Ten minutes into the presentation, Savannah deeply regretted not paying more attention to what Mike had tried to tell her.
Ten minutes.
And she was ready to scream.
It didn’t matter that the presentation was geared toward shop owners and the city council. In compliance with the town’s bylaws, the mayor had no choice but to publicly post the meeting time. Now Savannah understood why Sadie had apologized for doing so. This was crazy.
The room was small to begin with, but the inadequate space hadn’t prevented people from cramming themselves into every nook and cranny. It was hot and sticky. They didn’t know where to stow their jackets. Tempers were short. A number of the older residents in attendance had hearing problems. Half of what Savannah said, she was asked to repeat.
One city council member was out of town. The other four sat in the front along with the mayor. In the row behind them were the merchants who owned stores on Main Street, as well as the B & B owners. Representing the Sundance ranch were Rachel Gunderson and her sister-in-law Jamie, and they couldn’t be a more welcome addition.
Lucky for Nina, she’d left earlier for the Kalispell airport. Much to Savannah’s annoyance, Ron had decided to hang around. He was sitting to her right at the card table that had been provided for her laptop and water. At the rate things were going, she’d need a sleeping bag, too. The presentation was going to take all night.
“The importance of curb appeal can’t be emphasized enough,” Savannah continued, her PowerPoint, running behind her on the ancient screen, showed signs that were ragged or had letters missing and a few buildings with no signage at all. “We have statistics that—”
“I can’t hear you.” A tobacco-roughened voice came from somewhere in the back. “You need to speak up, girl.”
Before Savannah could respond, Rachel got to her feet and turned to the crowd. “Was that you, Earl?” Not a peep. “All right, everyone who wears a hearing aid, raise your hand.”
A few people complied.
“Is that it? Really?” Rachel clearly didn’t care who got out of line, she called them on it. Everyone knew she was pregnant and short on patience. They didn’t want to get her too riled.
Several more hands went up.
“Okay, now, who’s supposed to be wearing one but forgot it at home?”
Most of the older folks glanced around at each other, waiting for someone else to go first.
“Come on, people, give me a show of hands if you forgot your hearing aid.”
One brave soul did as she asked.
“Well, Ernie, how do you expect to hear what’s being said? Evidently you don’t, that’s fine.” She swept her gaze around the room. “As for the rest of you, since you all are wearing your hearing aids, you don’t need to be interrupting and asking Ms. James to repeat every blessed thing, do you?”
Lots of muttering, but no one challenged her. Rachel sat and gave Savannah a nod.
Savannah remembered a little about her from the short time they’d gone to the same school. Even though Rachel had been one of the popular kids, unlike the other girls she’d always been friendly. Just as she had when she’d welcomed them to the Sundance ranch yesterday.
“As I was saying, curb appeal,” Savannah said, returning to the PowerPoint slide. “Those of you who own businesses here in town might find it interesting that roughly 70 percent of first-time sales come from curb appeal. Now, how that applies to Blackfoot Falls is something—”
A hand shot up somewhere in the middle of the crowd, despite Sadie having asked everyone to save their questions for the end.
But that wasn’t what distracted Savannah. Mike had just slipped into the room and found a place along the wall.
Sadie and two council members turned their heads to see what had sidetracked Savannah. She quickly refocused on the arm, now waving frantically.
“Yes?” she said.
A little old man got to his feet. “My wife wants to know—ouch.” Presumably the white-haired woman, who’d just smacked his arm, was the wife. “Does all this mean you and your beau won’t be getting hitched in the town square?”
Savannah sent Ron a scathing glance, not caring that he looked repentant. She was about to ask him if he’d like to explain it to the audience when Sadie stood and faced the man.
“For pity’s sake, Horace. And you, too, Ethel.” Sadie nodded at the woman. “You have no reason to be here, let alone ask silly questions.” The mayor’s gaze swept the room. “From now on, only shopkeepers or those representing them are allowed to ask questions. After the presentation is over. And that’s final.”
A chorus of protests arose from the audience.
“You all heard me. I don’t need to repeat myself.”
“That ain’t fair,” said a man in overalls. “We all pay our taxes, same as the store owners.”
The mayor’s brows shot up in amusement. “You’re sure about that?” She glanced around at all the people who’d suddenly found something fascinating about their boots. “Let me explain one more time to all you stubborn mules. These folks are here to help us attract more tourists. Which means more money for the town.”
“That don’t help us none,” someone grumbled.
“Of course it does, Walt. Don’t be such a knucklehead. We wouldn’t be sitting in here packed like a bunch of smelly sardines if we had money for a new city hall.” A few folks looked as if they took offense to that description, but Sadie didn’t stop. “It’s high time we made improvements around here. Fix up some of these ramshackle buildings and entice folks to reopen their doors or encourage newcomers to start new businesses. Maybe then our young people will stop moving away in droves.”
That seemed to settle down the naysayers.
“But if they’re here to help us, why did they have to lie about who they were?”
Sadie let out a sigh of disgust that filled what little space was left in the room.
Savannah didn’t see who’d asked the question. Not that it mattered. It had been brought up before, and it was kind of worth it just to see Ron squirm. Yesterday’s infantile stunt had brought the curious, as well as the romantic, to the forefront. Otherwise most people wouldn’t have noticed them.
But she was more than happy to let the mayor handle it. She really liked Sadie. Savannah had seen quickly that Sadie wasn’t just a colorful character—the formidable fiftysomething brunette was the perfect person for the job. She truly was one of them, cared about the town and knew just how to handle the residents.
Savannah looked at Mike, and he gave her a sympathetic smile. She didn’t dare smile back. Who knew what people would make of that?
While waiting for Sadie to restore order, she breathed in deeply and thought about the odd connection she felt to Mike. By the time she’d attended the high school, he’d already started college a few hours away. Occasionally, she’d seen him on weekends, and he’d waved from a distance. There was no reason she should feel as if she knew him. Because she didn’t. Not really.
Yet he’d never judged her, which said something about him. And he’d admitted to wondering about her over the years. Mike obviously was a caring person. But again, one tiny drop in the bucket of how much she knew about him.
Anyone would think she’d be more astute when it came to relationships. Her parents had married after knowing each other for a week. No two people could be more different. Talk about a cautionary tale. They were married to other people now, and both of them seemed happy. Still lousy parents, but they’d tried.
“I’m sorry about the interruptions,” Sadie said, after giving the crowd a time-out to settle. “I should’ve known better and scheduled the meeting earlier when folks were still doing their chores.”
“Please, don’t worry about it. We’re fine.” Savannah glanced at Ron, who was frowning at his watch. He’d changed his flight, and now he’d probably miss it. Served him right for insisting on staying. But it wouldn’t serve Savannah at all. “Mayor Thompson, would you excuse me for just a moment?”
Sadie had no sooner nodded when someone else grabbed her attention.
She moved closer to Ron and leaned down. “We’re going to miss our flight,” he said before she got in a word.
Savannah hadn’t mentioned that she’d already changed hers to Sunday afternoon. “Go on ahead. There’s no point in both of us being delayed.”
“I can’t just leave you here.”
“I’m a big girl, Ron. I think I can manage without you.”
“That’s not what I meant. It’s just... I know this is partly my fault.”
“Yes, it is.” She shook her head. “Look, you don’t have to give up your weekend. I don’t have any plans so if I have to stay overnight, it won’t be the end of the world.”
Ron sighed. “We only have one car.”
“Take it. I’m sure the mayor will get me to the Kalispell airport.”
“Hey, I’m sorry,” he said, glancing at his watch again. “I really am.”
Oddly, she believed him. “Promise me you’ll feel like crap all the way to Denver. It’ll make me feel better.”
Ron laughed. “You got it.”
“That doesn’t mean you’re off the hook. You’ll still owe me.”
His smile faded. He looked as if he was about to say something, but changed his mind.
“Go,” she said. “Be safe.” When she straightened, it seemed everyone was staring at the two of them.
She returned to the podium and waited while Ron shook Sadie’s hand and said a few words to her. Then he left the room.
“Where’s he going?” someone asked.
“He’s returning to Denver. I’ll be finishing up here with—”
“Denver? Hell, you didn’t even kiss him goodbye,” the man said. “It’s no wonder he ain’t waiting for you.”
The woman sitting next to him nodded.
Sadie muttered something unintelligible.
Savannah held back a whimper. “Ron is my colleague. He is not—” What was the point? Clearly, these people had selective hearing. “Let’s talk about signage. First, I’m well aware that some of the areas I’m using as examples are under the county’s jurisdiction. However, it affects all of you. There aren’t nearly enough signs telling people where to go or what type of service—”
Smatterings of laughter stopped her.
Not everyone. Just a few here and there seemed to have found something funny about what she’d said.
She paused, waited, her patience slipping.
“We don’t mean no disrespect, miss. But we’re a small town. We all know where we’re going and how to get there. Don’t need signs to tell us.”
Dumbfounded, Savannah stared at the grizzled older man wearing stained coveralls. He looked dead serious. So did the bearded gentleman sitting next to him.
Sadie stood up and turned a glare on them. “She means signs for visitors, you damn fool.”
The men seemed genuinely confused.
Savannah made the mistake of glancing at Mike. His mouth was clamped tight, and he quickly fixed his gaze on his boots.
She was having trouble holding back her own laughter. Afraid she might lose the battle, she looked helplessly at Sadie, who seemed to be having difficulty herself.
“Let’s take a short break,” Sadie managed to get out to the crowd, then glanced at Savannah. “Ten minutes?”
She nodded and prayed she could hold it together for another minute. Turning her back to the grumblings at Sadie’s announcement, she picked up the glass and sipped some water.
“I should’ve filled that with vodka,” Sadie said, wiping a tear from her cheek and eyeing the exodus.
Savannah turned to find half the chairs empty. “Are they leaving?”
“Some are just stretching their legs or grabbing a smoke. Maybe they won’t all come back, but I wouldn’t count on it. Most of the folks who show up to these things only come out of nosiness.”
“I heard that, Mayor Thompson,” Mike said as he joined them. “Better not be talking about me.”
“Don’t you ‘Mayor Thompson’ me.”
He grinned. “I don’t understand why you hate that so much.”
“Not with everybody. I make Earl and Ernie call me that, or just Mayor.” With a little smile, she tilted her head at Savannah. “I asked her to call me Sadie, but she doesn’t and I give her a pass.”
Savannah had just begun to sober. Why that should set her off, she couldn’t say. “Oh, this is terrible,” she murmured, briefly closing her eyes to picture Bambi sadly calling out for his mother. That helped.
Rachel walked up to them and bumped Sadie’s shoulder with hers. “I have to pee so badly. Do not start without me.”
“Go on, girl. We’ll wait.”
“Hey, Mike, long time no see,” Rachel said, walking backward.
“Yep,” he said. “Better watch out—”
She backed into a big, broad cowboy and let out a squeal before plowing her way to the door.
Shaking her head, Sadie turned to Savannah and Mike. “Have you two met?”
“Yes.” Savannah nodded. “At the Full Moon the other night.”
Mike smiled. “You do know Sadie owns the Watering Hole, right?”
“Oh. Yes. Of course. But I’ve been there, too.” She liked seeing him this close, in this light.
They kept looking at each other as if Sadie weren’t standing with them. Savannah hadn’t noticed before that his eyes were flecked with gold.
She finally forced herself to look away and discovered that someone had pulled Sadie aside. Savannah’s gaze returned to Mike’s. Had he looked away at all?
“Tough crowd, huh?”
“Oh, my God. These people are—” She abruptly shut up. After a sobering pause as she glanced around, she asked, “Why are you here?”
“Moral support.”
“For me?”
“Yes, for you,” he said with a crooked grin.
“Thank you.” She felt a nervous laugh coming on and breathed in deeply. “I think you missed Rachel dressing down the crowd. Wow, she doesn’t pull any punches.”
“No, she doesn’t. Neither does Sadie.”
“I could really use those two. Like, all the time.”
“Ah, I think you hold your own.” His voice had lowered and they were back to staring into each other’s eyes. Like they were the only two people in the room. “Are we still on for dinner?”
Savannah’s pulse skittered. “I wish we could leave right now.”
A slight frown drew his brows together as he studied her. “I can’t tell if I should be flattered, or if you’re that anxious to be done with this town.”
“Both,” she said, and reminded herself to take a breath. “But mostly you should be flattered.”