Chapter 21
Seven nights, eight days, and ten thousand petition signers later, Mayor Jordan finally made her way down to the protest, and Dawn was there to greet her. Dawn’s hair was greasy, and her body smelled like sweat and salt water, but she was proud of the noise she had made. Her voice wasn’t just loud enough for all of Harper Landing to hear. She had gotten the whole country’s attention.
News crews from across Puget Sound had covered the protest, which meant waking up to helicopters hovering overhead and taking aerial shots of the one hundred ninety-eight tents covering the beach. A segment about the protest had run on NBC news, and the AP had picked up Ben’s story from the Seattle Times and published it in newspapers across the country.
Most of the city council had visited them, and many were reconsidering their vote on the bridge proposal. Brittany Barrow’s city council campaign was in a shambles. Polls on Harper Landing Moms indicated that Cheryl Lowrey would win in a landslide. But Mayor Jordan was the one who held the power. She needed to formally withdraw her proposal from the city council and go back to the federal government to negotiate how that grant money could be better spent.
“So,” said Dawn as she eyed Mayor Jordan’s clean slacks and crisply ironed blouse and tried not to be jealous of the aroma of fresh laundry detergent. “Are you ready to talk?”
Sierra and Mikaela ran up the beach to stand behind her. Warren was at work, but Mark would be there soon.
Mayor Jordan met Dawn’s gaze but then looked away. The woman scanned the shoreline, which had transformed into a de facto campground. Boy Scouts camped at one end, and Girl Scouts at the other. Julia Harper was passing out free frozen yogurt, while Matt Guevara taught a yoga class in the gazebo.
The mayor turned back to Dawn and glared. “For someone who claims to love the beach, you sure are trashing the place.”
“We are not.” Sierra clenched her hands into fists. “Volunteers pick up trash and take away the recycling.”
“When the public restroom is closed, people use the one in the Forgotten Hug,” Mikaela added.
Dawn waved her hands. “All of this can go back to normal if you listen to your constituents. Harper Landing values our shoreline.”
Mayor Jordan folded her arms across her chest. “More than public safety apparently.”
“No.” Dawn fumed. How many times did she have to say this before the mayor would listen? “We want a tunnel under the tracks instead. In the meantime, you can put a fireboat in the marina and a decommissioned fire engine for use in case of a train derailment.”
Mayor Jordan shook her head. “This whole thing is deranged. This isn’t how we make decisions or run a town.”
“My mom is not deranged,” Sierra said. She looked up at Dawn and winked. “Wackadoodle, maybe...”
“I believe that’s a compliment,” someone said from behind them.
Dawn looked around and saw her mother walking up to them. Beth wore a fresh cast on her arm. Wendy strolled next to her, bright-red hair shining in the sun. Seeing her mom and sister made Dawn even braver.
“Never mess with a Maddox,” said Wendy. “We’ll give anything to get a job done.”
Dawn threw her shoulders back and turned to Mayor Jordan. From the corner of her eye, she saw other people joining them. Paige Lu, the bookshop owner, and Julia Harper. Chuck Jonas from the Cascade Athletic Club stood next to his daughter, Marlo. Liz Anker was there, holding her knitting basket. Melanie Knowles started filming the scene on her phone, with her son, Timmy, holding onto her elbow.
“Save the beach!” someone called in the distance.
Dawn knew that if chanting began, conversation would falter. She raised her palms to the crowd. “Mayor Jordan, you have the opportunity to preserve something sacred or else to go down in Harper Landing history as the politician who put a mammoth piece of concrete down right in the middle of a harbor seal habitat. What’s it going to be?”
Mayor Jordan sneered at her, but then her eyes softened. “I don’t want to destroy the beach,” she said. “I want to follow the laws and keep people safe. I still think the bridge proposal is the best solution to do all of that.” She let out a deep breath. “But I just got off the phone with our city council president. They’re holding an emergency meeting tonight to examine the situation.” The mayor slouched. “Apparently, the vote will no longer be in my favor. The city council president has directed me to rewrite the grant to see if the funds can be allocated elsewhere.”
“What does that mean?” Sierra asked.
“It means you can all go home,” the mayor grumbled. “Are you happy?” she asked Dawn. “You won.”
The jubilation Dawn should have felt wasn’t there. She realized in an instant that this wasn’t a battle—it was a war. “No,” Dawn said. “I’m not happy. Canceling the bridge isn’t enough. I also want the city council to declare Harper Landing Beach a marine sanctuary.”
“Yes!” Sierra pumped a fist in the air. “That’s a great idea.”
The crowd clapped loudly.
“Fine,” Mayor Jordan snapped. “I’ll see what I can do. Now go home, people, before I have you all arrested.”
“Can she do that?” Mikaela asked. “Have us arrested?”
“I don’t know,” Dawn admitted. “Probably.”
“Don’t worry,” said Sierra. “My dad would get us out of jail.” She wrapped one arm around Dawn and the other around Mikaela. “Warren might rescue people from burning buildings, but my dad can talk his way out of anything.”
Dawn laughed and pulled both girls into a tight hug. The crowd erupted into cheers. There would be time to tell Warren the good news later, but right now, holding onto the girls with sand beneath their feet and the sun on their hair was plenty. The beach was safe because of them.
Dawn knew that somewhere in the universe, her father was watching and that Jim Maddox was proud.