Chapter 16
Logan
In an effort to keep himself from thinking about the community forum that started in just a couple hours, Logan grabbed the baseball book Island Girl had left him a few days earlier and headed to the coffee shop for an iced coffee to go. Once he had his drink in hand, he walked west toward the water, settling on the first bench he came to adjacent to the marina. Reading was the only thing that kept his brain from continually running over his talking points for the meeting. He needed the distraction—from that and to keep from obsessing about Boston and the future of his career.
The book was an easy read, a fun look at what would happen if two data-driven nerds were allowed to make all the decisions for a baseball team. The tension in his shoulders eased as he laughed at the colorful general manager and inhaled the fresh salt air.
Pausing to watch a pelican diving repeatedly into the water in front of him, no doubt hunting its meal, Logan couldn’t stop thinking about who Island Girl could be. Lucy had mentioned a friend named Taylor he hadn’t met yet. What if Lucy’s best friend was his pen pal? No, he did not want that. Nothing about that felt right.
He’d wondered before if it might be Lucy, since she obviously loved books, but she’d said the last book she read was a thriller. Plus, he’d seen her several times with the stack of advance reader copies she was working through, none of which were anything like the books he’d been trading with Island Girl. Besides, he was still pretty sure Island Girlwas in a bad marriage based on some of her comments.
Missy, Pam, Jessica from the Parks and Rec department… None of the women he’d met fit the profile. The town was small, but he obviously hadn’t met everyone, and there were the tourists who’d already started pouring in for the warmer weather. She could be anyone.
He tried to get back into the book, but thinking of Lucy only made his mind race in circles. Grabbing his phone, he decided to call his sister and take a walk. She’d always been the calm, reasonable one in his family. She’d talk him off the ledge.
“So you do remember my phone number,” Carly teased him, in lieu of an actual hello when she picked up on the first ring.
“We’ve texted almost every day since I got here.” He sipped his iced coffee, already feeling calmer just hearing her voice.
“Not the same. I can’t tell what you’re hiding when you text.”
“Hiding? Why do you always think I’m hiding something?”
“Because you usually are. Out with it. You didn’t call because you’re bored. You only call when you’re worried about something.”
He sighed. “Tonight is the first of three community forums here. You know how much I love community forums.”
“Yes, I know you hate it when people don’t agree with you or defer to your expertise.”
He could practically hear her rolling her eyes through the phone.
“Well, this is what I do for a living. Why does everyone always act like I’m the bad guy? The projects I help design provide jobs and increase tax revenue, not to mention the new housing, shopping, and dining opportunities.”
“You’re not a bad guy. You’re just the only guy on the planet who loves change. You know normal humans resist change, right?”
“So people just want to live like cavemen? I mean, why change what was working, right? Who needs wheels or electricity?” Logan slipped off his shoes as he reached the end of the sidewalk where it sloped down to meet the sandy beach. A woman in a wheelchair was sitting at the edge, her eyes closed and head tilted toward the sun. He made a mental note that any plan for this area had to include accessibility options. Everyone should be able to enjoy the beach.
She let out an exasperated breath. “I’m sure these people will let you include electricity in your plans.”
He remembered Lucy’s story about the dentist downtown and repeated it to Carly. “Isn’t that fascinating? I’d never thought about how dentists worked before electricity. See, innovation is good.”
“You mentioned a woman told you about this dentist. Anyone I should know about?”
She was always trying to marry him off, although she’d never thought Catherine was “the one,” despite never having met her. Carly said she wanted him to find someone and settle down because she loved her family so much she wanted him to have one. He wasn’t sure that was in the cards for him, not with his lifestyle. There was always another city to move to. Another project to finish.
“No, it’s not like that. Lucy is my competition. She owns the local bookstore and is the head of the Downtown Business Owners Council.” He didn’t need to mention he was helping her with something personal, knowing his sister would read too much into it.
“Is she single?”
“I have no idea, and it doesn’t matter.” He was fairly certain she was. He’d never heard her mention anyone. “Did you just hear me? She’s my opposition.”
“Okay, all right. I just think it wouldn’t kill you to go on a date and remember that not every woman is a self-obsessed cheater like Catherine. Have you tried to charm her into seeing things your way? Maybe you’re losing your touch.” His sister loved teasing him.
“We’ve”—he searched for the right way to describe the situation without having to divulge too much—“reached an understanding. She’s a worthy opponent, but I’ve gotten bigger projects than this approved.”
“Please tell me you’re not going to bulldoze this poor woman’s bookstore.”
“No, she’s actually in a gorgeous historic building. You know I wouldn’t touch that. The entire historic district here is beautiful. You’d love it.” He watched a family laughing together on several brightly colored towels spread out in the sand about thirty yards in front of him. The kids looked to be around Alexandria and Aidan’s ages, making him wonder if he should ask Carly to bring her family down like Lucy had suggested.
A gull cried out overhead.
“Are you at the beach?”
“Yeah, you basically walk right off the sidewalk downtown onto the beach. It’s a nice little town.” One long-weekend visit from family wasn’t going to derail his timeline here. “Hey, Carly. Why don’t you and Nick and the kids come down? I’m here for at least another month or two.”
“Gosh, that would be amazing. I’ll have to talk to Nick though. Not sure we can swing it right now. We just had to replace the refrigerator and the water heater in the same week.” Carly was a stay-at-home mom and Nick was a cop in Berlin. Logan was always trying to send them money, but they never accepted his help. Instead, he spoiled the kids on their birthdays and at Christmas.
“My treat.”
She began to protest, but he cut her off.
“What is the point in me making all this money if I can’t ever do anything with it? I don’t need a permanent residence, and I already get to travel and eat out. The one thing I can’t buy is time with my family, but I can buy you plane tickets. I’m not taking no for an answer. See if Nick can get a weekend off and, if not, you come down with the kids.”
“What has gotten into you?” His sister sounded skeptical. “It’s not like you ignore us or anything, but you’ve never pushed this hard to spend time with us. What’s happening down there?”
He knew Carly worried about him after what happened in San Diego.
“Nothing bad.” He assured her. “To be honest, it wasn’t entirely my idea. Lucy—the woman who owns the bookstore—doesn’t have any family, and she made me see the error of my ways.”
“I like this Lucy woman. Maybe I’ll come down just so I can meet her and ask her if she’s single.”
“Never mind. I’m revoking my invitation,” he grumbled, feigning irritation, but he didn’t really mean it.
“I’d love to see you, and the kids would love the beach, but?—”
Carly was cut off by Aidan’s excited voice in the background.
“Yes! Are we going to the beach to visit Uncle Logan?”
“Now you have to come. Can’t disappoint the kid.” Logan smiled as he finally let himself picture his family here with him. He couldn’t wait to show Carly the buildings downtown. She loved historic structures almost as much as he did.
“I’ll talk to Nick tonight.” He could hear her relenting, and he let himself get excited about the idea.
He’d have to remember to thank Lucy later.
When Logan arrived at the council chambers, he found Lucy alone inside the small room, seated in the front row reviewing her notes. The walls were wainscoted in dark brown, a stark contrast to the colorful beauty that existed outside the doors. It was probably last decorated in the seventies and was just another example of the city’s strangled budget.
“Evening.” He approached her from behind. “You ready for this?”
“I don’t know, am I?”
The cold edge to her voice sent a warning as he walked down the center aisle.
Walking more slowly toward her, he tried to read her face as she turned to stare him down. Gone were the warm brown eyes and the smile he’d gotten used to lately; they had been replaced with the sort of disappointed look his mother had given him when he skirted his duties on the farm as a kid. He racked his brain trying to think of what he could have done to hurt her. Whatever it was, he’d fix it. He’d thought they were, if not on the same team, at least becoming friends.
“Did I miss something? You seem upset.”
“That’s because I am.” She put her notes on the chair next to her and stood to face him, crossing her arms over her pale-pink sundress.
“Are you going to make me guess why?” He took a few steps closer, but left plenty of room between them. He wanted to reach out and touch her arm, to assure her they could fix whatever it was, but she looked ready to recoil if he came any closer.
“Are you going behind Marty’s back to coerce Mildred into some sort of buyout on the café’s lease?”
Mildred. He should have known it was a bad sign she wasn’t telling Marty about their conversation yet. He understood why she wanted to wait until she had a number, but he certainly hadn’t asked her to keep Marty in the dark. But how had Lucy even heard about their conversation?
He put his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels as he decided how to respond.
“Those conversations are confidential. I would just say it’s not up to me to dictate how Mildred and Marty communicate about their business.”
She flung out her arms, losing her composure. “What kind of an answer is that?”
He’d never heard her raise her voice. She usually had a soft, soothing tone you’d expect out of someone who’d been a librarian. She was really upset, but she had to know it was unlikely the restaurant would survive whatever new plan they eventually agreed upon. The building was barely sound at this point, thanks to the hurricanes that had damaged the pilings underneath. If the city was going to put in money to shore it up for long-term viability, they’d need to see more of a return than the restaurant lease had been giving them.
“An honest one. Negotiations between the town and individual business owners are confidential.”
“Apparently they’re also confidential between you and Mildred because Marty told us today he had no idea the town was preparing to make an offer to end the restaurant lease. He’s not going to give up his livelihood because you wave a check in front of his face. Is that what you do? Charm women like Mildred and Missy”—her voice broke—“and even me into going along with your plans so you can pack up and move on to the next town?”
Logan was completely baffled. He’d been doing his job. It wasn’t his fault Mildred was keeping her true desire to retire from her husband. He was about to tell Lucy that when she brushed past him to where her bag sat on a nearby chair, her coconut scent passing over him like a wave.
Lucy grabbed a stack of papers from her bag and handed them to him. Printouts of newspaper articles.
“I’ve read all about what happened in San Diego, and suddenly it all made sense. Why you’d take a project in a place like Heron Isle and why you’d immediately cozy up to me and offer to help me buy my building. You need a quick win, and the only way you know how to win is by manipulating women with your green eyes and your dimple and your smooth talking about how much you love historic buildings.” She was gesturing more wildly now, her brown eyes fiery and her blonde curls bouncing with every movement.
He was so caught off guard by her assumptions about what happened in San Diego—about him—he could hardly formulate a response. Clearing his throat to buy himself time to respond calmly and not grow defensive, he laid the papers face down on a nearby chair. Turning back to Lucy, her brown eyes demanding answers—answers he very much wanted to give her—Logan spoke quietly.
“Do you always believe everything you read?” He searched her eyes, looking for any indication he might reach her. He hadn’t exactly done himself any favors in the press. He’d been so upset over Catherine and the project that he’d done a poor job of explaining himself to the few reporters who’d reached out for his side of the story.
A wrinkle appeared between her eyebrows as she gave him a questioning look. “You’re telling me it’s just a coincidence you dated the daughter of the biggest investor who came into the project?”
“No, it’s not a coincidence.” He continued before she could interject. “I met her because I was courting her father to come onto the project. In fact, she bought me at a date auction. Do you really think I’d break up with her before the project was complete if that was all I was after?” He raised an eyebrow, asking her to do a little critical thinking before she threw more accusations his way.
Before she could respond, the chamber doors opened, and the first few people started to trickle in. Lucy’s expression softened slightly as she waved in their direction.
“Hey, y’all. Go ahead and take any seat you’d like. Thank you for coming tonight.” Turning back to him, she said coolly, “We’ll finish discussing this later. Stick to the agenda and we’ll be just fine.” She reached around him to grab the papers, folding them, and shoving them inside her bag before waving at more people coming in.
He watched as she walked to the door and greeted people as they entered. She was shaking hands, complimenting outfits, and asking several of them how their businesses were doing. She’d stolen the move he’d tried to use that first night after the town council meeting where he was introduced.
He could tell she was setting the stage for an evening of us versus them with him as the “them,” even though the town council and mayor were due to attend as well. If she could successfully paint him as the bad guy, even the council members and the mayor would hang him out to dry to save face. After all, they had to continue to live in the community and some of them would be up for re-election soon.
The room was near capacity by the time Lucy joined him at the front to open the forum. She stood as far as she could from him, as if she might catch something. She smiled broadly anytime she addressed the crowd, but she refused to make eye contact with him.
When she turned it over to Logan, he explained they’d be using the giant white board behind them to brainstorm ideas.
“If you’d like to add an idea to the list, all you have to do is raise your hand. Lucy”—he turned toward her, but she still wouldn’t meet his eyes—“I’ll let you call on people since you know everyone better.” Normally, he would have taken charge and tried to control the flow of the meeting to his advantage, but he thought better of it after Lucy’s attack.
She locked eyes with him briefly then, her mouth a tight line. “Yes, I do.” Turning back to the crowd, she smiled. “While you all are thinking on ideas, I’m going to share one Helen sent me. She sends her regrets, but she’s engaged in some very important research right now. She’d like us to explore the idea of adding an aquarium experience to help our visitors learn more about the fish, water mammals, flora, and fauna in our area. I know many of us don’t want to see a large building blocking the view of the water from downtown, so she said to make sure I told you that she’s been researching a concept she saw in Seattle where visitors actually descend into an underwater room for viewing.”
Logan considered the idea as he watched Lucy write it on the board. The city could own and operate the aquarium and charge an admission fee. Construction of that sort of attraction sounded expensive, though, especially since it probably required special care so as not to disrupt the natural underwater environment. He was all for being environmentally conscious, but it also meant the project was probably cost prohibitive.
“I also wanted to add the idea of renting out stand-up paddle boards and small two-person watercrafts, that sort of thing.” Lucy directed the idea toward the crowd, not acknowledging that those had been his ideas. “We could rent them right from the marina and direct people toward the back side of the island where the water is calmer.”
He let Lucy claim the idea. It wasn’t important who put what up on the board. He certainly wasn’t going to call her on it in front of everyone.
Hands started raising in the audience.
Lucy pointed at a weathered-looking man. “Wayne.”
“What about a maritime or shrimping museum? Pay homage to all the men and women who trawled the waters before us.” The heads of several similarly dressed men around him bobbed up and down.
Lucy continued to write ideas from the crowd on the board: a shrimping museum, an old-school arcade, and an open-air market, which seemed to have the most support.
The next woman Lucy called on suggested an amphitheater, which Logan had on his list. It was relatively easy and inexpensive—at least as far as development projects went—to build an amphitheater that blended in with the natural surroundings. It could be rented out to bands and acting groups, host seminars and more.
When everyone with a hand up had been heard, Logan cleared his throat. “I’ve got a couple more ideas I’d like to add to the board as well.”
Lucy scowled at him, anticipating his additions, but waved a hand toward the board to give him the floor.
“I’ll preface this by saying I know these won’t necessarily be popular options, but they are potentially lucrative ones that don’t require building anything new on the waterfront.” He scanned the audience. Normally he did enough work before a meeting like this to curb any real opposition. He knew better than to come into a room full of potential opponents and throw a grenade into the crowd, but Lucy hadn’t left him much choice after she’d gotten him to agree to the ceasefire. He took a deep breath and pulled the pin.
“I’d like us to consider allowing small cruise ships like the ones that go into Savannah and Charleston.”
When members of the crowd started expressing their discontent, Lucy did nothing to silence them. She just stood there with her arms crossed, an eyebrow raised in his direction as if saying she didn’t know why he was even bothering. Clearly, she was confident he wouldn’t get the support he needed for his ideas.
Logan decided it was best to let people vent for a few moments before he tried to go on. When the din of conversation began to lull, he took the opportunity to jump back in.
“I simply ask that you all come to the next forum and listen to the representative from the cruise company. We’re not talking about those big, towering ships that go to the Bahamas. These ships hold fewer than one hundred people. The rep can explain how much the downtown business owners would benefit as passengers disembark to shop and eat, and the upside is that it won’t put any pressure on the infrastructure here to add hotel rooms or parking.”
As he spoke, faces softened. Some people even nodded, as if now that they understood a little more, they thought it might be something they could stomach.
Lucy glared at him. “Let’s not forget that we have a limit on the length of boats that come into our marina for a reason. Also, I’ll have an environmental expert here at the next meeting to tell us about the fish and plant life the cruise ships would destroy. Then we can discuss the idea once we’ve heard both sides.”
Heads bobbed as people agreed with her.
“Anything else you’d like to add?” she asked him, a challenge in her tone.
Glancing out at the crowd and back at her, he coughed to clear his throat. “I do have one more thought that we’ll discuss at the next meeting while the water expert is here. I’d like you to consider bringing back the casino boat”—he held up his hand as the crowd began to murmur—“from a different operating company than last time. I know you weren’t thrilled with the previous owners. I’ve spoken with people in several other cities here in Florida about the company I’m recommending, and they can vouch for them.”
He’d lost the crowd. He could see it on their faces. It was going to take a lot to turn the tide at the next forum. It was his job to ensure both a profitable waterfront project and that the backlash from it didn’t create problems in the voting booth when it came time to re-elect the council.
Examining the sea of unhappy faces, his eyes finally landed on Lucy. He had his work cut out for him. With the townspeople, but most of all with Lucy.