Page 7 of The Library of Second Chances
David Stallings, as he’d introduced himself, made a beeline to Logan as soon as the meeting adjourned.
“My family has been building on this island for three generations. Let me know if you want to sit down and work on some plans,” he said, practically salivating at the idea of building something new.
David was the first and last friendly face Logan would see. Lucy’s speech had flipped the scales in her favor. Others passed by him scowling, shaking their heads.
“Outsider,” one elderly woman muttered as she passed him, spitting it out like a curse word. It was clear the town didn’t like outsiders meddling in their business, but it had been expected. It would just require a more personal approach.
Helen Bowman, head of the local tree conservancy, stopped next to introduce herself.
“Do let me know when you have time to meet. We have a few concerns I’d like to share with you.”
She was nice enough, but Logan wasn’t sure why the tree conservancy even had a dog in this fight. There weren’t really any trees in the area, just a few scattered palms in the parking lots that flanked either side of the marina. In his experience, tree conservancies were worried about things like live oaks and cypress. He’d never worked in Florida before. Maybe palm trees warranted some protection here, although he knew they weren’t that difficult to relocate.
Helen was in the middle of a lengthy explanation about the difference between a sabal palm and a sago palm when Lucy headed toward the door. She was surrounded by the same people he’d seen her sitting with, several of whom had gotten up to speak and introduced themselves as downtown business owners. He tried to catch her eye without being rude to the tree conservancy woman, but Lucy seemed to be making a concerted effort not to look at him. Before he could break free from Helen, the business owners group had slipped out the door.
Logan went outside as soon as he finished with Helen, hoping Lucy had stopped outside to talk to someone. He was disappointed to find the sidewalk empty in both directions and none of her group in sight. His shoulders slumped, but his stomach reminded him he didn’t have time to hang around. Besides, he needed more time to research Lucy Sullivan and find out what made her tick. Then he could figure out how to get her—and the other downtown business owners—on his side.
So what if that meant he had to spend a little extra time with this particular resident? It was just business. Sure, it was business with a woman he hadn’t stopped thinking about since she’d tripped off the sidewalk and scurried across the street earlier, but it wasn’t like he could avoid working with the president of the Downtown Business Owners Council just because she had a cute smile and smelled like a sunny afternoon. He was a professional. A professional who had this one final shot to salvage his career. Nothing—and no one—was going to get in the way of that.
Four
Lucy
Lucy trailed behind Pam, Bob, and Pete as they walked down to the Waterway Café for dinner after the meeting. She still couldn’t believe the handsome man with the dazzling emerald eyes—whom she’d let herself believe, if only for a moment, resembled Prince Charming—was actually the man the town had brought in to shove a new development down their throats. But it was just her luck.
“Yeah, that’s exactly what we need,” Bob was saying ahead of her. “Some big-city lawyer or planner or whatever he is coming in to tell us how our town should be.”
“Clearly the entire council is dead set on development, not just Councilman Turner,” Pam said, referring to the lone developer on the council. “This guy is just like all the others they’ve brought in to do presentations.”
“He’s at least better looking though, right?” Pete turned back to the ladies and patted his right hand over his heart. “Did you see those eyes? Be still my heart.”
Pam laughed. “Don’t let Frank hear you say that.” Frank was Pete’s longtime partner.
“What?” Pete shrugged. “I’m allowed to look.”
Pam nudged Lucy. “I caught him looking at you more than once. Maybe you can charm him onto our side.”
Lucy grimaced, a bitter taste filling her mouth. Before she could answer, Mildred Banks, who owned the Waterway Café with her husband Marty, opened the door to the restaurant to greet them. “Come on in, y’all.”
“Hi, Mildred,” Lucy said, stopping to hug the older lady.
“I heard about the meeting,” Mildred said. “Marty’s in back filleting fish. That’s what he does when he’s really upset.”
“Tell him to make enough for me too.” Bob chuckled. “I tend to bang nails into a board when I’m mad. At least Marty’s doing something productive.”
“I’ll tell him y’all are here in case he wants to come out and commiserate.” Mildred took them to a table in the far-right corner where they’d have some privacy. A few tourist couples and one family were sitting in the opposite corner where they could overlook the water. The views at the Waterway Café were nearly as good as the food.
A weathered blue-gray building perched atop tall stilts that extended out of the marina’s docks, the restaurant looked a bit like their island’s namesake, the great blue heron. Eating there after a meeting that could lead to the restaurant’s destruction was bittersweet. All three of the previous plans had included demolishing the current docks and restaurant in favor of all new builds. The Waterway Café was welcome to lease one of the new spaces, but it wouldn’t be the same—not in atmosphere or price.
Steve, one of the servers who’d been at the restaurant for at least the past decade, came to take their drink orders. Sweet teas for Bob and Pam, lemonade for Lucy, and champagne for Pete.Lucy raised an eyebrow at Pete’s order, but he was too busy chatting with Steve to notice.
“I’ve been thinking about what we should do,” Lucy said. “Clearly they’re going to move forward with something with or without us, so we need to make sure our voices are heard this time.”
“What did you have in mind?” Bob asked.
“I think we all have to get on the same page about what we want. Best-case scenario, what goes into this new development? How big is it? How do we make sure it’s environmentally friendly? What kind of aesthetic do we want?”
“Getting all the downtown owners on the same page is a bit like herding cats,” Pam said.
