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“I’m counting on it. Thanks for everything, Declan,” Annie said, an easy grin illuminating her pretty face. “I’m sure we’ll run into each other in a town this size, but no matter what happens, please know I’ll be eternally grateful for the skill you exercised yesterday and for keeping me in one piece.”
“That means a lot,” Declan said, overwhelmed by her gratitude. He wasn’t quite sure he deserved it, especially since he had no clue why Lucy had been in such distress in the first place. Was there something he had failed to notice in the plane’s maintenance checks? Engine failure? He swallowed past his massive doubts. He wouldn’t rest until he figured it out. “If you need anything, I’m only a phone call away. Where are you staying?”
“At the Black Bear Cabins. I’m renting one from a woman named Hazel Tookes.”
Declan had suspected that, along with a host of other Operation Love participants, Annie would be calling the Black Bear Cabins home. It was where Grace had lived prior to her marriage to Boone. Her best friend, Sophie Miller, a waitress at the Moose Café, still resided there.
“You’re in great hands with Hazel. She’ll set you up nicely at her cabins. And she makes breakfast for her renters every morning and serves it up at the Lodge, so you’re in for a treat. Hazel can really cook!” He rubbed his stomach. “Her blueberry pancakes are my favorite.”
“Miss Murray!” a booming voice called out, interrupting their conversation. Declan turned toward the familiar-sounding voice that registered like nails on a chalk board. Dwight Lewis was the town treasurer. At the moment he was hurtling toward them like a rocket. With his round spectacles, his up-to-the knee winter boots and a red bow tie peeping out from underneath his coat, he presented an odd image.
“I just wanted to introduce myself. I’m Dwight Lewis. Town treasurer.”
“Call me Annie,” she suggested in a chirpy voice. “‘Miss Murray’ is so formal.”
Dwight beamed. He adjusted his glasses and cleared his throat. “Nice to meet you, Annie. I’d like to be the first member of the town council to welcome you to Love.”
“Jasper already beat you to the punch,” Declan drawled. He took pleasure in taking the wind out of Dwight’s sails. He was such a pompous know-it-all. Dwight stuck his nose in more people’s business than a raccoon did scavenging for trash. Declan still hadn’t forgiven him for the way he had treated Grace when she had first come to town.
Dwight scowled at him. Score! He’d managed to get under his skin. Declan grinned.
“Well, I hope no one else has brought you flowers.” Dwight held out a bouquet of Alaskan fireweed mixed with roses. Declan sucked his teeth. What was Dwight doing? Was he trying to make a play for Annie? Something twisted inside his chest at the thought of Dwight romancing Annie. It wouldn’t sit well with him if his hunch was correct.
“Why, thank you, Dwight,” Annie gushed, reaching out to accept the bouquet. She raised the flowers to her nose and inhaled deeply, then let out a satisfied sigh. “What a sweet gesture. They’re lovely.”
“You really landed in Alaska with a bang,” Dwight said, his gaze drifting toward Declan. “It’s unfortunate that you had to go through such a traumatic experience. My deepest apologies on behalf of the town.” Declan scowled. Dwight was making apologies for the plane crash, something he knew nothing about. All Dwight knew was ledgers and bank balances and deposits. What did he know about planes or roughing it in the wilds of Alaska? Clearly he was just looking to score points with Annie.
“Life doesn’t always work out the way we think it will,” Annie said. “The plane crash was scary, I have to admit.” She looked over at him. “But I
was in great hands with Declan. We worked together to build a fire and to ensure that we were rescued.”
“Well, that must have been interesting, considering the two of you are on opposing sides,” Dwight said. He looked back and forth between the two of them.
“Opposing sides? Why do you say that? We got along like biscuits and gravy.” The innocent expression on Annie’s face made Declan want to punch Dwight in the nose. For as far back as he could remember, Dwight had been a troublemaker. He always seemed to relish opportunities to insert himself into situations and wreak havoc. At the moment, he was stirring the pot with a big spoon.
Dwight smirked at Declan. Right before he opened his mouth, Declan sensed impending danger. He had the feeling that Dwight was about to put all his business out there on full display.
“Well, Declan here was one of the most vociferous opponents of the library.” Dwight chuckled. “He lobbied quite vigorously against it.” Dwight tapped his finger against his chin. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but if I recall, you said that libraries were dinosaurs and that they would be obsolete ten years from now. You said that not a single penny of this town’s money should be allocated toward a building that housed musty old books nobody wants to read.”
Declan glared at Dwight. He clenched his fists at his sides. He counted to ten in his head and prayed for self-control. If he had learned one thing from his father’s mistakes, it was to think before he acted on raw emotion. Dwight couldn’t help being a worm.
Annie gasped and raised her hand to her throat. She swung her gaze toward him. “Th-that can’t be true. Can it?”
He shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other. “It’s not as bad as Dwight here is making it sound,” Declan protested. “I was very vocal about town funds being utilized for a new library, but in order to understand, you would have to see it in context. In case you didn’t know, this town has been in a recession. We’re still in recovery mode. Not to mention that this town did have a library many years ago. It was closed due to lack of funds and ambivalence from the townsfolk.”
Annie’s narrowed her gaze. There was a sharpness in her eyes that startled him. “So it is true.”
Declan sighed. “Yes, it’s true. But it wasn’t personal, and Dwight is making it sound a lot uglier than it was,” he defended himself, flustered by the hurt expression on Annie’s face. “I was lobbying against the use of town funding, not against you personally.”
“I shared some deeply personal things with you,” she said in a wounded voice. “And still you didn’t see fit to give it to me straight.” Annie’s lips trembled, and hurt shone in her eyes. “Without funding, I don’t have a job here in Love, and the townsfolk don’t have a library,” Annie spit out. “And you had plenty of time to tell me this while we were awaiting rescue. If I recall correctly, we even discussed town opposition to the library.” Annie let out a harrumph. “You conveniently neglected to mention that you were the opposition.”
“I didn’t want to get off on the wrong foot with you, Annie,” Declan explained sheepishly. “First impressions mean a lot. I didn’t want you to think I was a jerk.”
Her eyes blazed. Her mouth puckered. “Well, it’s too late for that,” she snapped as she pivoted on her heel and stormed away from him.
The desire to do bodily harm to Dwight rose up in him sharply and swiftly. He took a step toward him, his movement full of purpose. If he pummeled him, Declan could get all his frustrations out in one fell swoop. The plane crash. Lucy being demolished.
Dwight held up his hands. “It’s not my fault you didn’t tell her the truth. Don’t blame the messenger.”
