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“You know, you interrupted her, too,” Cole drily observed from next to me. “Why don’t we let Ms. Greene lay out her agenda for the evening, and we’ll go from there?”
Annoyed and yet slightly grateful that Cole had spoken up for me, I took a deep breath and started again.
“Like I was saying, I thought we would start tonight by going over the bare bones of the festival, like the dates and some of the major events—”
“I saw the festival is going to be sixteen days long,” said a businesswoman from the Winterberry Glen side, who looked like she came straight from work at a bank or law firm. “Doesn’t that seem to be a bit too long, considering the potentially serious implications on financial resources that Winterberry Glen will have to absorb, if and when the festival fails at its goal?”
I braced myself, knowing the Ridge residents weren’t going to let that one go unanswered.
“Sixteen days is too long?” Ethel from Ethel’s Pies and Potpourri exclaimed, her tuft of white hair just visible in the back of the Holly Ridge crowd. “This festival has run from Thanksgiving to Christmas for as long as I’ve been a Holly Ridge resident, and the fact that they’re shortening it to just over two weeks is absolutely criminal!”
“Criminal? Your city councillors are the criminals. That’s why we may have to swoop in and clean up your mess!” the first interrupting man interjected. “I think the state audit office is being too lenient even letting you have a festival this year.”
At this, the room erupted into bedlam as both sides hurled insults at the other. Alison, the newborn baby belonging to Lydia, the owner of the Holly Ridge dance studio, woke up at the noise and added her cries to the fold, while a service dog belonging to one of Winterberry Glen’s residents started barking, apparently trying to warn her owner that their blood pressure was getting too high. I sat in absolute shock. I guess I had never been in a room with this many residents of both towns at once, especially to discuss an issue which could so greatly impact the future of the area.
A piercing whistle entered the fray from my right, and I looked over to see Cole standing on his chair, his fingers to his lips.
Why is that power move so attractive? Should I practice it when I get home? I briefly thought before Cole’s booming voice snapped me out of it.
“That is enough!” Cole thundered. “We will upload the handouts from tonight’s meeting to both town portals by 10:00 a.m. tomorrow. This town hall is canceled, and I highly suggest you do not plan to attend any of the future meetings on this topic unless you can plan to do so quietly and respectfully.”
The shocked members of both towns blinked up at Cole and then slowly gathered their things. I looked toward the back of the room and noticed members of both towns’ Sheriff’s offices standing by the doorway. Apparently, the noise had drawn some attention to the scanner waves. All the attendees filed out of the room, grumbling, and shooting dirty looks at each other, but luckily, keeping all hands, legs, and walking sticks to themselves as they exited.
I sat in a stunned silence and jumped to feel a hand on my shoulder.
“Are you okay?” Cole asked, looking down at me from his towering height. I nodded slowly, not sure how to answer that question yet. I’d never had a meeting go so off the rails so quickly, and town halls were known for their quirky outbursts. He opened his mouth like he wanted to say more, but just as quickly shut it, swung his messenger bag over his head, turned, and briskly walked out of the room without looking back.
Chapter 5
Cole
I’ll admit it, I didn’t feel great about leaving Blaire behind in the community center with that shocked look on her face, but I wasn’t great with emotions. Blaire wore her emotions on her sleeve, whether it was about her spreadsheets and schedules, about the hometown she so obviously loved to her core, or about whatever Taylor Swift album she had been listening to on her drive over for our weekly meetings inspired in her.
I sat in my car in the community center parking lot, trying to determine my next move, when I saw Blaire making her way to her car in the same lot. Her shoulders slumped in a defeated posture, like she had the weight of the world on them, as she fumbled to find her keys. Making my mind up on the spot, I jumped out of the driver’s seat, calling, “Hey, Greene, want to grab a drink at Pepper’s?”
I saw Blaire give a start, and I winced realizing I had startled her. Keeping my eyes on her face, I watched her bite her lip as she weighed my offer like the keys she had successfully freed from the depths of her bag. “Sounds good, Thomas. I’ll see you there.”
Blaire opened the door to her SUV and climbed inside. I tried not to let my eyes linger too long on her legs as they folded in after the rest of her, and blew out a long breath, wondering if this was a bad idea.
At least we were meeting at Pepper’s, the chain restaurant that shared the Wally World parking lot on the towns’ borders. No one from either town often frequented the location, preferring to eat at the local restaurants within their own town limits. This left Pepper’s to serve customers from surrounding towns who came to take advantage of the big box store’s deals. This meant we wouldn’t be bothered by anyone who was at the meeting or had heard about how it all turned out and wanted to get in their two cents.
Pulling into the parking lot at Pepper’s, I parked next to Blaire’s SUV—you couldn’t miss it with that bright blue color—and met her on the sidewalk. We walked together into the restaurant lobby in silence and greeted by a hostess named Nancy.
“Hi there! Welcome to Pepper’s! How many for you this evening?”
We both looked at each other.
“Just two,” Blaire answered. “Maybe a booth in the corner?”
“Oh, secluded!” Nancy winked, grabbing rolled silverware and napkins from the hostess stand and turning around. “Follow me!”
I gestured for Blaire to walk in front of me, and followed her back to the corner booth, which I couldn’t help but notice was, in fact, incredibly secluded. It was an extra good thing no one would see us here. The last thing we needed was any hints of impropriety between us, especially considering the conditions the state audit office had put down on the terms of us working together and my offer.
“Enjoy!” Nancy said joyfully before spinning off to head back to the hostess stand.
I glanced across the table to see Blaire studiously examining the menu.
“Hungry?” I asked her.
