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She nodded. “Of course he’ll be a star. Whatever he decides to do he’ll excel at it, even if it’s interpretive dance. God forbid.”
“And Wallis is a wanker, why?”
She lowered her head, bringing the tissue to her nose. “He’s not. He’s attentive and patient, even though I’ve become a maniacal witch. Telling me how awesome I am and what a wonderful mother I’m going to be.”
“Inexcusable. Do you want me to have a talk with him? Tell him to heckle you and question your motherly instincts?”
Cindy was a practical woman, to an unnerving fault. Becoming a third trimester emotional mess must be difficult for her to go through and witness, always priding herself on her self-control and pragmatism.
“I just want this baby out of my body, ya know?”
No, he didn’t know, but he nodded anyway. “Completely understandable. He’s like a life-sucking alien, robbing you of sleep and common sense.” He gave her a few more back rubs and then when she seemed to settle, stood to lean against his desk. “I’m assuming since we’re referring to him as a boy, that we decided to find out the sex?”
She nodded. “Wallis thought it might bring me out of this funk.”
“Did it?”
She pointed to herself again. “What do you think?”
Suddenly, the door opened and it was Lilith.
“Mr. Mayor, sir. Mr. Maynard Timmons to see you.”
Cindy answered for Lucas, “Send him on in, Lilith.” She turned to Lucas. “Really, it’s okay. I’m fine.”
Lilith wasn’t taking direction from anyone but Lucas, so he tilted his head and seconds later an equally disgruntled Maynard, wearing an impeccable three-piece suit, his shirt with a wide collar and colorful but tasteful tie, stormed into the room.
* * *
Maynard Timmons wasone of the most hardworking individuals Lucas had the pleasure to work with, and when constituents like Maynard weren’t happy, Lucas wasn’t happy.
Not that the other council members weren’t supportive and helpful, but Maynard was one of the few who understood how actions were more meaningful than words. Which is why his hulking friend began his tenure as a city commissioner, working with the funds sent in by the state from property and sales taxes. Then, budgeting that money to allocate for criminal justice expenses, the upkeep of unincorporated county roads outside of the city’s jurisdiction, infrastructure, and more.
When that wasn’t enough hands-on for Maynard, he ran for city council member, as they were responsible for taking the budget outlined by the city commissioners and determining final dispensation on how it was to be allocated.
Sometimes, political aspirations took precedence over prudent oversight. Which was why Lucas had introduced him to Hal Humphries. A dynamic force in the town north of Wayward, who was all about calling out biases in the system or finding loopholes in order to ensure the constituents prospered as opposed to the politicians.
As Maynard marched into Lucas’s office, upon seeing Cindy, he stopped in his tracks. Not a small feat for the six three man who was once a linebacker for the Wayward Warriors.
“Excuse me, I’ll just wait…” he began to backtrack.
Cindy deterred his exit by saying, as she swiped at the tears under her eyes, “I hear you met Hal Humphries.”
Maynard’s spine stiffened. “Unfortunately, yes.”
Well aware she was using the meeting to distract from her tears, Lucas sat back and enjoyed the show.
Cindy added, “The man is making quite the name for himself.”
Maynard scoffed, “The man is a renegade, a cowboy, and an arrogant ass. I have never met a more self-important, overbearing, know-it-all.”
Cindy continued to poke the ex-linebacker. “The AJC called him a political dynamo.”
“He’s a bully is what he is.”
Lucas shoved his hand in his pockets. “Did you talk to him about the projects he’s implementing similar to what we discussed?”
“He accused me of being on the fringe. He called me a typical politician. Someone who does nothing more than pontificate about making change but unwilling to do get his hands dirty to get it done.”
