Page 160 of Sugar & Shadows

Sighing at them, I shook my head, this was not the day to wean them off the mango-flavored caffeine.

“Harper, digital operations,” I directed. “We’re moving up the timeline for the rollout. It’s not a proposal; it’s a conclusion. Small businesses. Farmers. Community. Hope and opportunity.”

“I’ve got some Save Maplewood graphics and a Betsy clip I’ve been holding on to for an emergency.”

Nodding, I turned to Nina. “Field intelligence. Do you know who’s planning to vote no?”

She nodded.

“Great. Change their minds,” I instructed. “Pressure them. Talk to everyone—business owners, salon clients, farmers. We need to figure out who’s movable and who can be pressured.”

With a fierce look, Nina cracked her knuckles.

“Laurie,” I said to my mom, “you are community organizing. Phone trees, rides to the meeting for seniors. Get a hold of the church ladies. We must have maximum turnout.”

She nodded. “On it.”

“What about me?” Meg’s voice crackled through the speaker.

“Your favorite.” I broke into a smile. “Oppo research.”

She cackled. “Already on it. Donor connections and investor overlaps retrieved. Now I’m using facial recognition software and a satellite feed of the parking lot to identify the attendees of the Birch Hollow meeting yesterday. I’ll dig through their lives and find pressure points. If we’re lucky, we’ll also stumble across embarrassing blackmail material.”

“No crimes,” I said.

She ignored me and went back to typing furiously.

I looked around the room. My team. My friends. They cared, and they wanted to fight for this town. “Okay,” I said, willing my racing heart to calm. “Who’s ready to go save Maplewood?”

Chapter 42

Gabe

She’d been avoiding me.

And I was out of my mind with worry. When I closed my eyes, all I saw was the pain on her face when she’d read those headlines. My phone hadn’t stopped ringing; townsfolk were panicking, and overnight, more Recall Harding signs had appeared on lawns. But all I could think about was her.

So I headed to the one place I knew I could find her. Her safe space.

Unsurprisingly, the TAP team was assembled. As I noted the cars in the parking lot, a tiny twinge in my chest made my breath catch. She’d called them before me. They got to be here helping, while she’d pushed me away.

Beyond them, the library lights glowed warm against the gray March skies.

Shoulders squared, I headed straight in to find Laurie at the circulation desk.

“Copy room.” She went back to typing furiously.

I’d never seen Laurie Monroe so rattled, which scared me more than any bad press.

Heart thumping, I headed back behind the small kitchen to the supply closet where the massive copier was housed along with floor-to-ceiling office supplies and boxes upon boxes of damaged books.

It smelled like toner and stale coffee.

Sure enough, Sabrina was there, pacing, with her head buried in her phone. She was in all black, with circles under her eyes, and her shoulders were hunched in what I’d come to realize was her defensive posture. Like she was bracing to take a blow.

She looked exhausted, yet beautiful and dangerous too.

I closed the door behind me, and without a word, I wrapped my arms around her. The room was cramped, which meant there was no way for her to put distance between us.