“The election is only a few days away now.” Kendall slid into the other side of the booth. Her skin was tan from a week spent on a beach in Cancún for her honeymoon. She and Brice had returned late last night.
“I’ll be happy when it’s all over.” Claire took a swig of her peanut butter chocolate malt. They’d picked to meet at Cherry Top Café for lunch instead of their usual Saturday morning coffee date. Kendall’s plane had been delayed and she’d wanted to sleep in. Being the weekend, the café was packed.
The restaurant smelled of grease and fried cheese, and something about that mixture was oddly comforting.
Kendall eyed her. “Are you prepared for either outcome?”
Claire bobbed her head. “I honestly don’t care which one of us wins come Monday. Evan loves Goose Harbor. If he becomes the mayor he’ll do everything he can to keep this place wonderful. And if I win, that’s great, too.”
“This is a one-eighty from the last time we talked.” She stole one of Claire’s fries and twirled it in a circle. “Not that I’m complaining. Warm and fuzzy suits you, but what gives?”
Kendall was Claire’s only close girlfriend and she’d been bursting to tell someone the truth. How she felt about Evan was not a topic of conversation her mother would welcome, and she definitely wasn’t going to call Jason to discuss it. That left only Kendall.
“I love him. I don’t know what else to say. But that changes everything. I love Evan.”
“Claire!” Kendall snatched her hand and squeezed hard enough to feel like she might dislocate something. “I prayed for this! Evan told me about your guys’ past, but I felt like there was more for you two. I told him to be careful with your heart, but I do believe his intentions are good.”
Kendall had been praying for them? Claire’s heart swelled.
“We decided to wait until after the election, but...I can’t imagine a future without him next to me.” She’d had a difficult enough time convincing herself not to invent a reason to show up at his business or on his doorstep every day during the last week. Evan had worked his way into her life, her thoughts, her heart so completely. “Do you know what I mean?”
“Hello!” Kendall wiggled her ring finger. “Gonna have to say I understand completely.” She folded her hands on the table. “I’m so happy. Look at this stupid grin.” She pointed at her wide, goofy smile. “I’m so proud of you. After Brice explained, I wasn’t sure how you’d react when you found out about their plans.”
Claire dragged her last fry through the ketchup. “Whose plans?”
Kendall blew her bangs out of her eyes. “You know, how if Evan becomes mayor he’s going to work it so Brice can build another dock in town. That’s the entire reason he’s running. Didn’t he tell you about it?”
“He didn’t.”
“Oh.” Kendall’s grin disappeared. “He didn’t?”
Claire fought against the frustration bubbling inside her. Kendall had kept that from her?
She pushed her plate to the center of the table. “Why didn’t you?”
“Brice told me while we were on vacation.” Kendall wove a napkin through her fingers. She started to tear off little shreds. “I had no clue before then. Promise. I’d been busy with wedding plans.”
Claire believed Kendall and her heart went out to her friend. Kendall was forced to walk a tightrope between the man she loved and the woman she’d become best friends with. Now that Kendall was married, Brice would always come first. That’s how it should be.
Claire ran her fingers through her hair and began to tug, and then froze. That mannerism belonged to Evan and she wanted no part of it. “That will hurt my father’s business in town.”
If Brice built a dock and offered cheaper rates, everyone would pull off of both of the Atwood docks. Brice could undercut them significantly to woo clients. A significant part of her father’s income came from fees collected on products being shipped in and out of Goose Harbor through the docks.
“Well, it’s a monopoly right now.” Kendall tore into a second napkin. “Do you think that’s the best for everyone?”
“I work for my father’s company at the moment, so it’s my job to care about him losing revenue.” Dad losing money wasn’t what bothered her, though. It wasn’t what made it feel as if someone had stuck screws into her chest and turned them. If Evan had been honest and told her the plan, if he’d trusted her... But it had all been a lie, hadn’t it?
“I can’t believe this. Evan...” She gasped. “That’s what this was all about. My dad was right. All along.”
A vent overhead kicked on and started to spew hot air. Being inside was stifling. Tightness clawed up Claire’s sides. The homey grease smell now made her gag. She needed fresh air. Needed to be alone.
Claire tossed cash onto the table and gathered her belongings. “I have to go.”
Kendall caught her arm. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry.”
Claire nodded once and then turned and rushed out of the café.
How many times had Dad told her that all people would view her in relation to what they could get from him? It would always be about her dad. Evan’s sweet words, all the romantic moments and reliving of the past they’d done had been for him to—once again—get something for his brother. He’d used Claire, and worse, he’d used Alex.
Perhaps her father hadn’t been lying about him reversing the blackmail, either.
She checked her watch. Two hours until the meeting at town hall.
Two hours until she exposed a rat.
* * *
Evan dragged his shoes through the snow, slowing the swing. He’d been outside waiting for thirty minutes in a coat that wasn’t quite warm enough for lengthy exposure.
Claire would show. Of course she would show.
What if she didn’t?
Is this how she’d felt on the courthouse steps?
He stomped his feet to warm up. Checked his phone again. No new messages. Today she hadn’t responded to any of his texts, which was odd, especially for a Saturday. Then again, her father was still in the hospital and she was probably there with him. Or Alex had a Scouts meeting. There were a number of reasons.
Ten minutes ago, Evan had watched people stream into the town hall. He pictured Mr. Banks pacing the stage, looking for them.
Where are you?
He waited five more minutes. Two more after that. Looked at his phone again.
Worry roared in his chest and pounded in his ears. What if something had happened to her? Maybe someone inside town hall knew what was going on. He jogged down the path, across the square and into the building.
Claire’s voice filled the meeting room. “My opponent doesn’t care about this town. Not like he’s led you to believe.”
Concerned murmurs bounced around the room. People shook their heads and turned to whisper with their neighbors.
Her gaze scanned the room, landing on certain people, making eye contact. “Once he takes office, his plans are to use his political position to grant special favors and permits to members of his family. That has been his aim all along. He plans to destroy long-standing businesses so he can give money to the people he deems worthy.”
Oh, no. The dock.
Sickness rolled like a lopsided soccer ball through his gut. He should have come clean to her about Brice pushing him to run and why. But it hadn’t come up and once they started spending time together, it had been the furthest thing from his mind.
She finally spotted him in the back of the room. Her eyes bored into his. “Evan Daniels knows nothing beyond using and manipulating people. He pretends to care, only as long as it benefits him.”
Evan’s knees wobbled. He grabbed on to a nearby chair for support. He finally found his voice. “Let me explain. Please, Claire.” Every head whipped in his direction. As if he was facing a pack of circling wolves, he held up his hands.
Mr. Banks loudly cleared his throat. “Please refrain from delaying us with any more outbursts. You’ll have your turn, Mr. Daniels. When Miss Atwood is done with the floor.”
Overhead lights made the moisture in her eyes gleam. “With the tourist season dawning, we can’t afford to trust our future to someone who only looks out for himself. Who believes love is a commodity. Goose Harbor is better than that. Vote with a conscience.”
A smattering of applause followed her retreat from the podium. She backed toward the edge of the stage, where Evan knew there was a door to a narrow staircase. The din of confused and curious neighbors talking to each other made it impossible to think.
Evan zigzagged around people standing in the aisle. He hopped over a chair and made it to the back staircase just in time to hook Claire’s arm. “Why didn’t you come to me with that?”
Spinning on her heels, she shoved his hand off her arm. “Why didn’t you tell me? No, don’t bother answering that. I don’t care. Not about this election. Not about what people think of me. And certainly not about whatever sob story full of excuses you want to share.”
He jammed his hands into his hair. Rocked on his feet. “I know it looks bad.”
Her glare could have melted granite. “All the attention, the late night talks, the kiss and your time spent with Alex—all lies, all an act, so Brice could have a stupid little dock.”
“None of that was an act. I love you. Please, Claire. I love you.”
“You actually think I’d believe you?” Her laugh held no humor. “How’s the saying go? Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice... At least there’s no fear of that. Did you actually think I was dumb enough to fall for you again? Well, I’m not.” She gripped the railing and turned away from him.
The door behind Evan whooshed open.
Mr. Banks sopped at his forehead with a grimy handkerchief. “It’s high time you took the stage, Mr. Daniels. People are liable to riot if you don’t do something to calm them!”
Evan kept his gaze glued to Claire’s back, willing her to turn around, to hear him out.
“Go.” Her voice was pure ice.
“Claire.”
“I’m busy, Mr. Daniels. I have to go explain to a seven-year-old boy that the man he believes to be a hero is a liar who can’t be trusted. I have to go tell him that another person in his life wasn’t worth getting attached to. I have to—” A sob broke off her words. Claire rushed down the steps.
Banks seized Evan’s arm before he could follow. “There is a roomful of townspeople in there.”
The back door slammed. Claire was gone.
Evan bowed his head and finally nodded, following Banks back into the meeting room. He held his hands up to quiet the crowd. “Claire was right. I only sought the position at my brother’s urging and we do dream of building another dock in town and thought me being mayor couldn’t hurt our chances at getting approval granted. However, as of this moment I am stepping out of the mayoral race. Claire remains blameless in all of this. She is a strong and determined leader who could do our community proud. Vote for her.”