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She thanked Sam and rushed out of the store before she dissolved into a messy puddle of tears. She definitely had to leave—the sooner, the better. Saying good-bye to everyone was just too painful.
Not ready for another farewell with Mrs. Sanchez, Alexis headed for her motel room to pack. She’d just placed the empty suitcase on the queen-size bed when there was a knock at the door.
She took a deep, calming breath. Hopefully, it wasn’t her father or Cord. She wasn’t ready to deal with either of them. She looked through the peephole and then swung open the door.
“Mayor Ortiz, hi. Can I help you??
??
“Do you have a moment to talk?”
She had absolutely no idea what they’d talk about, but she had to admit she was curious. And it’d be a nice distraction from her own problems. “Sure. Come on in.”
Leaving the door wide open, the mayor stepped into the small room. His gaze came to rest on the suitcase. “So the rumors of you leaving Whistle Stop are true?”
She nodded. “They are. My job is done here. I’m sorry, but I’m no longer working on the resort project, so I can’t tell you how it’s going to work out.”
“The town council and I would like to thank you for working so hard on the town’s behalf to make the resort a possibility. We owe you a debt of gratitude.”
Why did everyone keep thanking her? She didn’t deserve it.
“But I didn’t finalize the deal. It’s still up in the air.” She had no idea what her father and Cord had decided to do.
“Perhaps we don’t need the resort. Maybe the sole purpose of the resort was to bring you to our town. The older I get, the more I find that fate works in very unpredictable ways.”
“But if it wasn’t the resort, then what was the point of me being here?”
“That’s easy. To wake up a town that had grown accustomed to moaning and groaning about the economic decline and the continual erosion of residents.” He smiled at her and took her hand in his. “Thank you for waking up this foolish old man and making me see all of the opportunities that I was letting slip by.”
“You mean about the railroad and restoring the town square?”
“Yes.” He squeezed her hand. “I’ve called a special meeting of the town council to follow up on what you’ve started. In fact, I came here to invite you to the meeting. Your input would be most welcome. But I see I’m too late.” He released her hand. “If you change your mind, the meeting is tomorrow evening at six at the community center.”
“I’m sorry, but I really do need to get back to New York.” She wanted to go to that meeting more than she let on. She had a lot of ideas about festivals and hot air balloon rides. There were so many things they could do to draw the community together while also entertaining visitors.
“You will always be welcome in Whistle Stop. Maybe sometime in the future you can visit and see how we’re doing with the town’s makeover.”
“I’d really like that.” But she didn’t imagine it would ever happen.
After a brief hug, the mayor headed for the door. When it closed, Alexis felt more alone than she’d ever felt in her life. At least she could cling to the fact that her time here had done some good. She had no doubt the mayor intended to breathe new life into Whistle Stop. It wouldn’t dry up into a ghost town like Haggerty had.
If only her broken heart could be so easily restored. Even though it felt ripped in half, it still beat out Cord’s name. She couldn’t imagine that ever changing, no matter how far she traveled or how much time passed.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
With a brown paper bag gripped in one hand, Cord took a deep breath and rapped on Lexi’s motel room door. His body tensed as the seconds ticked by. He sensed her standing on the other side of the door with stubbornness written all over her adorable face.
He knocked again, louder this time. “Lexi, open up. I’m not leaving here until I see you. I’m prepared to stand here all night if that’s what it takes.”
When she at last opened the door, he made sure to prop his boot in the doorjamb.
She frowned at him. “Do you have to yell?”
“I had to make sure you heard me.”
“Well, we have nothing left to say to each other. Now go away.” When she pushed the door to close it, the door came to a halt against his boot. “Move.”
“Not until you give me a chance to explain.”
