Chapter 8
LACEY
I cleared my throat before stepping in front of the podium.
I’d promised to have a statement to the press about the closing of the Phillips business by the end of the week.
At four thirty on Friday afternoon I was cutting it pretty close.
The crowd had multiplied since my initial press conference on Monday.
The citizens of Idont were concerned. Chelsea and I had been fielding their calls, emails, texts, and unannounced visits all week.
I’d even been accosted at the Burger Bonanza while I tried to finish up the lunch shift yesterday.
Everyone wanted to know . . . What was I going to do about it?
Thankfully, I had a plan. Despite Bodie’s doubts, the more I researched the idea of positioning Idont as Ido, the perfect wedding destination, the more excited I got. Now I just needed to convince everyone else.
“Thank you for your patience while we sorted through the announcement that the Phillips family decided to shut their doors.” I glanced down at my notes, worried I’d forget a main point or two.
“After consulting with the city management we’ve decided to repurpose the Phillips House into an event center. ”
A hand shot into the air—the same reporter from Houston who’d given me a hard time at the press conference earlier in the week.
“Yes?” While I waited for the reporter to check her notes, I sought out the friendly faces in the crowd.
Zina smiled at me, giving a slight nod of encouragement.
I had filled in my best friend on my idea over a pitcher of margaritas last night.
For someone who didn’t consider herself much of a romantic, Zina was on board.
If she believed in the idea, the good folks of the newly christened Ido would come around, too.
“Mayor Cherish, what kind of events do you envision the Phillips House hosting? You’re hardly a hotbed of tourist activity around here.” Soft laughter bubbled up from the crowd.
I pasted on a patient smile. “We’re already working on a plan. Of course we’ll continue to host the annual events we always do, like the Crawfish Craze and Pitty Parade. But extensive research shows that our best bet is to focus on the happily-ever-after variety of events.”
“Such as?” the reporter asked, her pen poised to capture whatever words of wisdom I shared.
“Weddings. The wedding industry is booming and we’re in a great spot to cash in on some of that billion-dollar industry.
In fact, I’m proposing we even change the name of our town to Ido to cement our place in the destination-wedding market.
” Half a dozen hands shot into the air. “I imagine you all have a bunch of questions. As we work out the details, we’ll be sure to keep you informed.
In the meantime, any employees of Phillips Stationery and Imports are welcome to fill out an application to help with repurposing the house. ”
“Mayor Cherish—”
I didn’t stick around to face the crowd. I ducked out the back door of the hall and click-clacked across the pavement as fast as I could. I’d no sooner pulled the heavy door of my truck closed behind me than someone knocked on the passenger window. I let out a shriek.
Bodie.
He motioned for me to roll down the window. “You’re really going through with this, huh?” he asked.
I cranked up the heat, hoping to eliminate the chill in the air, even if it seemed to be coming mostly from Bodie. “You have a better idea?”
“Maybe I can arrange a meeting with Dad and Pops. There are a couple of things they’d like to talk to you about.”
“I bet.” I shook my head. “They jumped the gun, didn’t they?”
Bodie arched a brow, making him look all brooding, reminding me of the picture of a rugged cowboy I’d stared at in that magazine the other night. “What do you mean?”
“The inventory. You can’t tell me they planned on leaving all of their inventory behind.”
Bodie tapped a finger on the doorframe. “How to handle the inventory would definitely be an item on the agenda.”
I wanted to laugh at the way he tried to play it cool.
Had he forgotten I knew all of his telltale signs?
From the time he and Luke taught me how to play Texas Hold’em I’d always been able to tell when he was holding something back.
He was hiding something and knowing his dad and pops, it had to be something big.
“I’m sure they’ve told you by now they’ve been in default on their payments for months. ”
He nodded as he turned to face the western horizon.
The sun had started its descent, framing Bodie’s profile in breathtaking shades of orange and red.
His chin jutted out slightly, his jaw clenched tight.
For a moment I wondered what it might feel like to brush my hand against his cheek, or run my fingers through that unruly head of hair.
My breath caught as he turned, meeting my gaze.
“I’m in a pickle here, Lacey.” Gray eyes, the color of the sky just before a summer storm, begged for some level of understanding. But if he felt like he was in a pickle, I was squeezed into a full jar of them.
“Then I suggest you snag a sandwich and some chips and settle in for a nice, long snack.” I wasn’t ready to forgive and forget.
Not yet. Maybe not ever. His family had been in control long enough.
It was time the good people of Idont reclaimed their town.
Although, I’d better start thinking of the town as Ido.
I’d been given the green light to go ahead with the name change.
The vote would just be a formality. No matter what we named the town, we were better off without the Phillips family running the show.
Bodie let out a huff, obviously not pleased with my response. “Will you at least meet with them?” He cocked his head to the left, then bent down to mumble something.
I lifted myself up to peer out the window. “What have you got down there?”
He opened the door to my truck and a dog clambered into the passenger seat. A huge wet tongue swiped across my chin.
“That’s not Shotgun, is it?” My hand smoothed down the short hair on the dog’s back. There was no way this squirming bundle of energy could be the same dog we’d dropped off at Zina’s the other day.
Bodie cracked a grin. “Sure is. She cleaned up nice, didn’t she?” He filled the open doorway of the truck as he reached over to ruffle the hair behind the dog’s ears.
“Hi there, girl. Don’t you look gorgeous?” I laughed as the dog jumped across the center console to land in my lap. “Zina said you agreed to take her for a while.”
“A few days.” Bodie leaned farther into the truck, his hand wrapped around a teal nylon leash with pink hearts on it.
“That was awfully nice of you.”
“Yeah, well, she needs a friend right now.” His gaze met mine. “And I guess I do, too.”
The shell around my heart cracked at the forlorn look in his eyes.
I’d been the pesky sidekick to my brother and Bodie when we were kids.
They tolerated me for the most part and often left me behind.
But I’d spent enough time around Bodie to know that his family played some pretty sick mind games with him.
As the only child of the empire his pops and dad had built, they’d expected him to follow in their footsteps and take the business to the next level.
When he didn’t fall into line, there had been some words exchanged.
From what Luke told me—and I’d had to beg for the little bit of info he’d shared—Bodie held his ground about following his dreams. But something had changed.
He always had a cloud of sadness hovering around him when it came to discussing his family.
“Fine. Tell your dad and pops that I’d be willing to chat with them.”
He let out a long, drawn-out sigh. “I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t think you’d both have something to gain.”
“I know.” My hand passed over his as I gave Shotgun a scratch under the chin. The dog burrowed closer, finally turning circles then settling into my lap. “What are you going to do with her?”
“I don’t know. I’m not sure how she’d do home alone so I’ve been taking her with me everywhere. Someone must have worked with her at some point. She knows some basic commands.”
“Did Zina say when she’d be ready for adoption?”
“Nah. She wants to see how she does first. Somebody did wrong by her. I noticed she gets a little nervous around men.”
“But not you,” I said.
“Just when I surprise her.”
“I guess she can tell you wouldn’t hurt a fly.”
Bodie’s chest puffed out. “What are you talking about? I’m in charge of intimidating bad guys.”
“When’s the last time you had to catch a bad guy around here?”
His mouth screwed up. “Does Kirby Ketchum count?”
I let out a laugh. “No, Kirby doesn’t count.
He’s more of a nuisance than a bad guy.” In the few short days I’d been working as mayor, I’d already fielded a couple of complaints about the man.
He had an address out west of town—a mobile home that sat in the middle of ten acres of dry land.
But he seemed to spend most of his time poking around the center of town.
“Well, I’d catch a bad guy if we had any.”
I caught the way his mouth drew into a line.
Would his vow hold if it was one of his kin that turned out to be the bad guy?
I’d like to think that Bodie’s sense of honor and duty would win over any family ties, but that was the thing about family.
Oftentimes that was the only time exceptions were made to the rules.
“So when will this showdown take place?” I asked.
“Aw, come on, Sweets. It’s not like you’re going into a cage match with them.”
“I’d never agree to that. Your pops might be older than the hills but he’d be able to take down a man twice his size and a quarter of his age.”
That statement earned me a laugh from Bodie. He held out a fist and bumped knuckles with me. “That’s the honest truth. They just want to chat. Maybe over a nice, cold glass of lemonade. Nothing to be afraid of.”
“Fine. They can come to the house.”
“Your place? I figured you’d want a neutral location.”
“You’ll have your family in tow, I want to have some backup of my own.”
“Your dad?”
I shrugged. “I’d prefer to have Luke in my corner but his leave isn’t coming up for another few months.”
“How long has it been since you’ve seen him?”
“Too long.” I lifted my gaze to meet Bodie’s.
Talk of my older brother was one of the few things that could make me tear up.
Didn’t matter that the thought of seeing Luke again made my heart warm.
I wouldn’t believe he was okay until I got to wrap my arms around him in a hug.
He’d been out of the picture when everything went down with my dad so I’d had to handle it all on my own.
Sure, we’d video-chat every once in a while but it wasn’t the same as knowing the one person who’d always had my back would be next to me.
“Can’t wait to see him for myself.” Bodie peered through the fogged-up windshield. “Never did understand why he felt like he had to become such a hero.”
I almost pointed out to him that he’d done the same thing, just stateside instead of overseas. “How about tomorrow afternoon? I’ll make up a pitcher of that strawberry lemonade you like.”
“Might snow tomorrow.”
“You’re kidding.” Even in February, temps never fell below freezing. “Maybe hot cocoa instead?”
“Come on, Shotgun.” Bodie tugged on the leash. “We’ve got to make a pit stop at the feed store and pick up a new leash for you.”
“Not a fan of the hearts?” I asked.
“Hearts are fine for her. But I wouldn’t mind something a little less, well, a little less pink.”
“There’s nothing wrong with pink. And you’d better get used to it. I read that it’s one of the most popular wedding colors this year.” I put my hands on either side of Shotgun’s muzzle, careful to avoid the sores left from the tape.
“You’re really going to pursue this, aren’t you?”
“Of course I am. The town’s even going to change its name from Idont to Ido. It’s on the agenda for the next council meeting. Don’t you think that will go along better with the whole wedding thing?”
Bodie snorted. “You’re really something, Mayor Cherish. Come on, Shotgun.”
The dog gave me a final look, her big brown eyes staring deep into my soul. Then her tongue swept over my face. I couldn’t help but let out a laugh. “She’s a kissing monster.”
“Nah, she just knows you like getting a face full of tongue.” With a gentle tug on the leash, Bodie helped Shotgun scramble out of the truck. “Three o’clock tomorrow sound good?”
I used my sleeve to wipe the remaining doggie spit off my cheeks. “Yeah. I’ll see you then.”
Bodie shut the door, then lingered in the open window. “So . . .”
“Yeah?”
“Thanks. I appreciate you doing this.” The edges of his eyes crinkled, making me wonder how long it had been since he’d offered me a genuine smile.
I smiled back, glad I could help. Maybe I could work something out with the Phillips family. “I’m the mayor, it’s my job to try to work out any kinks with my constituents.” I owed it to myself and Bodie to try.