Page 71 of The Library of Second Chances
“Mr. Lancaster, as you so bluntly informed us when you were working for the town, we have a history as a city of doing a poor job acting as landlord or running extraneous business operations. What makes you think we could take all this on?”
Logan began flipping through the financial package in front of him. “If you could all please turn to page four.”
As he waited for everyone to flip through their packets, he looked up at Lucy and smiled. He couldn’t wait to see her reaction to this next part. It would tell him everything he needed to know.
Looking back to the council, who all seemed to have found the right page, he continued. “Line item nine is the salary for a director of external operations. I’ve factored that number into the budget projections because I do think you need to hire someone to run these new ventures.” He cleared his throat. “And I think that person should be me.”
Logan caught a satisfied smile on Mayor Jenkins’s face as the council members began to confer with one another quietly. He held his breath as he turned to see Lucy’s reaction. He couldn’t remember wanting something so badly since he’d seen the thick USC envelope in his mailbox that signified he was leaving the farm for big-city life.
Now, he couldn’t imagine anything that would make him happier than settling down in this tiny town and sailing off into the sunset with Lucy Sullivan. Her hand was covering her mouth, and tears were shining in her eyes. When she dropped her hand, a smile lit up her face and he was finally able to exhale.
But he wasn’t finished yet. After the council said they’d take his proposal into consideration, he spoke again.
“I have one more proposal for the town. It’s more of a formality, actually.” He glanced back at Lucy, who was tilting her head again, probably trying to guess what was next. “I’ve entered into an agreement with the Heron Isle Historic Foundation to purchase the historic Hill House on Fifth Street. We’ll be fully restoring the house to serve as the town’s library and repository for the foundation’s historical documents. I’m here tonight to ask that you allow us to use the name from the original library since the town technically owns the name.”
No one bothered to whisper anymore. Everyone in the room seemed to be talking all at once, but he only cared about one person’s reaction. Pam had an arm around Lucy’s shoulders and was squeezing her while they talked excitedly. Then Lucy looked up with tears sliding down her cheeks, even as she smiled the biggest, brightest smile he’d ever seen. He thought he would burst if he didn’t get to wrap his arms around her very soon.
The council agreed to consider this proposal, but Mayor Jenkins had already told him that that part of his plan would be a piece of cake. The town would gladly allow someone else to take up the library if it didn’t rely on any funding from its coffers, which he’d clearly spelled out in the proposal in their hands.
The remainder of the meeting felt as if it lasted hours, but was barely more than twenty minutes. Lucy was out of her seat and at his side before the mayor had even turned off his mic.
“I don’t know what to say.” Her eyes were glassy. She was shaking her head so hard her earrings made a jingling sound that reminded him of the bells on her store’s front door. “When did you come up with all this?”
Before he could answer, others were stopping by to slap him on the back and thank him for continuing to fight for thewaterfront. Doug and Helen had made sure the crowd knew it was Logan’s idea to look for the shell middens.
“Let’s go outside.” He put a hand on the small of her back and guided her toward the doors at the back of the room. The feel of her skin under her thin blouse made all his muscles go tight, his jaw clenching as he fought the urge to turn her around and kiss her right then and there. He dropped his hand and immediately missed the contact with her.
Once they were outside, he gave her a quick rundown of everything that had happened since the last meeting—the trip to Boston, Fuller’s idea about the shell middens, calling Gladys, meeting Sidney at Helen’s house—everything except how the book she’d left for Gatsby’s Ghost had led him straight to what he needed to save the waterfront. He’d tell her that soon enough.
“I can’t believe you did all that. So now you’re staying? Here on Heron Isle?” She looked up at him through her thick lashes.
He longed to touch her again, to put a hand behind her head and pull her in close to kiss her. Swallowing hard, he remembered she still didn’t know everything. One last hurdle stood between him and everything he wanted in life.
“Looks that way.” He smiled, stuffing his hands in his pockets to keep from reaching out to touch her.
“But I thought you wanted to move to Boston? Isn’t there some big job there?”
“There is.” He shrugged. “But I don’t want it. I found everything I need here.” He searched her eyes, hoping she could read between the lines.
A small smile was playing on Lucy’s lips when she suddenly jumped and looked at her watch.
“I’m so sorry. I have to go. I promised to meet someone. I—” She looked sheepish suddenly.
“Well, don’t let me keep you.” He motioned toward the street. “We’ll catch up later. I need to talk to some people anyway.”
She hesitated before going down the stairs, as if she was debating whether she should go.
“Hey, let me ask you something.” He had to do this. “If we’d met some other way, if we hadn’t been fighting on opposite sides of this waterfront thing for so long, do you think maybe… I don’t know. Do you think you would have said yes if I’d asked you out for a drink?”
Looking down at her shoe as she tapped the toe against the stair above the one she was standing on, she bit her lip. Seconds felt like minutes before she looked up at him again, giving him a small smile.
“I’m sorry. I’ve gotta go. I’m supposed to meet him in a few minutes.”
With that, she scrambled down the stairs and hurried off to meet Gatsby’s Ghost.
Thirty
Lucy
