Carl watched the meeting as it swirled around him. It was far livelier than the city council meetings usually were. There were nearly one hundred and fifty people present. A crowd that felt passionately.
It took Carl a moment to recognize the lady now speaking. Turner’s Annie; that’s who she was.
Annie had a lot to say, and he had to hand it to her. She’d handled herself better than he had thought she could. She was so quiet and shy; it was easy to overlook her.
If a man wasn’t discerning enough to see her for the intelligent woman she was.
From what he’d seen of her around the hospital, she probably was a good fit for Turner. A bit on the young side for the mayor, but a smart politician could make that work. Turner was idealistic in a lot of ways. A young, innocent woman would be more his speed than one who had been a bit more jaded by the world. Carl could understand that.
She’d be a pretty thing, standing beside Turner as he campaigned again. Maybe with a few pretty babies playing around their knees. Turner would be a good father. That was something Carl was easily convinced of. A natural.
And as a nurse, one who’d been injured in the storm, many of the Finley Creek citizens would relate to her just fine.
If Turner even planned to run. Carl would have to ask him that.
Carl had briefly considered vying for the top town position, but with what had happened to Jason and how his grandson needed help dealing with the trauma associated with his closest friend’s injuries, Carl just couldn’t justify the time the city would need now.
Not with the storm and it’s aftereffects.
Better a man unencumbered for now.
Jennifer would just have to get over it.
Or run herself. Like she’d been planning.
It had been a nice evening they’d shared, after the dinner at which he’d told her he didn’t plan to run for mayor.
She’d laughed and teased him about knowing she would be the better candidate. The two of them had always had a slightly competitive relationship. And it was truth; he had liked challenging her when he could. They were both cerebral people, liking the chess game that business ultimately was.
It was a strong relationship, one that had lasted fourteen years now. But it would always remain competitive.
They fed off it.
Carl was worried about her. What her husband had done had greatly shaken her. How could it not?
You didn’t sleep next to a man for thirty-something years and never realize he could kill. That had shaken her confidence in ways Carl didn’t know how to fix. Thank God Wallace hadn’t killed anyone.
He didn’t think Jennifer would have been able to live with the knowledge of that.
He wanted to fix things for her. Despite her slightly chilly personality and her manipulative ways, he loved her. He always would.
He would give her time to get over what Wallace had done to her, give her time for the publicity to die down from it, then he would ask her to divorce her husband and be with him the way she should have years ago.
Carl was looking forward to it. They’d take care of Jason together and have the sort of life she deserved.
But first, Turner looked like he could use a bit of help with Annie. Carl stepped in to do what he could.