Chapter 43
“Jake doesn’t know what this meeting is about either?” Claire asks, leaning in close to make sure no one else overhears her question.
The town hall is just as crowded as the last time, with people filling the seats and lining the walls when they realize no more chairs are open. Even with the ceiling fans on, the air is thick and smells like one too many bodies are crammed into this room.
I honestly wish I was anywhere but here right now.
“No, he was caught off guard about it too,” I tell her through the anxious fog starting to overwhelm my brain. It sends a tremble through my words, enough to catch her attention.
“You can leave, I’ll tell you everything,” she offers gently.
I shake my head. “I need to hear this. I feel like it affects me more directly than anyone else now.”
Her hand finds mine and squeezes reassuringly. It helps, but a part of me wishes it was Jake. Frowning at the thought, I cast a glance back over my shoulder.
He’s here, at the village trustees meeting as promised. But he’s not sitting with us at his own insistence. Even after my protests, he made a point to stay far from me tonight.
It might not have been my idea, but the guilt at seeing him standing against the back wall hits me all the same. He’s so obviously alone in this crowd when the news about to be announced will impact him the most.
“Here comes Garrison. I still can’t believe he had the nerve to interrupt your date. He knew exactly what he was doing.” My best friend narrows her eyes at the trustee taking a seat at the table before everyone, holding a grudge against him in solidarity.
“Did Claire just say date?” my mom asks hopefully from the seat on my other side. “Are you dating someone?”
“Oops, forgot to whisper that part,” Claire mutters under her breath.
“Oh, Mom—”
“Is it that nice boy that came and helped at the shelter? Jake, right? He’s fostering Bear.”
I look back over my shoulder once more. He meets my gaze, and I watch warmth pour from those molten brown eyes. If it was the other way around, he wouldn’t make me face this news alone.
“Yeah, Mom.” I turn to her, mustering my courage. “It was with Jake, and I see him back there so I’m going to go.”
Claire holds up my purse for me to slip my arm through. “Go get him,” she encourages me with a triumphant grin.
“Wait, why would Garrison have interrupted the date?”
I slide past my mom’s chair and stop next to her in the aisle. From the corner of my eye, I see Jake watching me with an eyebrow quirked in curiosity.
“Because,” I start, leaning towards her to whisper in her ear, “he’s from the Carpenter Collection.”
Susie Hart stares back at me with wide eyes, but with a pat on her shoulder, I’m already gone. Down the aisle and headed for the handsome man with his head tipped to the side and honey brown hair flopping over his temple as he watches me with heated intensity.
I stop right in front of him, reaching forward to brush my fingers down the back of his hand. “Room for one more back here?”
“Lucy…”
“I don’t care.” I shake my head. “Honestly, I’m so tired of worrying about other people when you make me so happy.”
“Dammit, Luce. You can’t say this to me right now.”
My smile wobbles. “Why not?”
“Because it makes me want to kiss the hell out of you.”
I take a step closer, this time linking my fingers with his. “How about I hold you to that after the meeting?”
“Count on it,” he promises and gives my hand a squeeze.
There is a lingering spark in his eyes, so electric I can almost feel it.
I freeze, wondering if maybe he’ll kiss me here and now anyway.
But then someone bumps against me as they try to get by and I snap back into awareness about our surroundings.
Turning, I lean against the orange peel textured wall beside him. My hand stays joined with his, dangling between us, as I notice the board members taking their seats at the head table.
This is it, the moment I have been in a deep state of denial about. Hoping maybe it would never come. Things were nice while we waited for the board’s decision. We were just Jake and Lucy.
And now that I stand here watching Garrison call for everyone’s attention, a very large part of me wants to hear that Carpenter Collection is being granted the property. That he’ll get to stay.
“We appreciate your patience as we worked through permits and codes and impact studies,” the trustee announces with gusto.
Slowly, the crowd’s chatter dies down to a dull hush. Pleased, he continues. “But we won’t be able to present you with a decision today.”
My heart leaps into my throat.
“Then what are we doing here?” someone near the front rows asks.
I look over at Jake, who quirks an eyebrow back at me.
“We are here to announce a development,” Garrison replies sternly. “The proposal by Carpenter Collection is no longer the only one being considered.”
I feel my jaw nearly unhinge as it falls open. And I’m not alone in my surprise. A wave of murmured gasps passes over the crowd.
“Okay, okay,” another board member cuts in.
She casts a sharp look around the room like a parent scolding her children.
“I am sure you all have many questions, but at this point we don’t have all the answers.
But we will say that the other bid is highly intriguing.
While the profit would be less, it seems like it could be a better option for our community. ”
Another murmur passes through the meeting hall, and I turn to glance up at Jake with wide eyes. His expression is impassable—showing no signs of tension or distress, but maybe mild interest. I can’t imagine how I look gaping up at him.
“We will weigh this anonymous proposal against the Carpenter’s and then make a decision accordingly,” the trustee continues. “At that time, we will call another board meeting to share our decision with all of you.”
My grip on Jake tightens and he tips his head my way in response. “What does this mean for you?” I breathe.
He bites his cheek, considering. Then he says, “I think it means that Richard Carpenter is going to have to try to win over the townspeople of Ellicottville.”
And if I’m not mistaken, he sounds amused by this prospect.