Page 11 of For Love of Liberty

“Yes, ma’am,” Finn said with a devious smile, figuring his best friend deserved a little payback after siccing Liberty O’Shea on him last week. He measured a thin strip of air with forefinger and thumb. “The boy’s this close to popping the question, so you best focus all those prayers on him.”

Emitting a tiny squeal, Miss Willoughby palmed her hands in prayer mode, brown eyes dancing as much as Mrs. Poppy’s. “Oh, that’s so exciting,” she said with a dreamy look. “Nothing makes me happier than a wedding!”

“Mmm … hear that, Deputy Poke?” Mrs. Poppy turned her sights on the poor deputy, whose freckled face turned redder than the field of poppies in the old woman’s backyard. She jiggled silver brows. “Wilhelmina loves weddings …”

The slam of the front door saved poor Miss Willoughby, whose deep blush bypassed Deputy Poke’s by several shades, the timely arrival of more meeting attendees a welcome diversion. Virginia City’s mayor burst into the room with all the force of a 12-pound Howitzer. His deep voice boomed as puffs of smoke billowed from a Cuban cigar while his secretary and an entourage of others followed close behind. Although short in stature, Mayor Charlie Tuttle cut a fine, if somewhat bulky, figure in a single-breasted frock coat and silk vest.

Marching right up to a table with a makeshift podium and two chairs at the front of the room, he glanced at his pocket watch before pounding his gavel. “Let’s start this meeting, shall we?” He peered at the group of people occupying the first two rows, eyes in a squint. “Where’s your co-chair, Finn?”

Finn righted his chair to face the front with the others and sat, leg cocked on his knee and hands latched behind his neck. “Said he might be detained a few minutes, Mayor. Something about a proposal he was putting together for J.T., or some such nonsense.”

Mrs. Poppy’s chuckle was rich and low. “You sure it wasn’t for Miss Boswell?”

Finn gave her a wink. “Could be.”

Slam! Several pair of footsteps clattered down the hallway before Milo rushed in with a satchel over his shoulder and a briefcase in his hand. “My apologies, Mayor, but J.T. was on one of his jaw benders, which is why both of us are late.”

Both of us? Finn’s eyes narrowed at the swish and peek of a skirt behind Milo’s broad frame, and his blood instantly ran cold. Oh, no, he wouldn’t …

“Why, good evening, Liberty,” Mrs. Poppy said with a pleased lift of brows. Her knitting needles paused for the very first time as she glowed at Liberty O’Shea with a smile brighter than the blasted candles in the chandelier overhead. “I didn’t know you were on the planning committee.”

Liberty nodded her hellos to everyone while Finn forced himself to breathe. She awarded Mrs. Poppy with a hug and her most affectionate smile. “Mrs. Poppy! So good to see you again, and yes, Mr. Parks hired me at the Enterprise, so he’s solicited my help for the festival.”

While Liberty chattered on with Mrs. Poppy and Miss Willoughby, Finn shot Milo a look that should have singed his friend’s ears, but Milo only grinned and plopped down in the seat beside him. “Evenin’, Finn.”

“Don’t evenin’ me, Parks. What the devil is she doing here?” he hissed under his breath.

“She’s assisting me, old buddy, and you.”

Finn stifled a grunt. “I don’t want her anywhere near me, much less assisting me, you clown, and you know that.” He fought off a shiver, as much from her proximity as the notion of dealing with the woman’s prickly nature.

Bam! Bam! Bam! “Looks like everyone’s here,” the mayor said with a noisy bang of his gavel, “so let’s get this train on the tracks and chugging full speed ahead, eh, Finn?” He chuckled, obviously amused by his attempt at humor, which Finn didn’t share in the least. “But before I introduce our co-chairs, let me say that as the richest city in America, we have an obligation to put on a Fourth of July celebration that will blow the socks off everyone in town.”

He gave the audience a wink. “Not to mention the government dignitaries who will be in attendance and the city’s esteemed investors from our sister city, San Francisco. That said, this year I’m looking for bigger and better to celebrate the kickoff into Virginia City’s tenth year as a city. I want this year’s charity fundraiser to beat all those we’ve had in the past, so let’s not be shy with suggestions, all right?” He homed in on Milo. “I trust you have last year’s notes and records of expenses and profits?”

Milo hefted the saddlebag in the air. “Yes, sir, right here. Also, my assistant, Liberty O’Shea, was kind enough to put together a preliminary schedule of events, just as a starting point, of course, with copies for everyone.”

“Excellent, Milo, and a nod of appreciation to Liberty for pitching in.”

A pretty blush dusted Liberty’s cheeks as she offered a nervous smile, rising to hand out a typed schedule to each person in the room. She ended with Finn, whose paper somehow slipped from her hand to land on the floor. “Whoops … sorry, Mr. McShane,” she said in an innocent tone that he seriously doubted.

I’ll just bet you are. Finn managed a stiff smile as he retrieved his copy.

“I’d like to thank our two co-chairs Milo Parks and Finn McShane for volunteering so much of their time to this worthy effort. And to Pastor and Mrs. Poppy for allowing us to use their farm as our venue. Then, of course, to Harvey Sullivan for providing all the lumber needed for booth and float construction, and to my own secretary, Miss Mimi Baker, for recording the minutes of tonight’s meeting. And finally, I applaud each of you fine citizens for becoming involved in what I hope will be the highlight of our year. Without further ado, I turn the floor over to our co-chairs to get the ball rolling.” The mayor moved to tap the back of both Finn’s and Milo’s chairs. “Gentlemen, if you’ll take over center stage, Mr. Parks can start us off.”

As the numbers man, Milo wasted no time reviewing the details of last year’s festival, the pros, the cons, the expenses, the profits, and how those profits were spent. From there, Finn took over, systematically discussing each item on a detailed meeting list he’d put together earlier in the week. Following a vote on whether to retain, delete, or add to prior activities, he then offered creative suggestions for new fundraisers, sparking a lively debate. Within an hour and a half, budgets were set and committee chairs established, along with a jam-packed July third and fourth two-day agenda. From a talent show, picnic auction, hayride, and baking contest, to a bake sale, horse race, potluck dinner, barn dance, and fireworks, the stage was set for a Fourth of July festival second to none.

With a quick glance at his checklist to make sure he’d covered every detail, Finn finally tucked it back in his pocket with a satisfied smile. “Well that about covers everything on my list, so anybody have anything to add before we wrap up for the night?”

“Ahem.” Milo rose with a gruff clear of his throat, avoiding eye contact with Finn. “Actually, the newest member of the Territorial Enterprise, Miss Liberty O’Shea, has some new and pretty exciting ideas she’d like to share, so I’m going to turn my chair over to her.”

Finn’s body went to ice as Liberty rose with a stack of papers clutched to her chest, her presence at the podium freezing the smile on his face as stiff as sagebrush in a Nevada blizzard.

“Thank you, everyone, for your time because I know we’re all anxious to go home, but I promise I’ll make it brief.”

Brief. Smile about to crack, Finn scorched Milo with a mental threat. Like Parks’ life is about to be ...

“I applaud Mr. McShane for some excellent ideas that I think will provide a very decent start to our fundraising efforts.”