I needed to find Helena Fortnum and see if she could call another meeting of the Environmental Committee. Maybe I could get Uncle Drew on board—he didn’t seem particularly riled about the issue just yet, but he’d been anti-establishment since the ’60s, and if I could convince him to take a stand, lots of folks in town would take notice. Maybe I could drum up some support with the Nature Scout parents, too, since their kids tramped up and down those trails as part of their summer day camp.
The rest of the meeting passed in a blur as I made a mental list, and when the speeches concluded, I launched out of my seat, flashing Luke and Crys a “wait here” gesture, and ignoring Jack’s efforts to get my attention.
For the first time in the history of our friendship, I felt like talking to Jack would make me feel worse instead of better. His protective concern usually made me feel cherished and strong, but today, it made me feel fragile. If the man asked if I was okay one more time, I might actually scream.
As I stalked to the front of the room, Environmental Guy’s face lit up with recognition and a smile. “Hawkins Sunday, right? Someone mentioned you were the guy with all the smart questions.” He beamed and offered his hand to shake. “Simon Wentworth, nice to meet you.”
I took his hand in mine. “Wentworth? As in…” I shut my mouth before I embarrassed myself by mentioning any of my novels.Not the time, Hawk.
Simon’s grin widened. “As in the character from Jane Austen’sPersuasion? My mom’s favorite. I swear that’s why she married my dad. Do you know the book?”
I swallowed hard and felt my face heat. There were signs, and then there weresigns. “Yeah. Yes. Of course. ThoughPride and Prejudiceis my favorite of hers. Do you… do you read Jane Austen?”
“Not really? I’m a complete geek when it comes to my job. I love reading articles and studies on environmental impact and protecting our wild areas. It doesn’t leave much time for novels, as much as I love them. My mom says I’m missing out.”
“You are,” I agreed. “Novels are my favorite things…” I hardened my voice a fraction. “After Glassy Ridge. You know, I haven’t seen any environmental impact studies from Evola’s recent developments outside Ithacaorup in Bangor. Why is that? And I didn’t hear anything in your presentation about the endangered species on the Ridge. Does that mean you haven’t looked into the situation?”
Simon inclined his head. “A man who’s done his research,” he approved. “Why am I not surprised? Hawkins, I assure you, Evola has a squeaky-clean track record. I don’t think you’ll find any complaints at all about Point Meduc or Morgan Falls. And our teams have spent long hours figuring out how best to mitigate the impact on all native species. But… why don’t you and I trade reading recommendations, just to be sure? You can send me any information you think might be relevant, and I’ll see if I can get you copies of our ongoing studies at our recent builds. If you want, I can talk you through them, too. Explain the special considerations we made for environmental factors in those cases.”
“Okay. Yeah. I’d appreciate that.” I rocked slightly on my feet. “You can call me Hawk. Everyone does.”
“Hawk,” he repeated solemnly. “Would you… that is to say…” He glanced down at his feet. “If you were interested in touring the area around the proposed resort sometime, we could do that. There are flag markers out there, and I could kind of walk you around the place? Maybe even change your mind?”
“You want to go hiking with me?” I asked, surprised.
“Only if you’re interested.” He gave me a shy smile. “No pressure.”
I looked at Simon more closely. He seemed cute and well-spoken, and his stammering earnestness reminded me of… well, me. He might be employed by a villainous corporation, but that didn’t mean he, himself, was so terrible. And I couldn’t lie, after Jack’s rejection, it felt pretty great to have someone pickmeas a person they wanted to spend time with.
“That might be fun. But you’re gonna be the one changing your mind,” I added quickly. “Every single tree out there is magnificent. You’ll see.”
Simon chuckled lightly. “I consider myself warned.”
“Simon?” The lawyer from earlier looked back and forth between me and Simon disapprovingly. “We’re leaving now.”
“Sure. Coming.” Simon pulled a business card from his pocket and handed it to me. “That’s my cell and my email address. Let me know when you’re free…Hawk.”
I nodded, tapping the card against my hand. “I will.”
Simon grinned and gave me a jaunty salute before walking away.
“What was that all about?” Jack demanded from behind me.
I turned to face him, and…Ugh.
It was notfairthat his face was still so gorgeous, even now that things between us were impossible. It was utterlyunjustthat my brain had somehow imprinted on him so that if anyoneasked me to define a gorgeous, sexy man, I would automatically and without conscious thought describe Jack Wyatt. It wasinexcusablethat just when I most needed to keep distance between us, every cell of my body yearned for him to give me a hug and tell me that we were going to be okay.
“That was me talking to the environmental compliance officer to address my concerns about the proposed development,” I said.
“Hmm.” Jack’s face creased in a frown. “You two seemed friendly.”
I shrugged. “You told me to keep an open mind.”
“Well, true.” Jack folded his arms over his chest, then quickly unfolded them and stuffed his hands in his pockets. A second later, he clasped them together behind his back. “But I didn’t mean…”
“Simon asked me to go hiking sometime,” I cut in. “He’s going to show me the layout of the proposed development, and I’ll try to convince him to stop it.”
“Wait, hold up. You’re goinghiking? You and…” He waved a hand in the direction of the side door, where Simon and the others had departed.
