Page 55 of Just a Plot Twist
“And again, it’s Longdale.” I lift a shoulder. “Not a lot of options.” I straighten my bent leg and smooth my dress out. “But enough about me. How many years were you married?”
“Seventeen.” His expression hardens. He sits up straight and draws his knees to his chest, his feet planted off the blanket, in the sand.
I whistle. “That’s a long time.” I reach over and tug on his hand. He lets go of his knee and we lace our fingers together. “I’m sorry.”
“I’m not.” His voice is strained, but I don’t sense any bitterness there. “I mean, I’m sorry for the pain it’s caused the children, and it was difficult. But I’ve learned so much about myself that I actually value what happened in many ways. I appreciate a lot more about life than I used to.”
“Do you have any regrets?”
He straightens and looks out to the waves of the lake, licking the sand a few yards away. “Regrets? Sure. I guess my biggest one is I was so flattened out by the shock and grief of her leaving so quickly that I didn’t fight for her. I do regret that.”
His gaze is in the sand, his jaw hard.
“But there’s a silver lining because honestly, if Danica hadn’t left,” he continues, looking at me. “I doubt I would have met my biological father. And now look. I have this great life and family here.”
“It’s cool that something that once felt impossibly hard could have brought you so many good things, too,” I say.
The look in his eyes is searching and open, and then he breaks away and looks up at the stars. We try to figure out the constellations and other mysteries of the night sky, but when we exhaust all the meager knowledge we have on the subject, we start talking about other things.
And it’s all so natural, talking about everything and nothing at the same time.
It’s past midnight when I tell him I’d better get home.
“Sure. I’ll take you back to get your car. Are you looking forward to Sunday and having the day off?” he asks.
“Yes and no. It’s nice to rest. It’s bad for my brain, though, because I get restless. Inez, the current city manager, is leaving soon to have her twins, and, with having some complications, she hasn’t been able to do a lot. I’ve been taking care of so many parts of her job that it’s like I’m working two jobs right now. It would be nice to just have one, officially.” I smile. “Specifically hers.”
He tilts his head to one side and peers at me. “You like working for Longdale.” It’s as if he likes that about me.
“It’s home. I mean Longdale is home, but also work is home, too. I want the city manager position. Rich McClain? He moved away from Longdale for several years. Not that that matters, exactly. But I’ve lived and breathed Longdale since birth.”
“You’re a much more qualified candidate than that Rich guy.”
“I am, he works with the city’s water, so he doesn’t have the experience that I have. But he’s super tight with Mayor Whitten. They sometimes act like Rich has the job already.”
He nods in solidarity. “Rich is the worst.”
“Right? He’s annoying.”
The edges of his eyes crinkle. “You’re going to get the job.”
I’m gutted, desperate. “Maybe, but he does good work. The mayor has mentioned off the cuff that he thinks Rich and I are the top contenders.” I shrug. “One thing I do know? Rich doesn’t have a Longdale memorabilia collection, so there’s at least one thing in my favor.”
“Longdale memorabilia collection? Like your keychains?” His gaze is glowing, like he likes that about me.
My mouth curves into a smile. “And books and posters and t-shirts I’ve found at yard sales and whatnot. If it’s got the word ‘Longdale’ on it, I probably own some version of it.”
He begins to laugh, shaking his head slowly.
“What? Do you think I’m a nerd?”
“No. It’s admirable, that’s all.” He shifts in the sand and folds forward a little so he’s closer to me. He holds out both hands and I curl my legs in a cross-legged position so I can grasp them. He stares into my eyes. “If Rich McClain doesn’t have a Longdale memorabilia collection, and he’s notyou,then he’s not good enough, and you deserve this job,” he says with a grin. And then he sobers. “I can feel your protectiveness of this town in your very soul.”
I swallow hard, then give a nervous laugh. How does he know that? “Well, I suppose you’re right. It’s sort of in the job description, in a way.”
His head tilts to one side as his mouth curves in a slight smile. “It’s more than just a job for you, though. It’s part of what makes youyou.”
“It’s true. I could be happy working here for the rest of my career. The ideal scenario? A family and a job with the city, maybe not full time.” I stop to draw in a gentle breath. “I’ve spent so long pretending I don’t care about getting married that this is bizarre saying these things to you.”
