Chapter 45 Mackinac
Mackinac was pleased that the Jenkins girls were giving her so much thought.
It would have been easy for her to be forgotten amid all of the excitement, but she felt the loyalty of her citizens, even
reluctant ones like Gigi.
Speaking of Gigi, she was the one on whom Mackinac now set her sights. With Eloise’s engagement in order and Lillian’s parents
coming around, it was time to focus on helping Gigi find her own happy story.
It wasn’t a love story that Mackinac was scheming for her. It was a career move, something that would give Gigi the purpose
she’d been lacking. And yes, it would benefit the island too. (She did admit to a selfish streak, but felt this plan was truly
for the greater good. Perhaps it was how Eloise had felt when she’d set up Gigi and James.)
Mackinac wanted Gigi Jenkins as her mayor.
She was the kind of leader the island needed. Someone bold and decisive who would usher in a new era. The island was not threatened
by change. She had always been somewhat of a rebel herself. The prospect of transformation excited her. Things had been getting
stale for a while now.
The island had tried to set up the ideal conditions to entice Gigi to put her name in the hat.
Eloise was heading off to Scotland with that delightful Clyde and needed a house sitter.
Camille was being her usual insufferable self.
Lillian was reminding Gigi that the mayor dream had always been in her.
And Gus was helping show Gigi that constantly moving sometimes meant never really knowing yourself, making Gigi more open to deepening the roots she already had here.
Mackinac tried to think what else it would take to convince Gigi that she was perfect for the role.
Perhaps there was something to be done with Dr. Kentwood. Eloise’s instinct to set them up had been right, but the timing
was wrong. It might be different now, with how Gigi had softened over the summer. And James was much less shy now that he’d
gotten into the rhythm of the island, the rhymes of her people. If there was a reason for James to stay on Mackinac beyond
summer, perhaps Gigi would be more inclined to as well. Yes, that might be leverage worth exploring, though Mackinac was wary
to rely on it too heavily. Gigi was on a self-growth journey, and Mackinac didn’t want a man to mess anything up (they certainly
had a habit of doing that, the island had learned).
Something subtler, more internal, would have to persuade Gigi to run for mayor. A dream that might wake her up in the night.
Or perhaps a flash of clarity as she bicycled past the Grand Hotel stables. Rather than pinching her nose, this time Gigi
would breathe in the aroma, realizing that no matter where she went, no place would ever belong to her more than this one.
The horses... That gave Mackinac one more idea.
But tonight she would have to usher in a striking sunset and hope for the best. Like Eloise, the island could meddle, but
she could not change minds. Gigi would have to do that herself.