Trinity Falls (4 page)

Ean frowned. He opened his mouth to respond but was forestalled by his mother's appearance.

Doreen liberated two mugs from the collection behind the counter. “And how are you young men this morning?”

Darius and Quincy returned his mother's greeting with an easy familiarity as she gave them each a mug. This morning's meeting seemed a comfortable habit for the three of them. The sting of envy deepened the frown across Ean's brow. For months, his childhood friends and his ex-girlfriend's younger cousin had shared breakfast with his mother almost every morning. Meanwhile, he'd been in New York chasing an adolescent's dream.

“Do you two want the usual this morning?” His mother's question confirmed his suspicions.

Darius smiled up at Doreen as she filled his mug with coffee. “Yes, please.”

Doreen quirked an eyebrow. “Darius Knight, that innocent smile didn't fool me when you were a child. And it certainly doesn't fool me now. My son's return doesn't give you a free pass to cause havoc like you three did as children.”

Darius lifted the mug to his smiling lips. “Your suspicions wound me, Ms. Doreen.”

Doreen tipped the coffee carafe to pour the hot, fragrant drink into Quincy's mug. “Quincy was always the sensible one. But he had his hands full, trying to keep the two of you out of trouble.”

Darius pretended to choke on his coffee. “Don't let his quiet demeanor fool you. Some of those misadventures were Quincy's idea.”

Quincy lifted his mug of black coffee. “I don't remember it that way.”

Ean offered his mother a smile as she topped off his drink. “Thank you.”

Quincy's surly manner stood out against the friendly banter around the counter. Darius seemed oblivious of the tension surrounding their friend. Was Quincy always this grumpy in the morning? For his students' sakes, Ean hoped the professor didn't schedule any early-morning classes.

Doreen returned with a white Books & Bakery paper bag she handed to Quincy. “One Trinity Falls Fudge Walnut Brownie, fresh from the oven.” She turned to the other customers at the counter. “Your orders will be right up.”

As Doreen returned to the kitchen, Darius reached for the bag.

“Touch it and die.” Quincy scowled at the other man. “If you want a brownie, order your own. Why are you always going after mine?”

Darius returned to his coffee. “You shouldn't eat sweets. They're not good for you.”

Ean leaned forward to see Quincy on Darius's other side. “How's your family, Q?”

“Fine.”

So much for that line of conversation.

Ean turned to Darius. “How are your parents?”

Darius's smile didn't reach his eyes. “Very happily driving each other insane, thank you. My dad's planning his retirement, and my mother's indulging every jealous bone in her body.”

Ean sobered as he remembered the tension in Darius's childhood home. “I'm sorry, man.”

His friend shrugged. “At least I don't live with them anymore. I can handle one Sunday dinner a month.”

“What about Jack?” Ean looked from Quincy to Darius, asking about Jackson Sansbury, the last member of the town's founding family.

Darius shook his head. “He's still in mourning, man. He bought those old cabins at the lake and completely cut himself off from the town.”

Ean sighed. “I'm sorry to hear that.”

“Why did you come back?” Quincy's question sounded like a personal attack.

Ean studied Quincy's profile. What was eating at his friend? “I told you when we spoke last month. I'm through with the rat race. I wanted to come home to Trinity Falls.”

Quincy snorted. “Growing up, you couldn't wait to leave.”

Darius swallowed more coffee. “And now he's back. At least he's not afraid to go after what he wants.”

Quincy glared at Darius.

The reporter ignored him. He set down his mug and turned to Ean. “So you've escaped the rat race. Do you intend to live a life of leisure in Trinity Falls?”

Ean frowned. Why was Quincy resentful of his return? And what did Darius mean when he said Ean wasn't afraid to go after what he wanted? He needed answers, but the mulish expression on Quincy's blunt features told him he wouldn't get any—not yet.

He settled back in the swivel seat. “I have a couple of ideas. I'm going to take my time and consider them.”

“I'm sure you can do that.” Quincy drained his coffee. “You were making big bucks in New York. The cost of living in Trinity Falls must seem laughable to you.”

“Shut up and eat your brownie, Q.” Darius's voice was flat.

The tension was getting to Darius, and Ean had had enough. He checked his wristwatch. “I'm going to see Ramona. I'll catch up with you guys later.”

Darius looked up. “Good to have you back, man.”

Ean grinned. “Good to be back.”

Quincy eyed him coldly. “Why are you going to see her? You broke up six years ago.”

“Ramona and I are still friends. You know that.”

Ean nodded at Darius and pondered the back of Quincy's head. What was Quincy's problem? And what was he afraid to go after?

CHAPTER 5

Ean entered the dim stairwell that would take him to Ramona's office on the second floor of the Trinity Falls Town Hall. However, his thoughts remained with Megan. He unzipped his gray London Fog winter jacket as he climbed the stairs. Megan had been a shy girl when he'd left town. She was a woman now. But the difference between the girl she'd been and the woman she'd become was more than the passage of time.

She'd always looked people straight in the eye. When she was younger, he'd found the habit unsettling. Now it challenged him. OK, it excited him. Her cousin and classmates had been coy young girls, but Megan had always been direct. As a teenager, he'd thought her odd. As a man, he found her intriguing. Maybe it wasn't Megan who'd changed. Maybe he had.

Ean opened the door to the second-floor exit and entered the hallway outside of the mayor's reception area. Ramona as Trinity Falls's mayor. Would he ever get used to it?

He pulled open the glass doors to the waiting room and crossed to the receptionist's desk. The young, red-haired woman behind the circular white counter had been a couple of grades behind him and Ramona at Heritage High School.

“Hi, Alice. Is Ramona free?”

Alice stood and beamed at him. “Hi, Ean. Welcome home.”

“Thank you.” He followed her to the hallway as he had on previous visits.

“Ramona's expecting you.” She made a face over her shoulder at him. “Three years in office. Who'd have thought it? If I'd've bet which McCloud cousin would have run for office, I'd still've put my money on Megan.”

Ean simply nodded. Alice said the same thing every year.

The thin gray carpeting masked their footsteps as they crossed the long hallway to Ramona's office. The gleaming silver metal sign on the dark wood door read: RAMONA A. MCCLOUD, MAYOR.

“No one else wanted the job.” The young receptionist knocked twice, then waited for Ramona's response before opening the door. “Mayor McCloud, Mr. Ean Fever's here to see you.”

Ramona turned away from her computer screen and placed her forearms on her desk. Her ebony eyes went straight to Ean. “That'll be all, Alice.”

Ean stepped inside. Alice pulled the door closed behind her.

Ramona rose from her chair. Her bloodred blouse and pencil-thin black skirt hugged her siren's curves. Her thick near-black hair fell in heavy, glossy curls past her shoulders. Her café au lait skin looked radiant under perfectly applied makeup.

Ramona circled her desk and walked to the black leather sofa on her right. Red stilettos showed off her endless legs. “It's about time you came knocking on my door.”

Ean stopped an arm's length from where she stood beside the sofa. Her Chanel No. 5 was familiar. “I only arrived home Sunday night.”

Ramona's eyes gleamed at him as she sat, crossing her legs. “Have a seat.”

Ean joined her. “You've redecorated.”

“I did it myself. I needed a change.” She raised her right arm, drawing his attention back to the black-and-silver décor and modern furnishings.

The room was attractive but cold, impersonal, reminding him of Hugh Bolden's office at the firm. Abstract metal sculptures posed on glass tabletops and shelves. Framed works of modern art hung from her office's white walls beside local newspaper and community magazine interviews with her.

Ramona continued. “I couldn't believe it when I got your e-mail telling me you were coming back.”

“I felt the same way three years ago when you told me you were Trinity Falls's mayor.” Ean settled his right ankle on his left knee. “I still don't understand how you became interested in politics.”

He couldn't picture his high school sweetheart running their hometown. As teenagers, all they'd dreamed of was leaving Trinity Falls. Seven years ago, he'd made his escape when Craven, Bolden & Arnez hired him to work in their New York firm. He'd asked Ramona to join him. She'd seemed ecstatic at first. But less than a year later, she'd returned to Trinity Falls without giving him a reason for breaking up with him.

Ramona gave a low, husky laugh. “Someone had to save this town from itself.”

“What was happening?”

“Nothing. That was the problem. The town was stagnating. We need to attract new industry and new people.”

“The sesquicentennial celebration should help.” Ean noted the miniature version of the
150 YEARS STRONG
banner sitting on Ramona's desk. “Publicity for the event should attract some attention.”

“But will it be enough to revitalize the economy?” Ramona shifted toward him. “We have to do more. We need to improve the town's infrastructure and add first-class features to stimulate growth.”

Ean's eyes widened. “Who are you and what have you done with Ramona McCloud?”

It scared him to hear the woman he'd grown up with speaking like this. She sounded like the consummate politician, which meant she used a lot of words that said nothing.

Another husky laugh. “I could ask you the same thing for coming back here.”

Ean tried again. “What was wrong with Trinity Falls?”

“There's never anything going on here. Sure, we're planning a yearlong celebration for the town's one hundred and fiftieth birthday, but all of the events are so small-town. That's why I can't believe you came back. You're not really staying, are you?” That sounded more like the old Ramona.

“Yes, I'm home for good.”

Was it possible for them to rekindle their relationship? They'd once wanted the same things. It didn't seem that way anymore. Without that common purpose, did they have anything to build on?

“Why have you come back?” Her wide eyes and parted lips said she thought he'd lost his mind.

“It was time for me to come home. The work I was doing in New York wasn't fulfilling anymore.” Ean stood, shifting his gaze to the window. “I don't think it ever was.”

The view from town hall was so different from the panorama visible from every window at the firm. Instead of skyscrapers, there were trees. Instead of billboards, he saw blue sky. In the distance, he could see the Trinity Falls Town Center, home of Books & Bakery—and Megan McCloud.

“There's nothing to do here, but so much to do in New York.” Ramona placed both feet on the ground. “You can do something different every day. And there's so much to see there.”

“I enjoyed living in New York. But now I want something less hectic.” He couldn't explain why he gave up his dreams of making it big in the Big Apple. Even if he could, Ramona wouldn't understand.

“You're not making any sense, Ean. New York is where we always wanted to be. Why would you throw that all away to come back to this?” She gestured toward the window.

Ean met her gaze. “Six years ago,
you
threw it all away and returned to this town. You never told me why you left the city—and me.”

Ramona rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. Was that a blush darkening her rounded cheeks? “We can go back to New York together.”

“I'm not going back, Ramona.”

Her expression brightened. “Then maybe we can go somewhere else. It doesn't have to be New York. We can go to Los Angeles or Chicago. Or even Boston, although I hear it gets really cold there.”

“If you want to leave Trinity Falls, you should.” Ean returned to sit beside her. “But I'm not going with you.”

Ramona leaned toward him, laying her hand on his right thigh. Her features eased into a seductive smile. “I bet I can get you to change your mind.”

He considered her small, fair hand resting intimately on his lap. Sex between them had been good, but not good enough to make him change his mind about staying in Trinity Falls.

Ean gently removed her hand from his thigh. “No, you can't.”

Ramona persisted. “Why don't we talk about it over dinner at my place tonight?”

Ean stood to leave. “That wouldn't be a good idea, Ramona. But I would like to continue our friendship.”

Ramona's leaving him six years ago had closed the door on their romantic relationship forever. But he wanted them to remain friends. In a town this size, it would be awkward to bear hostilities.

Ramona stood, sliding her hand up his torso to settle on his shoulder. “I remember how much you enjoyed it when we ate in. Are you sure you won't change your mind?”

The look in her eyes told him the double entendre was deliberate. “Positive.”

Memories of the younger Ramona warned him it would be safer for them to go out than to have a private dinner in her home. She was less likely to make a scene in public if their evening didn't go her way.

Ramona pressed her curves against him. She pulled his head toward hers to kiss him good-bye. The kiss was deep and hot, slow and sexy. She slid her tongue between his lips and stroked the roof of his mouth. When she stepped back, Ean let her go.

Her voice was breathless. “Just a little something to help you change your mind about that dinner.”

“I'm sorry, Ramona. Friendship is all I feel for you anymore.” Ean turned to leave.

 

 

“What is Ramona thinking, trying to bring the big city to Trinity Falls? I just don't know.” Ethel Knight sat at a table near the bakery's counter Tuesday afternoon. “Trinity Falls is not New York, for heaven's sake.”

Darius's mother pinched off a piece of her apple pie and nibbled it. She reminded Megan of a squirrel.

Don't react.
Megan forced herself to remain in her seat at the counter and choke down her grilled chicken salad. She and Ramona had their conflicts, but criticism against her cousin still burned.

“If she wants to shop in New York, she should go to New York.” Simon Knight spoke around a mouthful of Boston cream pie.

From his seat beside her, Darius offered Megan an apologetic look before responding to his parents. “It's easy to find fault with the government, but you should also give her credit for the positive work she's accomplished.”

“Men.” Ethel sniffed. “Of course you rush to Ramona's defense 'cause she's a beautiful woman. I just don't know.”

“Mother, I'd say the same thing if she looked like the bottom of my shoe.” Darius spun the full lazy Susan pastry tray. “Call it ‘journalistic integrity.' Ramona has done a lot of good for Trinity Falls.”

Megan reached over and pressed his forearm in gratitude for his defense of her cousin. Darius's movements were relaxed, almost negligent. But Megan felt the tension in his muscles and knew his parents' public displays of bickering and complaints made Darius uncomfortable.

Doreen refilled Megan's glass of ice water. “Darius is right. We may not always agree with Ramona, but we can't deny she's done a lot of good for Trinity Falls.”

“I remember when you used to give pastries away for free, Doreen.” Ethel's voice was sly.

“Those days are long gone.” Doreen's flat tone shut the gate on memory lane. She exchanged the pitcher of water for a pot of coffee and refilled Darius's mug.

“Name one positive thing that Ramona has done for Trinity Falls while she's been in office.” Simon issued the challenge with a raised chocolate-tipped index finger.

Darius didn't need to stop to consider his answer. “She fixed the intersection at the north corner of the town center. Do you remember that it had become a danger to drivers and pedestrians because of its disrepair?”

Simon grunted. “That one was easy. Ramona didn't have to come up with that. It was something that needed to get done.”

Tune them out.
Megan's hand shook as she stabbed lettuce and chicken against her plate and carried the forkful of salad to her mouth. She tried to chew and hum to herself at the same time.

“If it was so easy, why didn't the previous mayor do it?” Doreen topped off Simon's coffee. “She also installed the streetlamps in the park.”

“But that was your idea, Doreen.” Ethel's response was a crow of triumph.

“It doesn't matter whose idea it was.” Doreen returned to the counter. “The fact is, she got it done.”

Megan had heard enough. “Darius is right. It's easy to sit and criticize, but if you don't like the job the council is doing, let them know.”

“A man would have done a better job.” Simon shoveled more pie into his mouth.

Megan's back stiffened. “Then why didn't a man run?”

Simon ignored her question. “Women are too emotional.”

Megan's face heated with temper. She ignored Darius's growing tension beside her. “Why didn't
you
run, Mr. Knight?”

Simon spoke over her. “Ramona's more interested in bringing higher-end department stores to Trinity Falls. Men don't want to shop.”

“Dad.” Darius spun on his seat to face his father. “Our last two mayors have run unchallenged.”

Simon drank his coffee. “I haven't voted for any of them.”

Darius swung his seat toward the counter, turning his back to his father. “You know that old saying, Dad. ‘If you don't vote, you can't criticize.'”

Megan shoved away what remained of her salad. “If you have such strong views on what's wrong with Trinity Falls and how to fix it, Mr. Knight, you should run for office yourself.”

Simon snorted. “Only a fool would run for office. I'm nobody's fool.”

Megan wasn't sure about that. How could Darius have come from this couple? Her friend must have been adopted.

“My cousin has worked hard for more than three years to keep this town running—the schools, the emergency services, the health clinics and everything else. What have you done?” Megan stood. “If you don't like the job she's doing, either run against her or vote her out.”