Until She Met Daniel

by Callie Endicott

  “That’s true.” Some of the tension drained from Lou Ella’s face. “I suppose I’m being silly.”

  “Not at all. You should check things out and be involved. If you’re worried, you can even go the next time the council meets.”

  “That’s a good idea, but they often run late and we don’t drive at night now.”

  “I’ll pick you up,” Mandy offered.

  “You’re a dear to offer. And you’re probably right—we should get more facts.”

  Mandy tried to nod cheerfully as Lou Ella left the office. Gulping some coffee, she wondered if she should check the meeting minutes herself. Susan emailed her a copy and she normally just moved it into another folder without reading—she genuinely did hate anything having to do with politics.

  Pulling up her email inbox on the computer, she found that as usual, Susan had already sent copies to everyone on the mailing list. She opened the file and read through the minutes. Hmm. The weekly newspaper’s article hadn’t mentioned Big Joe Jensen being at the meeting, urging the council to move in a hurry.

  Ouch. No wonder Chris Russell was uptight. He and his father-in-law were always on opposing sides of issues that affected the environment. But there was one positive thing the seniors would appreciate—the mayor had mentioned the possibility of federal grants for any project that got approved. Too bad the newspaper hadn’t included that in its report.

  Mandy closed the file and leaned back in her chair. In the months she’d lived in Willow’s Eve, no one had ever mentioned a water shortage, so it seemed odd it was suddenly being raised as an issue. But after all, people tended to take water for granted, the same way they took modern plumbing for granted.

  Nevertheless, she was happy to provide taxi service for the seniors so they could attend city council meetings.

  All day, folks buzzed about the issue and she directed them to the copies of the meeting minutes she’d put in the parlor.

  She didn’t see Daniel and figured he must be trapped in his office with a stream of folks asking about the water thing. She stopped and thought for a moment. Oh, that was right...he’d mentioned his belongings were being delivered today by the movers. No wonder he hadn’t been around.

  * * *

  TUESDAY MORNING, DANIEL ran up the steps of City Hall.

  “You seem to be in a good mood,” Mandy’s voice said behind him.

  He turned. She certainly didn’t dress as a professional, he thought idly. Of course, she wasn’t actually a professional administrator; she’d simply fallen into the job. Some days, Mandy wore jeans with a T-shirt, but today it was a bright blue sundress, the kind you might see on a beach in Miami or L.A. Her smooth shoulders provoked mental images he tried to dismiss.

  “It’s good to make real progress on getting settled in the house,” he told her, focusing on her green eyes. “It felt as if I was in a holding pattern until now.”

  She nodded. “I understand, though it usually doesn’t take me long to get settled. I travel light—if it doesn’t go into my VW, it doesn’t go.”

  “I can’t do that with a family to consider.”

  She blinked. “Oh, I didn’t realize you were married.”

  Daniel disliked talking about personal affairs, but in a town the size of Willow’s Eve, his private life wouldn’t stay as private as he would have preferred.

  “I was divorced in February.”

  Her brow wrinkling, Mandy’s face turned sympathetic. “I guess the first year is always kind of weird.”

  “You, too?”

  “Yeah. Though I didn’t spend much time getting used to being married in the first place.”

  “So your husband turned out to be a skunk?”

  “Thanks for the compliment.”

  Confused, he shook his head. “What do you mean?”

  “You assumed he was the problem in the marriage. He wasn’t. Well, he was for me. I’m sure there are plenty of women who’d consider him a prize. But the short marriage is my fault, too, because I shouldn’t have married him in the first place.”

  Daniel’s brain felt mushy after staying up late to unpack. All he could think of to say was, “Oh.”

  Mandy shrugged, the thin strap of her dress sliding downward, once again reminding him of his current intimacy dry spell. It just went to prove that no matter how professional a guy wanted to be, his hormones could still prove problematic.

  “If you aren’t married anymore, who makes up your family?” she asked.

  “My daughter, Samantha, and my mother-in-law. Or I should say my former mother-in-law. She’s agreed to come to Willow’s Eve with us so Samantha won’t have to go to child care after school.”

  “That’s so cool.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “When people get divorced, it can also be brutal for their families. Sometimes they really care about each other, but they’re expected to act as if they’re getting divorced, too. Not that my ex’s folks seemed that upset about it, other than how it might affect his position at Baux College. He teaches there, and they prefer married professors. Anyway, they were unctuously proper. And Vince still spends much more time with my parents than I do. He’s my dad’s protégé in the classical studies department.”

  Not sure how to respond to the rush of information, Daniel gave Mandy a careful, noncommittal nod, and reached out to open the door, politely waving her in ahead of him.

  He went into his office, glad he’d programmed the coffeemaker to brew a pot by the time he arrived. He poured a cup and gave himself a moment to sit and plan his day before launching into work.

  The house wasn’t in as much chaos as he might have expected, partly because of its size. The movers had simply put the boxes into two of the extra bedrooms, so they could be unpacked without tripping over them. And for an additional fee, the men had taken several pieces of the Victorian’s furniture to the garage before putting Daniel’s own furniture in place.

  He’d set up a nice bedroom for Joyce and debated on which one to do for Samantha, finally choosing the room with an alcove in the Victorian’s eastern “tower.” It was close to the master bedroom in case Samantha needed him, but he’d also been mindful of Mandy’s prediction that it would be the most popular for a kid.

  Daniel set his cup aside. It was time to get his morning started. With a sigh, he punched the button on the answering machine and listened, pen ready to note down the information an administrative assistant would ordinarily have organized for him.

  “This...uh, this is a message for Daniel Whittier, the uh...Oh, dang, I don’t like these recorders, but I wanted to ask about the water thing. Is it going to be expensive?” The beep came before the man’s name and contact number were provided.

  And so it went. Willow’s Eve citizens, worried about the rumors flying around town, were calling to find out what was happening and how much it was going to cost.

  Damn it, the rumor mill was alive and well in Willow’s Eve. Between the weekly newspaper, coffee shop, shopping at the Handy Spandy and gatherings at various churches, people had obviously found ample opportunities to discuss the water issue all weekend.

  A couple of the messages were from someone who’d also called earlier.

  “This is Harve Miller again. Mandy gave us the council minutes and I understand more of it now. I don’t need a call back, not for the moment, anyway.”

  From the message, Daniel couldn’t tell whether Mandy had simply handed out copies of the minutes, or if she’d talked about the issue. He just hoped she hadn’t added any opinions to fuel the fire, though he wouldn’t take any bets on that.

  The most serious call was from someone named Chris Russell, stating concerns about environmental impact. He wasn’t an amateur; he had the credentials to get people stirred up, and hadn’t sounded happy. Or particularly cooperative.
<
br />   Damn. Privately, Daniel considered environmentalists to be important voices in society, raising awareness. But as a public official, he knew they could clog the works enormously.

  And...Russell? Was there any chance this fellow was connected to city council member Susan Russell, who was also the paper mill owner’s daughter? If so, there could be hell on the horizon.

  Daniel stared at the long list of messages. He couldn’t possibly call each person. Perhaps the members of the city council could divvy up them and do a share of the public relations work. Otherwise, he’d never get anything else done.

  * * *

  MANDY SAT AT her computer, acutely aware of Daniel’s presence at City Hall. It was probably just her imagination, but the air seemed charged with electricity, simply because he was in the office down the hall. Or the electricity might be only in her own abdomen.

  Whatever the explanation, it was decidedly unsettling...and incredibly strange. Daniel wasn’t her type, and he certainly didn’t seem attracted to her. Of course, she hadn’t thought Bill had been interested, either, but Bill had been an anomaly—she wasn’t the most gorgeous woman around. “Cute” was how most of her boyfriends had described her, which might have been okay if they hadn’t meant “cute” the way a kitten was cute.

  Oh, well. She’d survived being cute, the same way she’d survived a lifetime of her family’s disapproval. If she wanted to stay in Willow’s Eve, she would have to survive her unlikely attraction to Daniel Whittier.

  And she did want to stick around for a while longer.

  At half past one, Mandy had a meeting with the mayor, so she trotted upstairs. When she was waved into the conference room, she found Daniel already there. Her stomach tightened as the mayor motioned her into the seat next to him.

  But then the other employees at City Hall filed in and sat down also, so she listened while Howard explained the water issue.

  “Please be careful about how you discuss it with anyone in town,” he said toward the end of his talk. “I mean, our new city manager has pointed out it might be assumed you have special knowledge because you work here.”

  Mandy fumed. Howard’s wording and attitude were subtly different from his usual hesitant style. And he glanced at Daniel periodically, as if to be sure he was saying it right.

  No one else seemed to notice. Maybe she wouldn’t have realized it was the new city manager’s doing if Daniel hadn’t already laid the same speech on her last Friday.

  But she nodded dutifully along with the rest of the crowd.

  “Thanks, everyone,” the mayor finally finished. “Are there any questions?”

  No one seemed to have any, so Mandy started downstairs, Daniel beside her.

  “Something wrong?” he asked.

  “What could be wrong?” she said, mindful of the fact that there were people in the rotunda who could overhear them.

  He said nothing more, but followed her into her office, closing the door behind him.

  “What do you want?” she said.

  “You’re annoyed.”

  “Wow, give the man a prize. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen a mayor used as a ventriloquist’s dummy.” As soon as she’d said it, she felt guilty about the description since it wasn’t fair to Howard. He was a decent mayor; he just had trouble with his oratory skills and making timely decisions.

  “Give Howard some credit,” Daniel said firmly, obviously agreeing with her self-criticism. “I merely suggested he consider making a statement to the employees. It’s for their benefit as much as anything. People could pester them unmercifully, inside and out of office hours.”

  “But—”

  “But nothing. You were the one who pointed out this is a small town where things operate differently. In a large city, only a limited number of acquaintances would know a person was the city clerk or the mayor’s administrative assistant. Here it seems to be common knowledge. And I never said you should be included in the meeting. That was the mayor’s decision. But just for the record, I know I overstepped last Friday when I spoke to you. I apologize.”

  Mandy wasn’t sure how to react. His words seemed perfectly reasonable, and maybe they were. Since she didn’t know for sure, she shrugged. “Whatever.”

  “That sounds like a teenager who doesn’t want to deal with something.”

  Mandy planted her hands on her hips. “Now you’re being unfair to me. I’m thirty years old, and I am not acting like a child. I simply don’t know whether I agree with everything you said, so I prefer not to argue about it.”

  “You mean you’re saving that for another time? I’ll keep a slot open on my calendar.”

  “That’s a snide thing to say.”

  Daniel looked surprised, though she wasn’t sure why. He ran fingers through his hair and straightened. “All right,” he said. “We’ll just drop it for the time being.”

  “Drop it forever,” she answered. “You’re the one who dragged it up in the first place.”

  He wheeled stiffly, meticulously propped the door open against the rubber doorstop, and then strode out of sight.

  * * *

  DANIEL DROPPED INTO his desk chair and gripped the armrest.

  How did Mandy push his buttons so easily? He barely knew the woman. And why did he care if she was annoyed by the mayor’s meeting in the first place? Yes, he wanted things to go as smoothly as possible over the water issue, but when it came to Mandy he wasn’t convinced that was his entire motive.

  Worse, he’d forgotten himself enough to make that crack about his calendar. It wasn’t the rudest thing he could have said, but it wasn’t the calm, professional interaction he tried to maintain at work.

  Ignoring the list of individuals he still needed to contact, Daniel focused on researching water issues in California, including the names and addresses of the nearest lawyers who had experience with litigation over water rights. Legal counsel might not be necessary, but he believed in being prepared. He recalled ruefully the advice of a university professor: if you went into law, you should study water rights, since it would always be a hot issue, especially in California. The professor hadn’t been far off—there were still people who fumed about the Hetch Hetchy dam, and it had been built over ninety years ago.

  Through intense effort of will, Daniel managed to get the work he’d planned for the day completed.

  When he returned from his evening run, he parked in the driveway and found Mr. Spock sitting on the doorstep.

  “I haven’t seen you in a while,” he commented to the cat, then did a double take. He’d sometimes thought it was silly the way people talked to their animals, but there was something uncanny about how the cat stared at him and cocked its head at the sound of Daniel’s voice, as if it really understood.

  Mr. Spock pressed forward as he opened the door.

  “No, you should go home.”

  If the cat understood, he didn’t care, because despite attempts to nudge him back, the feline streaked through the gap between Daniel’s leg and the doorjamb.

  Daniel decided to let him stay for a while. Mandy’s only concern had been whether he’d be bothered by the feline’s visits, and he wasn’t. He dropped into an easy chair and picked up the local newspaper.

  “Merrrow!”

  Daniel glanced down. “Sorry, pal, no towel.”

  “Merrrrrrooooow!”

  The imperious demand made him chuckle. He laid the newspaper across his legs and the cat seemed to regard it as an invitation, leaping up and looking disdainfully at the rustling paper before thumping down upon it.

  Since Daniel had seen Mandy at the park still picking berries when he’d left, he suspected Mr. Spock was getting attention from the nearest sucker available.

  Nonetheless, it was oddly comforting to have the warm, vibrating creature on his legs. T
he cat laid his chin on his paws and closed his eyes while Daniel rubbed the area behind the pointed ears. Yes, he needed to consider getting a puppy or a cat, but it would be better to wait and let Samantha help choose the animal. When he’d broached the idea with Joyce, she’d endorsed it wholeheartedly, saying she had been sorry she hadn’t allowed Celia to have the kitten she’d wanted as a child. He knew Joyce had a number of regrets about how she’d parented Celia, who was the opposite in many ways from her mother.

  His hand dropped and he drowsed, barely aware of the passing minutes. Then the sound of a car door slamming made Mr. Spock’s ears perk up. Daniel suspected it was Mandy’s car, so he straightened in the chair. The cat gave a raucous meow and dropped to the floor with a thud.

  “You’re gaining weight, buddy,” Daniel advised. “Hope you’re looking out for your cholesterol.”

  He opened the front door, but Mr. Spock just stared at it and meowed loudly.

  “Go on, I think she’s home now.”

  The cat slithered away from the toe Daniel was using to edge him in the right direction. Daniel bent to pick him up and tried to set the cat on the doorstep, but Mr. Spock managed to hook his claws into the sleeves of the sweatshirt Daniel had put on after running.

  With a sigh, he headed through the garden toward Mandy’s patio, where she always seemed to sit in the early evening, or at least, she had been whenever he’d been working in the yard. The bushes that had been planted as a separation between the two places remained small and sparse, and one had died. He hadn’t intended to observe her comings and goings, but it was difficult not to notice.

  “Uh, Mandy?” he called, unsure of how he’d be received. They hadn’t parted that afternoon on the most cordial of notes. “Is it okay if I bring Mr. Spock over? He won’t let go of my sleeve.”

  “Sure.”

  Daniel walked through the gap in the bushes and saw Mandy pulling herself out of the low Adirondack chair.

  “Sorry if he’s being a problem,” she said. “I’ve been keeping him inside, but he got so beastly about it that I finally let him out again.”