Chapter 29 #2
Finn beats his wings again, taking off. There are no detours today, no taking the long way to see the sights. We arrive at the school within minutes, and Finn sets me on my feet, taking my face in his hands.
“You got this,” he says carefully. “Don’t let anyone in there, not Saunders or Davies or anyone else, make you feel like you don’t belong.”
I nod, hard to do while he’s holding my face. “Stay with me,” I ask, acutely aware of his parents landing behind us.
His thumb rubs my cheekbone. “Not going anywhere,” he promises, and then he drops my face so he can take my hand.
I square my shoulders. This is it.
The cafeteria holds everyone who wants to attend if we all accept that most people have to stand. The place is crowded tonight, more crowded than the typical town meeting. Is that a good sign or a bad sign, I wonder?
Finn drops my hand so he can put a hand on the small of my back, steering me toward the front of the group. Mayor Davies is already settled at the little podium someone drags in every time we do this, and Hugh is sitting in one of the few chairs in the front.
“Alright young man, give a seat to the lady,” Pat says, deep voice a rumble as he looms over Hugh.
Hugh’s mouth falls open. “What?”
“I’m elderly,” Sarah says sharply. “You should give up chairs to the elderly. Or didn’t your parents teach you any manners?”
Finn rolls his eyes, but I snort. Yes, Sarah and Pat are older. And yes, Hugh should absolutely be giving her that chair. But the fact that she’s weaponizing it against him—well. If I wasn’t already sure that I liked my mother-in-law, this would have cemented it.
“Alright, I think it’s about that time. Should we get started?” Mayor Davies calls, and the voices die out.
I’m not the first thing on the docket, and I don’t know if I should be offended by that or not.
We have to shout out everyone who participated in last night’s event, then discuss the upcoming school dance and its budget, and then vote on spending town money on re-doing the brickwork of some of the old buildings in town.
I’m practically vibrating with nerves, and only Finn’s hand on my back, warm and steady through my shirt, keeps me from losing my mind.
At long last, the mayor turns his eyes to me. “And our last order of business is the house at 32 Maple Drive, currently occupied by Cassidy Delaney.”
Sarah gives me a raised eyebrow look. “I think her name is still Prylor until she tells you otherwise,” she calls.
“And as far as I know, she owns it, not occupies it.” Pat puts his hand on the back of her chair, and if gargoyles could set fire with their eyes, the mayor would be dead all over again.
Mayor Davies starts, surprised to be interrupted. “Alright, Sarah. Add it to the notes, please,” he says to the harpy taking minutes. “Cassidy Prylor, then. And her husband, Finn Delaney.”
“And Georgia Wright,” Finn interjects, deep voice making heads turn. “She still lives there legally.” His thumb presses a little harder into the small of my back, stroking up and down. I take a steadying breath. He’s here. He and his family are here for me, and I’m not doing this alone.
“And Georgia,” he agrees, bobbing his head while he looks around. “However, Georgia is primarily living out of state at college right now.”
“Still her house,” I say, feeling brave now.
“Mr. Hugh Saunders, a long-time former resident of Hearthstone, son of Bill and Madeline Saunders, is looking to claim the house. He argues that, as the last remaining relative who is both in-town and supernatural, the house should rightfully pass to him. He is willing to buy Cassidy out with a generous offer.”
The silence is so thick you could cut it with a knife. Everyone in this room is tense now, waiting for what he says next.
“Why is this town business?” Sarah calls, and I am going to bake this woman a giant cake tomorrow. If there is a tomorrow. No—can’t think like that. “He doesn’t own the house, he tried to buy it, she said no. Sounds to me like the matter is closed.”
There’s some whispers around the room. Am I being overly hopeful in thinking they’re of agreement?
“The question is, can a human own property in Hearthstone?” Mayor Davies re-frames. “Historically, we have never allowed it to happen before.”
“Then you should have brought it up ten years ago. But you needed something from Cassidy then, didn’t you?” Finn growls. I lean closer into him.
“I suppose we should start with Hugh, then,” the mayor continues like he never heard Finn. “Hugh, would you like to say anything?”
Hugh straightens the sport coat he’s wearing and steps closer to Mayor Davies’ podium.
“I was born here,” he begins. “And I was raised here. And I left for a while to seek my fortune. Opportunities in Hearthstone weren’t great back then.
But now I’ve made my money. I’ve been quite successful, actually, and I want to bring that success back to Hearthstone.
Opportunities still aren’t what they should be for our young people.
As a member of your community, I’d invest in what matters most to us.
And all my plans start with the property on Maple Drive. ”
He looks around the audience, eyes skipping right over me. I can’t blame him; I’m nearly vibrating with the force of keeping my mouth shut.
“Hearthstone is a limited resource,” he says.
“There’s only so much land. We don’t have room to expand, despite the growing needs of our population.
If we’re going to become competitive in the modern world, if we’re ever going to move beyond merely surviving, then we need the land.
And the fact is that Cassidy doesn’t need it.
She could live anywhere. She should live anywhere else. The human world is wide open to her.”
Eyes shift to me, but I refuse to look away from Hugh. I refuse to let him see me flinch.
“This isn’t about Cassidy,” he continues.
“It’s about what our town is for. What our purpose here is.
And our purpose isn’t to house humans. I don’t wish her any ill-will, and I’ll pay generously for the land.
But we need to think about why this town was founded in the first place.
And that was to serve us. To be a place where we could thrive.
I can help Hearthstone do that, but I can’t if I’m kept out by a human. ”
There’s a low whispering around me at that. Hugh dips his head, murmuring, “Thank you,” as he walks away from the podium.
He thinks he already won and I know it, and the thing is, I’m not sure if he’s wrong. He’s making big promises, and I can’t see how this town won’t be tempted. What do I have to offer them? Nothing.
Mayor Davies looks at me, floating a few feet from his podium. “Cassidy?”
Finn presses against my back, then leans down to kiss the crown of my head. “You got this,” he murmurs.
I can feel the eyes on me as I make my way to the podium, itching as they burrow into my skin. These people know me. These people trust me. Is it enough?
I put my hands on either side of the podium, using the wood to steady myself, and scramble for something to say. I should have rehearsed this. I should have written a script.
“Hearthstone is my home,” I say slowly. “I’ve lived here, paid taxes here, baked for your school bake sales, and participated in community clean up days.
I work in your market. I say hi to you on the street.
I’ve been a good neighbor. I raised Georgia here.
And I’m sorry I wasn’t born a shifter like my dad.
It seems like you’ve reluctantly tolerated my existence my whole life because of that fact.
I know I’m not what you expected when Derek Wright said he was going to have a kid, but I’m done being someone you reluctantly accept because you have to.
I have given as much to Hearthstone as anyone.
Someday, I’ll have more kids, and they won’t be able to live anywhere else.
” I dart a glance at Finn to see if he reacts, and he smiles at me, completely not freaked out by me talking about us having kids someday.
“And I want to raise them in that house. The one G and I made special. With a height chart penciled on the bathroom door and my paintings and the tire swing in the back of the yard.”
I dare to look around the audience. Sarah Delaney looks at me with a kind, motherly expression in her eyes. Caroline nods while I’m talking. The old ladies who I see every day at the market all give me soft smiles. My spirits rise, and my hands shake a little less.
This is my home. These are my people.
“But the fact of the matter is, it shouldn’t matter if I have kids here or not.
My marriage to Finn shouldn’t be what makes you want to let me stay.
” Maybe I’m shooting myself in the foot, but I have to say my piece.
“If you’d get rid of me for promises of money that probably won’t ever find its way into your pocket, then I don’t know what to say to you. ”
I scan the crowd again. The old ladies are nodding more fervently now, but some of the younger people in the back aren’t reacting. Are they merely less expressive, or are they siding with Hugh?
I finally look back at Finn, who’s watching me with a mix of adoration and pride that makes me choke up for a second.
I open my mouth, trying to gather my thoughts and find a way to finish this off strong, when the cafeteria door swings open.
“Am I late?” a voice calls, and the crowd parts as my heart beats a hundred miles an hour.
Georgia. But how? Why? How did she get here?
Sure enough, G pushes through the crowd, appearing like a figment of my imagination. She has yet another streak of blue in her hair, and her eyes are wild as she takes everything in. “Oh,” she says, smiling now. “You’re still here. Good.”
“G?” Why is she here? How is she here?