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“I was calm and composed, but also unhappy. To be fair, I didn’t realize how unhappy until I had the accident. I had time to think then.”
“I’m sorry that you didn’t feel you could talk to me about it, but of course our disastrous engagement played a part in that.”
Bailey looked at Clark. He was a good man, just not the man for her.
“We should never have allowed him to talk us into that either.”
He shook his head. “No, but I got swept up in his plans, and for that I’m sorry, because you deserved more.”
“Wedeserved more, Clark.”
“We’re closing in five,” Piper said. “Then heading to the meeting. You want to come, Bailey?” She didn’t include Clark in the invitation.
“That woman’s terrifying.”
“She’s wonderful,” Bailey said, getting to her feet. “And everything I want to grow up to be.”
He laughed at that, and Bailey thought it suited him. In Boston, he’d been serious whenever they were together.
“Mind if I tag along?”
“Why haven’t you left, Clark?”
He stood and dropped money on the counter. “Actually, I’m not entirely sure, but for the first time in a while, I feel as if my stress levels have reduced. I even went for a walk yesterday. A strange gray-haired man accompanied me, and we discussed poetry. Very odd.”
Bailey laughed this time. “Don’t let him con you into anything, he excels at that.”
“Go get ’em.”
“Yeah, thanks.” Joe slapped hands with his brothers as they all entered the town hall. It was already full, and he nodded and smiled as he walked down the aisle, leaving his brothers to take their seats.
“You’re all over this, bud.”
He gripped Fin’s hand briefly, and then moved on.
“We’re proud of you, Joe, don’t forget that.”
“Thanks, Miss Sarah, Miss Marla.”
“‘To begin, begin,’ Joe.”
“I’m guessing seeing as Wordsworth’s on your mind at the moment, this is from him, right?” he said to Miss Marla.
She nodded and blew him a kiss. Joe moved on. They were here for him, and that thought was a humbling, if terrifying one. What if he messed up? What if he got up there and froze while delivering his speech?Shut it down, Joe. You got this.
He climbed up to the stage, and took his place beside Mayor Gripper, Mary Howard, Mr. Goldhirsh, and the other council members. He’d run because the younger proprietors in Ryker Falls felt they didn’t have a voice, and decided he should be the one to speak for them. He hadn’t wanted the job, but he’d taken it. Mary Howard had fought his election every step of the way, but she’d failed, so here he sat.
Running his eyes over the people seated in the hall, he knew most of them. Ryker had a growing population, so he didn’t know everyone like he once had. Most of the work here was seasonal, except for the school and hospital, fire and ranger stations, but the nearest big town was only ninety minutes away, so some new residents commuted.
“You’re late!”
“No, he’s not, and you can button up that mouth of yours, Mary Howard, as no one wants to hear any more of your venom.”
Mr. Goldhirsh winked at Joe after he’d spoken, and while he appreciated the support, he didn’t want the elderly man in the woman’s firing line. The Howards were wealthy, and had been in Ryker since the beginning. They believed they had rights far and above everyone else. Add to that the bad blood between Joe and them, and you had a nice little volatile cocktail going on.
Mary Howard still held Joe accountable for the mayhem he’d created—with help from her son—when he’d been one hell of a bad bastard. Unlike some of the other locals, she wasn’t about to change that viewpoint anytime soon.
Mayor Gripper was reading his notes and hadn’t heard a thing, because he couldn’t focus on more than one task at once. Not overly tall, the mayor tried to hide that by wearing hats. It didn’t work, but people didn’t tell him that. He was an eccentric soul who everyone liked, so they kept him in office, and his councilors kept him on track. Tonight he’d dressed for the occasion in salmon-colored fitted trousers, and a salmon-and-gray checked shirt. For some reason he could get away with dressing like this. If Joe tried it, he’d be laughed out of town.
