Page 40 of Sunrise

"You take care of her. She needs someone to take care of her for a change," she whispers in my ear. She pulls back and looks me in the eye. I nod, confirming I will before we leave.

Once in the car, I ask Lin. "Ready for this meeting with the mayor?"

"Little late now if I'm not, isn't it?"

Chapter 18

Linly

Kade being in the room during this meeting made me more nervous than I thought I'd be. I knew there was a reason I didn’t want him here, too late for that now. As we walked into the mayor's office, he rubs his hand up my back, trying to calm me, but it has the opposite effect.

It sets my nerves on fire, and my body is highly aware of his every move. My nipples strain against my bra, turned on by him just being next to me. I take a deep breath and try to push all that away, but instead, I can smell him more, his woodsy scent mixed with the salt air from being here. Apparently, that is all my body needs to betray me.

"Okay, Ms. Prescott, let's hear what you have to say," the mayor says once we are in the meeting room.

"I don't have to tell you how important Main Street is. It's the heart of our town. You as mayor know that better than anyone." I pause, and the mayor smiles and nods.

"Main Street is where the tourists flock when they visit us. Where painters sit to capture the magic, photographers constantly working to catch it in the perfect light. It's what brings families here year after year. I feel it's our small-town charm and what sets us apart from other towns. Don't you agree? I mean, who else has a Main Street right against the water?"

"This is all true. What's your point, Lin?"

"Main Street is why our inns are always full and why the town booms during the season. You bring in this new development and the chain stores, and you'll lose that charm. People will stop coming, and it will kill our town." I level with him.

He sits up in his chair. "This development will bring in high-end stores, which means more money for the town," he says.

"But that money doesn't stay in the town like it does now. Now you get your prescriptions, and it goes to a local family who turns around and buys clothes, groceries, and other things here in town. With your plan, you buy your prescriptions, and the money goes to some big CEO out of state."

"But there will be more jobs," he starts again.

"For whom? Teenage clerks? Stock boys? Those are after-school jobs and won't replace the adults you put out of business."

"This developer will pay the town just to put the stores here. More money than is being made now. This will allow us to run better marketing campaigns and bring in new people. Plus, they will be paying a generous fee for the buildings. Enough for many families to retire."

"What marketing campaigns? ‘Come to Seaview where we are no different than Wilmington now'? No one comes here for the city experience. They want to get away from the city."

"The buildings need repairs, and they are going to cost more than they are worth to fix. This is the perfect time for the town to buy them up," he says.

"So, you own none of the buildings? Do you really think the townspeople are just going to sell them to you? We all take pride living here. You aren't going to swoop in and change it. You won't even put this to a vote because you know you'll lose. That should tell you something, Mr. Mayor."

"This isn't the same town your parents lived in. The world is changing. They want new and modern. Your parents would have adapted and understood."

I stand there stunned for a moment. Kade can sense this is my breaking point, and he puts his hand on my waist, trying to calm me or keep me from lunging and wringing the mayor's neck, I'm not sure.

"How dare you! You know nothing about my parents. They loved this town and its charm, how it was busy in the summers and slowed down in the winter. They would be disgusted by this plan. Don't you dare try to pretend you knew them at all."

"I think our meeting is done here, Ms. Prescott," he says, his voice turning cold.

"I think this is far from over, but yes, I'm done with you for now," I grit out, turn and leave.

The walk back to the car is slow, and the drive home quiet. By the time we get back to the inn, the tears I have been fighting the whole way begin to fall.

"Shit," Kade whispers, then tries to pull me to him, but I pull away.

I take off running and don't stop until I get to the beach, where I fall to my knees and start crying. Kade is at my side a moment later, and he wraps his arms around me, and I feel safe. So safe that I can't keep it together anymore. I cry harder and hold on to Kade like he's the only thing grounding me to earth because at this moment, he is.

"My parents loved Main Street," I say once the tears slow down, but I don't move from Kade's arms. My head just rests on his chest, and his chin rests on the top of mine. "It's what they fell in love with and why they built the inns here. They could have gone anywhere else, Myrtle Beach even, and made more money, but it was the town."

Kade rubs his hand slowly up and down my back but doesn't say a word. "This place wasn't as much of a tourist designation until my parents built the inns. The town was split on if it was a good thing or not, but after the first year, they all backed my parents because the town flourished."

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