“What is it, Mom?” Ben asked, sitting forward, but Helen didn’t answer.
“Oh, thank you,” Lisa said, setting her glass on a coaster and reaching into the bag to pull out two baby blankets. One was hand-knit, cream-colored and soft from many washings. The other was quilted in shades of yellow and green, with a mother duck and her ducklings marching importantly across the topside. It, too, was soft and faded from loving use.
“They were Ben’s,” Helen said, her gaze shifting to her son and back.
Tears started in Lisa’s eyes and she blinked them back. “They’re perfect. Thank you so much. I...I really appreciate you thinking of me with these heirlooms. I don’t have much from my childhood.”
Since her grandparents had never gotten rid of anything, there had been boxes of mouse-chewed baby clothes in the overstuffed barn. The only intact item had been a blackened bulbous object with a handle that turned out to be a silver baby’s rattle. She had saved the rattle and cleaned it up, and it now sat on top of a dresser in her babies’ room, waiting for the unsure grip of their little hands.
“We’re glad you can use them,” Jim said gruffly, exchanging a smile with his wife, who was as teary-eyed as Lisa.
“They’ve been packed away in acid-free paper and freshly laundered,” Helen added.
Lisa gazed at these two people, whom she’d barely known but who were going to be such a big part of her life from now on. They looked back at her, and it was as if the three of them had formed a pact, cementing the bond they would share.
With absolute certainty she knew she could depend on these people as she had never been able to depend on anyone in her own family. The overdone decorations in the nursery didn’t matter. Her children would have another two people to love and care for them, who would have their welfare and best interests at heart. She was overwhelmed with gratitude.
“Thank you,” she said again, and the McAdamses seemed to know her thanks was for more than the blankets.
“That’s nice, Mom,” Ben said.
Lisa started, as did his parents. They had forgotten he was there.
Ben frowned, his attention going back and forth between.
“I’d better get back to town,” Lisa said. “I’ve got a lot of work to do this afternoon.” When she started to her feet, Ben hurried to help her up, his hand firmly under her arm. She glanced up and saw his father give him an approving smile.
Lisa felt tempted to tell Jim not to read anything into it, but instead she picked up the gift bag, thanked them again for the blankets and preceded Ben to the truck.
He helped her climb inside and as she fastened her seat belt, settled the gift bag by her feet. “I don’t even remember those blankets.”
“Obviously your mom did, and they’re important to her.”
He didn’t answer and was quiet on the ride back to town. He assisted Lisa from the truck and watched until she opened her office door. She waved goodbye as he left.
Inside her office, she showed the blankets to Sandy, who admired them and then said, “About the Fredricks’ contract, I can’t find it anywhere. Do you think you may have left it in the mayor’s office? I know we’ve got the electronic copy, but we need the one with Mr. Fredricks’ signature.”
“Yes, of course, but I don’t understand it. I really don’t.” She was a fiend for organizing her paperwork. “Maybe it’s in my briefcase, which is—”
“Over in the mayor’s office,” Sandy supplied.
“I’ll go get it.” Before Sandy could say anything, Lisa raised her hand and said, “And, yes, I’ll use the elevator.”
She picked up her purse and returned to the heat and humidity. She sat in her car and let the air-conditioning run cold before she drove the few blocks to city hall.
In the mayor’s office she found her briefcase and the papers she needed inside it. She called to tell Sandy, then sat to rest, frustrated by her physical limitations and her sudden disorganization and forgetfulness.
Swamped with exhaustion, she put her head back and fell instantly asleep. She wasn’t aware of how long she slept, but was startled awake by a perfunctory knock on the door.
“Sorry, Lisa,” Trent Sanderson said, walking quickly to the desk and bending to look at her. “Are you okay?”
“Yes.” She sat up, blinking and trying to clear the fog from her brain. “I’m fine. Did you need something?”
Trent stared at her for another second before he answered. “I’m afraid we’ve run into a problem.”
He nodded to the group of men in the doorway. As they entered, Lisa recognized one of them as Isaac Rojas, the construction supervisor on the resort project. He laid a map of the Reston Lake area in front of her and pointed to a line penciled in from a distant point to the edge of the lake.
“This is an old petroleum fuel line leading to an underground storage tank.”
“What?” She pulled the paper toward her. “That’s impossible. It would have been disclosed.” She ran her finger along the line. “This is on the property the Mason family sold. They wouldn’t have kept that a secret.”
“Mason said he put it in the paperwork he gave you,” Trent said. “There’s a regular disclosure form, right? He said he filled it out.”
Lisa felt herself go cold and Trent hurried around the desk in alarm to offer her a glass of water. She shook her head. “I...I missed it. I...can’t believe... I’m so careful with paperwork.”
Stunned, Lisa studied the map, vaguely recalling mention of the watersports that had once taken place on the lake. “I should have checked this,” she said, shaken. “I should have known. People were depending on me.”
“Mayor Thomas,” Trent said, “everyone makes mistakes.”
“I’m responsible.” Sick disappointment filled her. “I’ve been the one pushing this project.”
“These things happen,” Trent said. “Remember last year when Carly’s gardens were almost ruined by water polluted by an old landfill everyone had forgotten about?”
“Yes, of course.”
“This is the same sort of thing. People had forgotten about this and we might run into these situations again as we continue with construction projects, renovations, and city and county improvements.”
“I should have checked and rechecked the paperwork.”
Another of the construction crew spoke up. “We can’t move ahead until both the old fuel line and the storage tank have been inspected. If they’re safe, maybe they can be used for future watercraft. If they’re not, they’ll have to be removed.”
“How long will that take?”
Rojas grimaced. “What with permits and governmental bureaucracy, it could take months.”
“Months?” she asked in a small voice. “That means the entire project will be delayed.” She looked up, horrified. “And you and your crew will be out of work until then.”
“That’s right,” he answered. “It’s the nature of the construction business.”
He started to pick up the map but she placed her hand on top of it. “Do you mind if I keep this? There has to be a way—”
“I wish there was,” he said. He motioned to his crew, who followed him from the office, closing the door behind them.
“Trent, what can we do?” She stared at the map in distress. “I should have seen this, should have done something. My mistake is costing time and money, not to mention jobs.”
Trent was as distressed as she was. He spread his hands wide, palms up. “Other people missed it, too. Surveyors, construction professionals—all of us. There’s nothing we can do. It’s out of our hands. The contractor will take it from here.”
“They can’t be blamed. They were going with the information I provided,” Lisa said.
It was almost impossible for her to accept that, to acknowledge that she could
do nothing to correct her own error. Misplacing the Fredricks’ contract was a minor glitch, but this was huge. She only hoped the investment group would want to go ahead with the resort once the fuel line and storage tank issues were resolved, but she wouldn’t blame them if they backed out. She would call the head of the group. They probably felt as if they couldn’t depend on the city of Reston. On her.
“In the meantime—” Trent started to say, but then broke off when the door flew open once again. “Roland and Bunky are here.”
The two older men rushed into the room, both talking at once. With a sigh, Lisa reached into her desk drawer and pulled out the insulated bottle of water she kept there.
* * *
RESTLESS IN THE HOUSE, Ben wandered out to the pasture fence and climbed up to sit on the top rail. On the rare nights that Zach didn’t have a date with one of his girlfriends, he played chess with Ben, but his manager was gone tonight. Ben could still smell the cologne Zach was convinced drove the women wild.
As for his part, Ben hadn’t had a date or even looked at a woman since the night he’d spent with Lisa. He’d thought about it for months—his surprise when he’d looked up from his phone where he had been making arrangements for what must have been the last hotel room near Chicago’s Midway Airport and seen someone from his hometown. Lisa had looked exhausted, vulnerable and devastated, but she’d smiled when she’d seen him, those deep blue eyes of hers lighting up in delight.
The truth was, he’d been touched that she was glad to see him, and flattered. His desire to comfort her when she’d told him about her aunt’s passing, one of her few remaining relatives, had gone too far and he’d taken advantage of her need. He’d felt guilty about it ever since, which was why he now felt compelled to check up on her and stick his nose in to a degree he knew irritated her.
He gazed out at his peaceful herd, grateful that all the sick horses had recovered and the strangles bacteria hadn’t spread. He’d felt like a fool for buying the horses from that crook, whom they’d never managed to locate. He had notified the sheriff, who had let the state know the man was selling sick horses, but there had been no trace of him. Zach said the guy was probably long gone to pull the scam on someone else.
Ben had taken Zach’s lecture to heart and was studiously learning all he could about the horses before his planned departure for India in a few weeks. Zach had agreed to stay on for a year to select and train the cow ponies and those who would be strictly for riding. After that, Zach planned to move on and Ben would find a new manager.
Zach had asked why he was even interested in these mustangs and Ben had given that question a great deal of thought.
He liked them because they had a connection to the land, the same land where he’d been born and raised. They were unusual, smart, wild and beautiful.
He envied their freedom, the way they would suddenly take off running across the fields, their manes and tails flying. He loved how they would run in a circle and stop to graze. He liked that they were part of a herd but had no problem wandering off by themselves when they wanted.
Although he was excited about starting the American-style football league in India, he couldn’t keep his thoughts away from what would be happening here while he was gone.
Lisa would become a mother. To his children.
He had already set up automatic child support payments. His financial obligation was fulfilled. He had been shaken to the core when he’d felt the baby move all those weeks ago, and even more so when they had found out that twins were coming. He felt good about the amount of money he was providing for them.
Still, he couldn’t stop thinking about how uncomfortable Lisa had looked today, and how she had shared his flabbergasted amazement at the nursery his parents had decorated, and how sweet she had been about receiving his old baby blankets. Because he didn’t hold attachments to very many physical things, it hadn’t occurred to him that his mom still had his blankets. It made sense, though. He was her only child and, in spite of his repeated statements that he never intended to have children, she’d had hope.
Ben ran a hand over his face. That poster was too much. His parents had probably had it made from one of his old team pictures.
They seemed to have given up their certainty that he and Lisa should marry. They never mentioned it anymore and the bridal and wedding magazines had disappeared from their house.
Today he had realized that something else had taken its place. Lisa and his parents seemed to be united, with his mom and dad determined to be the best grandparents possible, and Lisa just as set on being an outstanding single mother. He had no doubt she would succeed. She would have the help and support she needed, and he wouldn’t get in her way.
The work he did was important, too. He knew that, and he hoped she did. He vetted the charities he supported very carefully, getting deeply involved in helping people, especially kids, through sports and academic achievement. That really mattered. He would never give it up.
He jumped down from the fence, took a turn around the yard and then went into his house for his keys and wallet. It wouldn’t hurt to go into town, drive by city hall and make sure Lisa had gone home and was taking care of herself, he told himself, but as he strode toward his truck he muttered, “Great. Now I’ve turned into a stalker.”
When he got to city hall, he saw that the only light in the place was shining from the mayor’s office, and there were four cars out front, including Junior Fedder’s cruiser.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
“LISA! LISA, WAKE UP,” Carly’s voice drifted into Lisa’s sleep.
“Don’t wanna,” she answered. She was perfectly comfortable in this chair, with her feet propped on a box she had placed under the desk.
A hand gently tapped her cheeks and Gemma’s voice said, “Lisa, I’m going to check your blood pressure, but I need you to wake up. I want to check your pupils.”
“I’m tired, not concussed,” Lisa insisted, but she managed to pry her eyes open.
Luke Sanderson was there, too, along with Junior in his deputy uniform. The two grim-faced men were standing on the other side of the desk, arms crossed over their chests.
“Trent called,” Luke said. “He told us about the snag at the resort site.”
“It was a stupid mistake I should have caught,” Lisa answered. The lengthy discussion with Bunky and Roland had drained her and she had fallen back to sleep the minute Trent had ushered them out. It was frustrating that she had been unable to accomplish anything today.
“You have to let it go, honey,” Carly said gently.
“Easier said than done,” Lisa answered. She looked around. “What are all of you doing here?”
“Luke and I were on our way to pick Dustin up at his grandmother’s, but we stopped by here first with the posters for the county-wide yard sale. You were so deeply asleep, I couldn’t wake you up,” Carly said. “I called Gemma, then Junior came, too.”
“Well, since medical people are on site, I’ll go,” Junior said. “Just stopped by on my regular rounds because your light was still on. I’ll send somebody over to make sure the door is shut and the alarm is reset. I’ve got to go supervise the setup for the parade and street fair. Call if you need me.” With a wave, he left.
“I need you to get on your feet, Lisa,” Gemma said. “And move over to the sofa so I can examine you.”
Luke stepped forward to help her up. He was easing her onto the sofa when they heard the sound of steps pounding up the stairs before Ben rushed through the door.
“What’s going on?” he asked, his gazing sweeping the crowd in the room.
“Absolutely nothing,” Lisa answered. “Except my friends are worrying too much, so I’m going home.”
“I’m checking your vitals first,” Gemma said in a tone that brooked no argument. She lifted a black bag and waggled it in front
of her. “Got everything I need right here.”
Gemma checked Lisa over while Carly and Luke moved to the other side of the room to spread the posters on the table. Ben stood nearby, watching her with brooding eyes.
Finally, Gemma said, “Everything seems okay, but I want you to come into the Sunshine tomorrow before the parade for a more thorough checkup. If there’s even a hint of distress, you’re skipping the Founder’s Day festival and going straight to bed.”
Lisa glanced at Ben and saw his grim expression. She didn’t want to hear his opinion, so she said, “Whatever you say.”
Gemma sighed. “I wish.”
“I know you all have to help with the festival setup,” Lisa said. “So if all of you will clear out of the mayor’s office, I’ll go home and make everyone happy.”
“I’ll drive you,” Ben offered, picking up her briefcase and laptop case.
Lisa marched over and took both items from him. “Not necessary. I’ll drive myself.”
Ben shook his head. “Of course you will, but I’ll follow you home, make sure you make it okay.”
“As I’ve said before, I can’t stop you from driving on public roads.”
“Oh, Lisa,” Carly said on a sigh. “He only wants to help.”
Lisa stared at her with an expression that questioned whose side she was on, but Carly only smiled at her.
Even though she was annoyed with her friends, Lisa cheered up when she took a look at the posters that would go up soon to advertise the county-wide yard sale in the fall. They were eye-catching with a bright background and all the pertinent information printed in clear black. She gave her approval as Luke and Carly gathered them up.
Her friends headed off to set up for the next day’s festivities and Lisa fought the urge to go and make sure everything was done correctly. She had to trust those who had been appointed to handle the parade and street fair.
She drove home, Ben following along. When she reached her driveway, Ben gave her a wave, made a U-turn in the road and headed back to town.
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