Page 60 of Fourth Heartwarmers Trilogy
“You’ll see. Right now, I need to concentrate on the election. Can Mark drive me to the news conference this morning? I don’t want you, Mia or Maisie in the same car. And that’s not negotiable.”
“Brian said he’d be back to pick you up – him and some of the boys who hung out here last night. Your assistant is a good guy, Jack. He’s taken our safety seriously, and your crew has too. Don’t you worry, Pard. We’re as safe as we can be on the Ponderosa.”
Laughing, just the way she planned, he felt a weight lifted. Staying away from the people he loved most hadn’t been what he’d wanted to do. But, their safety had to be his first concern.
Now that the choice had been taken away from him, his heart began thumping when the side door to the kitchen opened and a little lady’s voice rang with glee.
“Jack. You’we hewe! Mia come see. Jack’s hewe!”
Chapter Thirty-nine
Once she heard Maisie’s exclamation, Mia’s feet stopped moving. Trembling, standing on the veranda outside of the kitchen, she hesitated. Her nerves began prickling all over her body, so much so, that she leaned against the doorframe. Did she face him and get it over with? See his rejection yet again.
Or run?
She ran, calling over her shoulder, “I forgot my… umm, phone. Be right back.”
Except she didn’t come back before she saw him being picked up by Brian and whisked away, probably to the news conference they intended to disrupt.
Rushing, she entered the kitchen to see Angie in a panic to get moving. “Where have you been, girl? We need to leave. I promised Jack we’d show up for support. Besides, I want to boo Lowborn, the jerk who tried to hurt my boy. I’ll see him in hell before I’ll let him near Jack again.”
In total agreement with Angie’s sentiments, Mia coaxed Maisie to stay with the ladies who’d just arrived to start work, offering her a treat for dinner and new shoes to wear with their matching dresses for the election. If she’d just wait until after lunch to go shopping – her favorite pastime now that she feared the pool – it would make Mia very happy. That promise always worked with the little darling.
Even though Jack had coaxed her into the water a few times while they’d worked on Angie’s new garden, she’d clung to his neck and hadn’t let go. At least the tears had stopped. It was a start. Now more than ever, they needed to overcome her terror and teach her to swim. Baths were also a thing of the past. It was showers only since the day she’d almost drowned.
Letting go of the horrifying memory, Mia sat in the back of the car while Mark again took the wheel. It seemed only moments before they hit town and were striding to the front of the City Hall building where the mayor had arranged for the podium to be placed.
Mia looked everywhere for Jack and Brian, but the crowd formed quickly, noisily, angrily in some cases. Many were cameramen with equipment and reporters waving cellphones, so she couldn’t pick him out.
“Jack must be waiting in one of the vehicles down the street. See the police cars at the end of the block. I bet he’s with them.” Mark pointed to where they were setting up road blocks to keep the traffic out of the immediate area.
Soon, the crowd had become so large, it was impossible to move from their spots near the front, where Angie had forced a path by pushing, cajoling and jollying their way through.
A group of men appeared coming out of the government building; leading them was Matt Lotborn, his suit immaculate, his shoes shined, and his white hair styled with lacquer and a side part so the unexpected breeze made no impact whatsoever.
He walked up to the mic, turned to one of the councilmen and reached for the speech he let the other pass over.
Angie leaned close so she’d be heard. “He never writes his own stuff, makes Ned Crawler do the work for him.”
Mia didn’t say anything, being too busy trying to spot Jack, but she heard Mark’s sarcastic reply. “Can he write? I researched where he failed in school a few years and was put forward because of Mommy’s money and Daddy’s influence.”
Angie giggled. “See, you’re not just a pretty face after all.” She high-fived with Mark, and then the mayor began to speak.
“I have it on good authority that Jack Markham is in the hospital, suffering untold problems due to a driving incident yesterday where he ran his truck into the side of a hill.”
The crowd’s dismayed reaction showed how much they cared about Jack.
Interrupting, Matt continued, “As you all know, this is his second accident in a very short time. So, either the man can’t be trusted behind the wheel because he’s a danger on the road. Or he’s a terrible driver and shouldn’t be responsible for any motor vehicle. My last explanation is most likely the correct one. Could be he’s been imbibing due to the immense stress placed on him from this election.”
Anger began showing on the faces of the folks listening.
“Now, ladies and gentlemen, if Mr. Markham can’t be trusted to drive a car safe and sober, how can the self-injured man be trusted to run your government?”
Boos aimed at Lotborn were now heard coming from every direction until a voice broke through that garnered the crowd’s instant attention.
“Funny you should mention distrust, Mayor. How can we trust a man who lies to his constituents like you’ve just done?” Jack appeared from behind the steps where he must have been waiting all along. Dressed in a dark, well-fitting, modern suit,dress shirt, and tie; with his hair groomed to make the most of his handsome face, he appeared like a politician worthy of the people’s trust. He carried a microphone in his hand so everyone could hear his words.
The next few minutes were up there with other best memories to be cherished. Like the climactic scene in a blockbuster movie, Jack held everyone’s attention.
