fortunately she was saved from hearing the answer by the sound of a gavel banging on the tall wooden lectern.
“All right, then. Let’s get started!” the tall white-haired man shouted. In just a few seconds, the din receded, and he continued. “Now, for anyone who’s new here, I’m Hal Rogers, assistant mayor of this crazy little town. Our esteemed mayor is off globetrotting, so I’ll be handling this in his absence. But since I’m not an expert on our current situation, I’ll turn over the floor to Alan Kerwin, superintendent of our highway department.”
A large man stepped up to the microphone and got right to business. “Well, folks, I’m afraid I’ve got some bad news. The temporary closing of the main bridge coming into town is gonna last longer than we’d like. A structural engineer came out this afternoon to do a thorough examination, and his recommendation is that we replace the whole structure, from one bank straight across to the other.”
There were several gasps, and a horrified buzzing zipped through the crowd like a swarm of agitated wasps. He let that go on for a few seconds, then held up his hands to quiet everyone down. “I know it’s a tough blow, but there’s no way around it. The supporting piers are sound as ever, but everything else has to be torn out and replaced. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that’s gonna be a big, expensive job.”
“How big and expensive?” someone asked.
He named a figure that paled more than a few faces, then grimaced before going on. “There’s more. Because this winter’s been so bad, our highway fund is already running in the red. We won’t have the money for repairs until property taxes are collected in June, and even then it’ll be snug. I realize that will impact our tourist traffic, but there’s no way around it.”
Brian heaved a deep sigh, and Lindsay realized his worst fears had just been confirmed. The charming little town relied heavily on visitors to keep its fragile economy going. If that took a hit, the local businesses and the dozens of residents who worked for them would suffer. The question was: How much?
“There must be something we can do to raise the money,” Ellie called out, looking around at her neighbors with a determined expression. “Does anyone have any ideas for raising a lot of money in a short period of time?”
Several people chimed in with suggestions from staging various auctions to selling off a significant chunk of community-owned property. Inspiration struck, and Lindsay held up her hand to be recognized. When Hal formally recognized her, she took a deep breath to steady her voice. “Valentine’s Day is coming up, and folks are always looking for something fun to do this time of year. What about putting together a Sweetheart Dance? We could advertise in all the towns ar
ound here, to bring in more people. If the proceeds go into the bridge fund, that would really help.”
To her right, she sensed Brian staring at her as if she’d grown another head. To her great relief, others reacted more positively, and her idea was quickly seconded and affirmed by an overwhelming majority vote.
Chuckling, Brian leaned in to murmur, “You realize this means you’re in charge of it, right?”
That hadn’t occurred to her, and a quick glance at Ellie got her a confirming nod. Reaching over, she gave Lindsay’s arm a reassuring squeeze. “Don’t worry, honey. We’ll all lend a hand. Won’t we, Brian?”
“I don’t know, Gran. That’s really not my kinda thing.”
“Fixing the bridge before spring is everyone’s thing,” she informed him sternly, her stony expression challenging him to dispute her logic.
He didn’t even bother trying. Lindsay smothered a grin, even as she made a mental note to find out how Ellie had perfected that look. She had a feeling it just might come in handy someday.
Chapter Six
“Then you click here.” Lindsay continued their computer lesson by demonstrating what she meant. “And you can enter your expenses for the month. I’ve set up a bunch of categories that are appropriate for this kind of business, so your costs can be classified as anything from raw materials to office equipment.”
“Like this fancy new laptop you ordered the other day?” he asked with one of those maddening grins that held as much sarcasm as humor.
“Oh, let it go, Brian. I got it on sale. This is far from the latest model, but it has everything you’ll need to keep the business on track.”
“And more. You really think I’m gonna remember all these bookkeeping sessions you’re torturing me with?”
She flashed him a sympathetic smile. “I know it’s a lot, and you’re not the only person in the world who’s intimidated by technology. I promise that with some patience and practice, you’ll be an expert.”
