by Amy Vastine
* * *
“SO, HE LOST his phone, and that’s why you didn’t hear from him all weekend?”
Flynn stood in Ally’s kitchen, where less than an hour earlier she’d comforted and counseled poor Shay to the best of her ability. They’d made plans to meet again. Flynn held the newspaper in one hand and both his expression and tone conveyed the same skepticism Ally felt.
“Yep.”
“She also told you this woman is his ex?” He gave the newspaper a shake and Ally secretly wished it could be that easy to dislodge the blonde from the page.
“Yes.”
“Ally, I’m sorry, but if I was away for the weekend and I lost my phone, I would find a way to contact the person I was dating.”
“I know. Me, too.”
“What do you think?”
“I don’t know. Flynn, you’re the closest thing to a girlfriend I have, and I was counting on you to tell me what you think. You know I don’t have any experience here, right? Where men are concerned, I mean?”
He grinned. “Oddly, I’m honored to be your quasi-girlfriend. I just wish I had the wisdom of a woman to give you here.”
“I’ve never thought a lack of experience was a bad thing, until now.”
“It’s not a bad thing, Ally. Not at all. Does Tag know this? That you haven’t…dated much?”
“Yes, but I’m not sure he gets just how little I’ve dated. We’ve only been seeing each other a couple of weeks. Granted, we’ve managed to pack a lot in there if I add up the hours, but still… You know how I am about this girl stuff, sharing or whatever.”
“I love how you say it like it’s profanity. Sharing,” he repeated and chuckled.
The impersonation made her smile, and she appreciated the fact that he managed to bring it out in her. “Yeah, well, I’m not all girly like you are.”
“True. A lot of women like that, though.”
“Do they?” she asked skeptically.
He chuckled. “So glad I’ve always resisted falling for you. You’d be so bad for my self-esteem. You need to talk about this—to Tag, I mean.”
“Wouldn’t that seem needy and desperate? We’re supposed to be keeping it casual.”
“You can be casual and still communicate. In fact, you have to, so you know you’re on the same page, so one of you doesn’t end up more attached than the other.”
Too late, she thought, her stomach gripped with a new bout of despair. “What do I do about the photo?”
“He’ll have an explanation. You just have to decide whether you believe it. You don’t want him to think you’re jealous.”
“I don’t?”
“No way. Guys abhor jealousy.”
“Abhor? Really?”
“Yes. Trust me. On this one, I have experience.”
Huh. Ally had kind of enjoyed it when Tag was jealous. Wouldn’t a little jealousy show him that she liked him?
This was all so confusing.
“But—”
A knock sounded on the door. Ally jumped, her heart taking a tumble. “That’s him.”
They headed into the living room together. Ally opened the door to a smiling Tag, who didn’t look at all like he’d been cuddling with another woman all weekend. But what did that look like? Aside from the photographic evidence, she wasn’t sure.
“Hey.”
The sound of Flynn shuffling behind her drew his attention. His smile faltered. “Oh, hey, Flynn.”
“Tag,” Flynn answered flatly. “Looks like you had a good time in Juneau.”
Tag’s brow creased. “It was productive.”
“Ha. Yeah. No doubt.” Sarcasm dripped from his tone and Ally felt a surge of fondness for her good friend. It felt nice for someone to have her back. Stopping in front of her, Flynn brushed a kiss across her forehead and took a moment to look her in the eye. “See you later, Ally. Call me.”
“Bye, Flynn. Thanks. I will.”
He gave her hand a little squeeze and left.
Tag’s face wore a scowl as he came inside and shut the door behind him. “I want to say something smart-alecky about how touchy-feely he is with you. But I won’t. I know you’re just friends.”
Ally stared. Because you’re an expert on touchy-feely, huh? The sarcastic retort tickled the end of her tongue. He couldn’t possibly mean that, could he? Unless…? Was there a chance he hadn’t seen the photo? Or was she making a bigger deal out of this than it was?
Despite her efforts to remain unreadable, he must have seen something in her expression because he said, “Ally, what is it? What’s the matter?”
“Have you seen this morning’s newspaper?”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
TAG STUDIED THE PHOTO, remembering the unsettled feeling that had swept through him in that exact moment and willing his brain to compute how the photographer had managed to capture something that had never existed. Kendall had snaked her arms around him so quickly he hadn’t registered what was happening until it was too late. He’d been confused by her actions, but that didn’t show in the photo. No, it depicted a different scene entirely: warmth, intimacy, romance, a couple totally into each other.
Nausea churned his stomach, and his head felt like it was filled with cold helium. He looked at Ally, watching for a clue as to how she might feel about this. He knew how he’d feel. And it wasn’t good.
“I need to ask you something, Tag. Are you seeing other people? I know you told me I could, but I’m not, and I don’t plan to, but if you are, then it will change this conversation.”
Regret pierced his insides even as a bubble of joy welled up to soothe the pain. He liked that she didn’t want to see anyone else.
“No, I’m not. And this isn’t what it looks like.”
“Okay… Then, what should it look like?”
Opening his mouth to the rush of words already gathering, he closed it as the cleverness of the question caught up with him. He needed to get this right.
“It should look like two old friends meeting after a long time. I mean, factually, she is an ex-girlfriend, but I wish it didn’t look like that.”
The slightest lift of her brows was enough to tell him he was already veering off course.
“Wait.” Tamping down his panic and desperate to make her understand, he inhaled a breath. “Starting over now… It should look like two old friends, exes, meeting after not seeing each other for a while. One—the woman—is greeting the other—me—way too enthusiastically. In my surprise, I glanced at her to see what the heck she was doing wrapping herself around me like an octopus. When I did, I discovered her face was much too close to mine, also catching me off guard. A little shock and dismay mixed with a bit of fear are what the shot should show. I realize that it doesn’t, and I regret that more than I can ever express.”
Tag realized he was getting better at this, at reading her. The left side of her mouth twitched like it did when she thought he was funny but didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of letting him know.
“That’s not bad.”
He felt like it was enough encouragement to continue. “Immediately after the unfortunate nanosecond that this quick-drawing freak of a photographer captured, I stepped to one side and several more photos were taken. Normal ones.” He flicked his gaze back down to the picture and shook his head. “How he managed this…completely inaccurate representation I will forever wonder about. And why he used it, I don’t…? Anyway, her name is Kendall Meade, and we dated for about a year. It was mostly long-distance and, after she cheated on me, we broke up.”
He searched her beautiful, curious, wary brown gaze, hoping his conveyed the truth of the situation. He didn’t care if it hinted at the depth of his feelings for her if it meant they could get past this.
“Ally, I know that last part could imply that I was heartbroken but I promise I wa
s not. The relationship was already headed for the end. Kendall just pushed it over the cliff faster. Sure, maybe my pride was bruised, but mostly, I was relieved.
“This morning, before we left, Bering and I had breakfast with her and her parents, Sally and Tom Meade, because they are interested in making a major contribution to my campaign. I had—have—an excellent relationship with them.” He didn’t see the point in mentioning that Kendall might be consulting on his campaign. It wasn’t as if she’d be working with him directly.
Her composure was unnerving. “Ally, please, say something.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
“Just say what you’re thinking.”
She blinked and then nodded once. “Okay.”
When she didn’t elaborate, he asked, “Okay? That’s it? In that brilliant and incredible brain of yours, that’s the only word forming?”
“Yes. I’m choosing to believe you.”
Tag shifted on his feet, trying not to let his doubt show. She was taking this awfully well. He’d never dated a woman who wouldn’t be at least a little jealous about this photo. Even in the early days of their relationship, Kendall would have come unglued. Truthfully, he’d be jealous to see a photo of Ally like this. Without cause, he’d been jealous of his eighteen-year-old cousin. Not to mention Flynn, who’d never acted like more than a big brother to her from what Tag had seen.
And then it hit him, knocking the wind out of him like a solid blow to the solar plexus. This just proved what he already knew; he was more into her than she was him. Sure, she’d told him she didn’t want to see other people, but that didn’t mean her feelings matched the ones he had for her. Asking how she felt about him would only lead to a conversation about how much he liked her. And that was a place he didn’t want to go, couldn’t go. His heart sank a little more.
If he’d been hoping for some perspective on their relationship, he’d certainly succeeded. This photo and a weekend of no communication had inadvertently cemented his feelings. And it had revealed hers, too. Or, more to the point, it highlighted the disparity between them. But this was a good thing, he assured himself. Exactly the way he’d wanted, the way he needed, for this to evolve.
He’d examine the repercussions to his psyche and the damage to his heart later. Right now, he wanted to think about what he wanted, and what he wanted was Ally, as much of her as he could get.
He stepped toward her. “Thank you. You’re amazing. I missed you.”
She graced him with a full-blown smile. Finally. “I missed you, too,” she said. The pressure in his chest immediately began to ease.
Reaching out, he pulled her into his arms. Relief flooded through him as she hugged him tightly. She might not like him as much as he liked her, but she definitely liked him. Because he couldn’t wait for another second, he dipped his head and kissed her.
When he pulled away, she gripped his shoulders and held on. “I didn’t like not hearing from you.”
“Yeah, that was no good for me, either. I lost my phone.”
“I heard.”
“You did?”
“Yes, Shay told me.”
“Shay? I’m surprised she would bother.”
“I was, too, and I only heard this morning, so you’re not off the hook. In all of Juneau, you couldn’t find a phone to call me?”
He smiled at the irritation in her tone, not because he’d caused it but because of what it might mean. Twining a hand into her hair, he asked, “You were worried, or you missed me?”
“Both.”
“Good.”
“Good? It didn’t feel good.”
“So, you’re saying you’d like to hear from me every day?”
“Yes. Or, at the very least, I’d like to know that I wasn’t going to hear from you.”
That felt promising. Sweeping her against him, Tag took a moment to enjoy the fact that finally, he was right where he wanted to be. “If it makes you feel better, this is where I wished I was all weekend.” He didn’t add that, had he been in possession of this information when he left town, he would have stolen a phone.
* * *
WITH IVY STILL on bereavement leave, Tag was ready to pull his hair out until Iris volunteered to fill in. He was incredibly grateful for her help and impressed with both her business sense and her efficiency. Iris spent the first few days trying to figure out how to adjust his business schedule for the upcoming year of campaigning.
“When are you hiring a campaign manager?” she asked one morning as they studied an email from Maura encouraging him to hold a rally to officially announce his candidacy. They were waiting for Bering and Emily and the kids to show up along with Hannah, Tate and Lucas. Tag was flying them all to Anchorage, where they were meeting Emily’s mom and stepdad for a visit and a trip to the zoo.
“Soon. By the end of the month, for sure.”
He was going to have to hire a pilot to take some of his flights. His friend Cricket, who was Hannah’s partner at JB Heli-Ski, was the obvious choice. If he was this busy now, he couldn’t imagine how his life would be once the campaigning officially began. He was grateful for the near-constant reminders that fueled his ambition and helped to keep his eye on the prize.
Like the increase in real estate listings and transactions in Rankins and the surrounding area, further proof of Mammoth Tracks’ intentions to move into the valley. Hannah had had confirmed it via Park Lowell, and Bering’s source in the borough’s government office had revealed that a major retail chain had inquired about the permit process to build a huge discount store between Rankins and Glacier City. Evidence was mounting quickly, and it worried them all.
“I’ll be glad when this election is over,” he said absently. He looked up to find Iris scowling at him. “What?” he asked.
“You do realize that it hasn’t even officially begun, right? And when you’re elected, then you have to be a senator.”
“Yeah, I’m… I think it’s just the campaign part that has me out of sorts. The not knowing what to expect and the logistics are getting to me. I’m used to being able to handle things on my own, you know? I’m sure it’ll get better once we have a campaign manager.”
“Sure, it will,” she said. “For now, let’s tackle this email. Maura says you should hold the rally here in Rankins. Since we don’t have a campaign manager, we’ll need to hire someone to plan it, but we can at least set the date and stuff. Maybe we could hire an event planner?”
“An event planner? For what?” Emily said, walking into the office, the baby on her hip. Hannah, Tate and Lucas filed in behind her. Bering and Violet followed.
With all gathered around, Iris read Maura’s email aloud.
“How exciting!” Hannah clapped her hands. “I can’t wait.”
“I’ll do it,” Emily said. “You don’t need an event planner. I’ll organize it. It will save the campaign a ton of money.”
“I’ll help,” Hannah said.
“Emily, are you sure?” Tag asked.
“Absolutely. I’d love to do it. A rally is a great idea. It needs to be a big deal with the entire community invited. Generate some grassroots support.”
“Like the waterfront? Memorial Day weekend!” Hannah suggested.
“Yes, brilliant, Hannah! It’s a little later than Maura recommends, but I think it works because the turnout and the momentum will more than compensate for the later date. The crowds will already be here because of the craft fair. We’ll do it Friday afternoon to kick off the event.” Emily already had her phone out, making notes.
Hannah’s eyes were shining. “This is going to be awesome. I wonder if we could get some fireworks?”
“I love that idea.”
Tag said, “Emily, I wouldn’t even know how to thank you.”
Gray-blue eyes snapped up to meet his. “That’s easy,” Emily said. “Win.”<
br />
He grinned. “I’ll do my best.” A different kind of tightness clutched his chest, one that was becoming all too familiar. They didn’t call it campaign pressure for nothing, he thought wryly.
Hannah’s stepson, Lucas, who had been silently listening to the exchange, scrunched his face. “Do I have to call you Senator James?”
Hannah laughed. “He heard Tate and me talking the other day. We’re all so proud of you, Tag. I think this is the greatest thing anyone in our family has ever done.”
“Thank you, Hannah, but I need to get through the election first.” He turned to Lucas. “You don’t want to call me Senator James?”
“No.” He gave his head a somber shake. “I just want you to be Uncle Tag.”
“Me, too,” Violet chirped.
“I’ll always be Uncle Tag to you guys.”
“Don’t worry, guys,” Hannah chimed in. “Uncle Tag can be both. Uncle Tag can be everything.”
He could only pray that she was right.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
“SO, LAUREL TALKED you into doing the article, huh?” Tag asked Ally as they strolled along the waterfront through the park. They were meeting Tag’s family and some friends at the Cozy Caribou to have dinner and watch the Mariners game.
Fluffy clouds rushed across the sky, changing the landscape from light to dark and back again like they were making a game out of turning the sun off and on. Dampness hung in the air and they’d both worn jackets to fend off the breeze threatening to bring rain.
“I kind of don’t have a choice. My grandpa agreed, and she already went to Saltdove to interview him.” Laurel had presented the article as a human-interest piece outlining her grandfather’s career and Ally’s decision to follow in his footsteps.
“That sounds like our Laurel.”
“I don’t trust newspapers.” She glanced at him, and Tag knew she was thinking about the photo of him and Kendall.
In the days after its publication, Tag had faced a fair amount of speculation about the resurrection of his relationship with Kendall. A few people had asked him about it outright, twice in front of Ally. She’d braved it like she did everything, with composure, grace and a quiet humor that she mostly reserved for him and, to a steadily growing degree, his family. Hannah and Iris adored her. Ally and Iris had already cemented a friendship. Relations between Ally and Shay seemed to be improving, as well.