Chapter 8
8
Omar
I wasn’t a fan of mornings, but I knew getting to work early was for the best. Especially when I had a meeting scheduled with Amelia and Natalie. I refused to think about Natalie and that kiss. Two weeks and I was fooling myself if I thought I’d forgotten. But I couldn’t think about it. I had to focus, do my job, and be objective.
Not only that, but now that it was the new calendar year, I had to start thinking about my election campaign.
First, the meeting.
My early morning was quiet with emails and a few phone calls, but nothing major. I signed off on two projects. One was to repair the gazebo at Catherine Park after an ice storm chipped away at the support structure. The other was to have the trees around the schools trimmed back so they didn’t obstruct views from the schools to the parking lot.
I was ready when Jane said Amelia and Natalie had arrived. That’s what I told myself.
Then they walked in. Amelia shook my hand and asked how I was doing. It was a challenge to answer her because I was focused on Natalie.
She wore a dark tee and jeans, but the way she moved said she was injured.
“What happened?” I asked her, needing to know she was okay.
Natalie looked at Amelia, her eyes wide and scared.
“I fell,” Natalie whispered.
“Are you okay?”
Natalie nodded.
I wanted to ask more, to find out what happened and how she was hurt, and if I needed to kill someone for causing her harm, but before I could voice those inappropriate questions, Amelia kept going.
“That’s part of what we need to talk about today,” Amelia jumped in.
Natalie’s eyes widened even more. She shook her head.
Amelia ignored her and focused on me.
I looked between them and waited for someone to tell me what was going on.
“Natalie was working at the campground alone on Monday and slipped. She sprained her ankle. She will be fine, but we need more money in order to make this project work.”
“I told you, we don’t have more money,” I argued, even as I ached to do anything to stop her from getting hurt again.
“Which is why we’re going to have a fundraiser. Many of them, I hope, but the first one is going to be in six weeks, right before mid-winter break. Because our plans have changed.”
“Changed?” Every inch of me tightened with that news.
Amelia nodded, her eyes wide and excited. “Yes. We have a huge opportunity with this location. If we can build the structure like Natalie suggested, but we can close it in, we can use it for so much more. We can have kids there for breaks during the school year, not just summer camp. We can host functions there. We can use it for more than just a summer camp.”
“And you think you can raise enough money to pay for it?”
“I do,” Amelia said with confidence. “Maybe not with one fundraiser, but I think we can. But the most important thing for me is keeping my people safe. Natalie was out at the campground digging up conduit for the sites alone and fell. She could have been more seriously injured, or worse, and no one would have known. She was trying to save money because you won’t give us more.”
Amelia was a shark. I never saw it before, but the woman knew exactly what to say to prove her point. “No more. We can’t risk that. No one is allowed out there without a plan. Whether that’s another person or a scheduled check-in or something, but we can’t risk people getting hurt.”
“I’m happy to hear you say that, Omar.”
I looked closely at her and knew I walked right into whatever she wanted.
“Natalie doesn’t agree with me, but hearing it from you might change her mind.”
Natalie scowled at Amelia, but schooled her features when she caught me looking at her.
“Ms. Edwards?” I asked.
“Fine,” she grunted.
“Are you taking time off to recover from the injury?” I asked her.
“No. I… I’m fine.”
“I thought your job was to chase after kids all afternoon.”
“Amelia is working with me.”
“So, your boss is making accommodations for your injury instead of insisting you take time off to recover?”
“Would you rather fire me, Mr. Mayor?”
That spark in her eyes and the way she said Mr. Mayor told me she hadn’t forgotten that kiss we shared anymore than I had.
And dammit, that spark was why I kissed her in the first place. I wanted to see it again and again, but I couldn’t act on that desire. I had to keep it together.
“No one is getting fired. Especially for doing something on town property with your boss’s knowledge. If she’s fired, she’ll have grounds to sue the town, and I’ll be the first one any lawyer worth a damn will name,” Amelia told me.
“Sue us?” I asked.
“I’m not suing anyone,” Natalie said softly. “I was the one who went out there alone. I won’t do it again.”
I got the feeling it was an argument they’d been having and that my presence was simply so Amelia had someone else on her side.
“Now that we have that settled,” I said, attempting to bring the conversation back around, “what is your plan for the fundraiser?”
“We’re going to hold it at O’Kelley’s. Natalie has been in touch with some locals, including Goldie Spear, Hudson Grant, and Trent MacKellar. She’s working with Daisy Lincoln to come up with some plans.”
“What do you need from me?”
“More money?” Amelia suggested.
“I walked right into that one. Anything else?”
“If you were willing to put in an appearance at the fundraiser, I think it would help. Telling the town you support the efforts will help to make it a success.”
“What is your goal with the fundraiser?”
“We have three goals. The first will be to bring in the rest of the money required to do phase one of the work on the campground. Natalie insists she’s going to finish digging out the campsite connections, but I’m not sure it’s possible. At some point, we will need a professional. The tree on the basketball court is something my son said he can take care of. Cleaning up the volleyball court is also easy. The pool is the big thing. The money from the town is going to go toward making the pool safe. The building will be phase one-point-five because we both feel it’s necessary, but it’s way outside the budget. Ideally, that’s what the fundraiser will help with.”
“That’s two goals,” I said. “The electric and pool, then the building. What’s the third?”
Amelia looked at Natalie.
Natalie’s eyes went big, but Amelia didn’t back down. Finally, Natalie opened her mouth. “Scholarships.”
“Excuse me? I thought this was going to make money for the town, not cost us money.”
“Yes, but there are families who can’t afford camp. Parents who have to work in order to pay for their kids to have food, which means the kids can’t go to camp so they’re home alone all day. Ten percent of the students in MacKellar Cove Central School District get free lunch from the state. Another ten percent get reduced price lunch. These families don’t have the money to pay for camp, so the kids are slipping through the cracks. A scholarship would give some families the chance to have their kids at a safe place for the summer and know they are being fed and cared for.”
“How many scholarships do you want to have?”
“I have a donor who agreed to three already. I’d like to start with ten. I want more, eventually, but ten would be great.”
“Done.”
“Excuse me?” Natalie said. She looked at Amelia, then back at me. “What do you mean?”
“I will pay for the other seven scholarships personally. The only requirement is that no one knows they came from me.”
“You can’t… why… how… Mr. Mayor?”
“The money you raise needs to go toward getting the camp set up. We can set up a separate scholarship fund through the town and have people donate to that outside of the fundraiser.”
“You would do that?” Natalie asked. She looked at me like she did the day I kissed her. Like I wasn’t the man she thought I was. Like there was more to me.
I nodded. She worked for me, so I had to stop any hope that things between us could be different. “I would. And I will. We have a charitable contributions chairperson, and I will be in touch with her later today about what needs to be done. Having it go through here also means you won’t have the task of choosing which students should get the scholarships.”
The relief on her face with those words told me it was the biggest worry she had. “Thank you, Mr. Mayor.”
“I think maybe it’s time you called me Omar.”
Her gaze snagged on mine and held. The way her chest rose and fell slowly said she was just as trapped in the moment as I was. “Omar,” she whispered.
Amelia cleared her throat, and Natalie snapped out of the trance that held us both.
“Um, and you should call me Natalie.”
“As you wish, Natalie.”
Her eyes widened again, and she rolled her lower lip in, pinching it between her teeth.
I cleared my throat that time and moved away from the woman who was making me forget my place. “Please get me the information for the fundraiser, and I will make sure I am there. And don’t go out to the campground alone again. Not without a plan to make sure you’re safe. I don’t want anything to happen to you, Natalie.”
She nodded, staring at me.
“We will. Thank you, Omar,” Amelia said, dragging Natalie from my office with hushed whispers I couldn’t understand.
And probably didn’t want to.
Some of the local men had invited me to join them on Thursday nights at O’Kelley’s, and I always said no. For some reason, after my meeting with Natalie, I decided to go.
The bar was not a place I’d been in many times. It had a good, casual feel, but I wasn’t a big drinker and bars were never my favorite places to spend time. But if I was going to get reelected and if I was going to show my support for the fundraiser, I was going to need to get over going to a bar.
“Mayor Omar Knight. To what do we owe the honor?” Hudson Grant asked when he spotted me. Hudson always made sure to say hello when he saw me in his bar, but this was a different situation.
“Evening. I thought I’d see what this guys’ night is all about. Derek and Patrick have both invited me, and I’ve always had other things going on.”
Hudson nodded, letting the half-truth slide. “Well, glad you joined us. Can I get you something?”
“Anything local?”
Hudson nodded and grabbed a glass, filling it with precision before placing it in front of me. “Enjoy.”
I nodded and took a sip. It was light and refreshing, with a hint of something deeper underneath. “Very good.”
Hudson grinned. “It is. One of my favorites.”
“Mr. Mayor! How are you?” Patrick Hill asked, taking the seat next to me. “Is it okay if I sit here?”
“Of course. Good to see you, Patrick. How’s Goldie?”
“She’s good.” The man beamed at the mention of the woman he loved. “She’s hoping you’re running for reelection. Any decision on that?”
I looked at him, wondering why he didn’t know. “Uh, yeah. I thought it was public knowledge that I was running.”
“Great news. You’ll make her very happy. She really likes working for you. We all do.”
I appreciated Patrick’s vote of confidence. “Thank you.”
“Omar,” another voice said. “I didn’t know you were going to be here.”
I turned and saw Amelia’s son, James Rucker, approaching. James was a police officer but not someone I’d met more than a few times. He seemed to have a good sense of humor and a low tolerance for bullshit, but a huge heart for the underprivileged in our community. He definitely got that from his mother. “Nice to see you, James. How are you?”
“Good. Making plans to help my mom out with that tree. Have you seen that campground? It’s going to make a beautiful summer camp.”
“Did she tell you to tell me that?”
James blanched a bit. “No, sir. My mom is pretty straightforward with people. She doesn’t do manipulation or coercion.”
“I apologize. I didn’t mean to imply anything. She definitely speaks her mind. Unlike Natalie Edwards. That woman has to get worked up before she says what she’s thinking. She could take a few notes from your mother.”
James smirked at me, clearly catching something I didn’t want him to catch. “I’m sure she could. But Natalie isn’t around a lot when I’m at the community center. The few times we’ve spoken, she’s ducked out before I got her all worked up.”
My cheeks warmed at the obvious implication. I nodded and sipped my beer, hoping James would let the subject drop before I confessed even more about how I wanted to get Natalie Edwards worked up.
“Another beer, Mr. Mayor?” Hudson asked, taking my attention from James.
I shook my head and realized the one I was drinking was almost gone. “Omar, please. And I’ll switch to water. Thanks.”
Hudson nodded and filled a glass with ice, then added water before setting it in front of me. He worked down the line of men who filtered in and joined me at the bar while I did what I could to calm my mind and panic.
Daniel Ryan, former front man of a massively successful band who gave it all up when he met the love of his life and moved to MacKellar Cove, slid onto the stool next to me and scowled at the mirror behind the bar. “Daisy Lincoln is going to destroy my peace and quiet in this town.”
“Daisy’s a firecracker. What is she talking you into?” Knox Randall asked. Knox owned Al’s Hardware, and we hadn’t had much contact, but I knew he was someone who was well respected in town.
“She’s trying to get us to do a show for some fundraiser. She’s relentless. Sofia is trying to talk me into it now.” Sofia was Daniel’s girlfriend and business partner. The two of them were creating their own version of success with songs they were writing together, but Daniel had mostly given up performing and the life of fame that kept him on the road and under the thumb of others.
“That’s the fundraiser for the new summer camp,” Ramsey Holland said, joining the conversation. “You should do it. Melody is helping Natalie and Daisy plan the whole thing. My daughter’s best friend goes to the summer camp and loves it. Said Natalie is her favorite adult that isn’t her mom or Melody. Daisy’s hitting up everyone to make sure the fundraiser brings in what’s needed. Natalie got hurt, and Daisy went a little nuts.”
“Is Natalie okay?” Knox asked.
It was completely irrational that I was mad Knox was asking. The man was engaged and had a pregnant fiancée, but I didn’t want him to be asking about Natalie.
“She’s fine,” I answered. “Her ankle is sprained, but she said she’s okay.”
“You’re friends with Natalie?” Hudson asked.
I realized I had the attention of all the men gathered. James raised his brows and smirked at me, waiting with the rest of them for my confession.
“She works for me. I had a meeting with her and James’s mother, Amelia, earlier. Amelia read Natalie the riot act and got me to agree that she can’t be out there alone and risk getting hurt again,” I said.
The others exchanged looks and nodded.
“Glad she’s okay,” Knox said. He looked past me to someone else. “Have you or Laura checked her out? Make sure she’s good?”
I turned and found Doctor Nico Allison shaking his head.
“We don’t usually deal with injuries like that, but I’ll make sure Laura knows. Daisy has been dragging Natalie to book club.” Nico grinned wryly, and the other men chuckled.
“What’s book club?” I asked.
“All the women get together Sunday night at Book Boyfriends Unlimited and talk about how amazing we are,” Hudson said.
The others snorted their laughter.
“Something like that,” James said. “Usually they’re bitching about something one of us did.”
“Speak for yourself,” Ramsey said. “My wife doesn’t complain about me.”
“Anymore,” James retorted.
Ramsey flipped him off, and James laughed.
“Children, we have a guest. Knock it off,” Hudson told them. He jerked his head in my direction.
“Whoa, I’m a guest?” I asked.
Hudson raised one eyebrow. “You’ve never been here for guys’ night, and you’re kind of everyone’s boss, so we need to be on our best behavior.”
I shook my head. “No. I don’t want that. I didn’t come here tonight to make everyone uncomfortable. I just wanted to...”
“Not think about Natalie Edwards for a little while?” James said.
The others exchanged a look but didn’t say anything.
I met James’s gaze and shook my head. “You’re not helping that, you know?”
James smirked. “That’s not why we come here. We come here to figure out what to do about our women. Not forget them.”
“She’s not mine.”
“Maybe not yet, but you clearly want her to be.” Hudson crossed his arms and dared me to argue.
“Well, I guess my plan to get out and not think about her didn’t really work.” I grabbed my water and drank half of it, debating what to do.
“Don’t worry, Mr. Mayor. What we say at the bar stays here. Now, tell us about Natalie and how she has you so wrapped up and crazy,” Patrick said.
I looked at all of them. Could I trust them? Did it matter? It wasn’t like things could get worse.