Page 64 of Fourth Heartwarmers Trilogy
Jack swept the older woman close so they could share a group hug. “So, you approve?”
“Are you kidding me? I’m claiming cupid status, first class. Having you two together is my dream. I’d seriously begun to wonder if I needed to give you lessons, Jack.”
Laughing, he fell into her ploy. “What kind of lessons?”
“On how to snag a female, of course. I’m glad you finally got your sh… stuff together. I recognized long ago that you kids deserved each other.”
“Well, we’re glad we’ve made you happy.”
“If you think I’m over the moon, wait until Maisie finds out you’ll be her papa, Jack. She’s been asking about why she doesn’t have a daddy. All the other kids in the park have one. Poor pet’s a bit lonely surrounded by only adults who are too busy to give her the time she needs. But this will give her something to focus on.”
“Good. I adore the little princess. If having me around full time will make her life better, it’s a bonus.”
Mia noticed a group of councilmen looking their way with a determination she couldn’t miss. They wanted Jack’s attention. She quickly gathered Angie and Mark and gave Jack’s hand a squeeze. “We won’t hog your time, Jack. We’ll catch up later.”
Chapter Forty-four
The day flew past for Jack until they released the news that he’d won by a landslide. To celebrate, he invited his clan of supporters who’d spent the day working beside him at the office, plus his soon to be new family to his favorite place where they served the best hamburgers and pizzas in town.
Once everyone grabbed a seat, Mia’s next to his, he cuddled Maisie on his knee, relieved to be able to catch up with the kid. Knowing that if his smile grew any larger, he’d look like a goofy clown, he gave the child his full attention while she chattered on about having him as her weally new daddy.
Before the jokes, celebratory beer clinks and continuous laughter stopped, the chief appeared alongside three councilmen. “Can we talk to you for a few minutes in private, Jack?”
Seeing the unmistakable frowns on each face, suddenly sober, he followed the men to a quiet place at the end of the bar where they were able to find an empty booth.
“Does anyone want some refreshments?” Jack broke into the ugly silence.
Each of the men ordered a beer and once they’d delivered the drinks, the small talk ended. Chief Driver began to speak. “These gentlemen have asked me to accompany them tonight because of the strange circumstances the city faces. You know that during a normal election, the incumbent would continue in office for a specific number of weeks in order to finalize his duties and leave the office in a good state for the new mayor?”
“Yes, of course. It’s routine.”
“Yeah, well, there’s been a glitch in those plans. Mayor Lotborn left the country sometime in the last twelve hours after trashing his office so bad it looks like a pack of vandals have gone berserk. Many files have been destroyed, and he’s stolen others. The place is in a hell of a mess, Jack.”
Anger struck instantly. Bastard! Jack leaned back in his seat. “How did you find out?”
Ed Snowton answered. As the longest serving councilman, his authority was unquestionable. “I went to his office not long after the announcement of your victory to request some of the files I knew he had. The man’s a lunatic, Jack. He’s been on the edge for some time. The rest of us had become so concerned, we’d taken to having doubles made of the files on his computer and even the backup paper files. Damn good thing we did it too.”
Jack held his beer high. “Here’s to you having the good sense to take steps.”
“Don’t get me wrong here, we didn’t get them all. There’s still enough missing, it’s going to create a hell of a problem. That’s where we need you.”
“Excuse me? I’m not even getting sworn in until after Christmas. It’s been a long haul. My arm’s still in this annoying sling most of the time when I’m not in public. I have a business that desperately needs me to step in to administer directions forwhen I’m no longer available all day. And, I haven’t had any time with my personal life either. These next weeks were going to give me breathing space to get organized before taking office.”
Chief Driver broke into the discussion. “We get that, Jack. We wouldn’t have come to you if we could see any other way of making this okay. But there isn’t. We can’t leave everything hanging, it’s too dangerous. Not with the iffy players that Lotborn had lined up on a rampage. They expected him to win, and they had a lot of money riding on that fact. Now they’re angry, and we need a representative to deal with this mess.”
Jack slowly placed his empty bottle on the table so he wouldn’t follow his urge to throw it across the room. “And… the people elected me. Is that what you’re saying?”
“Pretty much.”
“The council took a quick vote. We want you to take over your duties as soon as tomorrow. We’ll help you all we can, but you’re ultimately the man with the power.” The older councilman’s hand shook, and his bloodshot eyes screamed his age. High blood pressure symptoms appeared as if written across his forehead. He couldn’t take on these responsibilities.
Driver didn’t let up. “Dammit, Jack, the man had the morals of a thieving lunatic who’d go the distance in getting what he wanted – slimy son of a bitch. Heaven knows what he did while in control. We need an honest man to clean house. I hope you’ll agree to step in early and take up the reins.”
Jack hesitated and felt embarrassed for doing so. But he’d had so many plans during these free weeks. He needed to get healthy again. He wanted to spend a lot of time with Mia and woo her like he’d planned before asking her to marry him. And, he felt terrible about leaving Maisie on her own so much. Whenever he appeared, she followed him around like a lost little puppy needing attention. If he agreed to take on these duties early, he might as well write off all those plans.
He looked around the table, at the expressions of those who came begging. “I’m going to say yes, but with one condition.”
“Anything within reason, Jack,” Ed Snowton’s voice cracked.
