The Doctor's Unexpected Family: (Inspirational Romance) (Port Provident: Hurricane Hope) (15 page)

When he placed his hand tentatively on hers, she glanced in the sky to see if there were any more shooting stars.

 Angela let out the breath she didn’t even know she’d been holding. Since they’d met, she’d certainly come to care about Pete, to value his opinion—and she knew that’s why his reaction hurt so much. She’d had more than a few bumps in the road of her life, but in the end, they’d all worked out for the best. Perhaps this was another one of those bumps. Perhaps this was one time where she needed to quit being a City Councilwoman, full of questions and research and plans, and to just let herself be a woman.

“If the time and place is right,” she said with a smile.

Chapter Seven

About ten days later, on a Monday, Angela’s day started early with a call from the mayor. She asked Pete if Celina could work at The Grace Space with him for the morning and rushed to City Hall.

With normal government business suspended, the parking lot was empty and the usual hustle and bustle around City Hall was non-existent, except for Jennifer Parker, who sat on the top step of the stairs leading to the front door.

“Councilwoman Ruiz, do you have any comment about today’s changes?” The reporter tapped the red button on her phone to record any answer from Angela.

Changes? What changes? Linda Blankenship hadn’t given her any details, just asked her to come to her City Hall office ASAP. What was going on? And how did Jennifer Parker know before she did?

“No, no comment right now,” Angela bluffed as she pushed the heavy brass-and-glass front door open and took an immediate right turn to walk up the three flights of stairs to the mayor’s office, since the building’s elevator needed repair.

The door to Mayor Blankenship’s office stood a few inches ajar. Angela knocked and waited.

“Angela? Is that you? Come on in.”

Half-filled brown cardboard boxes were placed around the room, and the bookshelves that lined the back wall had been emptied.

“What’s all this, Linda?” Angela pointed at the blank shelves opposite her.

The gray-haired woman leaned back in her executive-style chair. “Change.”

“I see that. Are we going to all have to move out of here so they can repair the building?”

The mayor shook her head. “No, you’re not moving. I am.”

Angela couldn’t make heads or tails of what Linda was getting at. She needed more details. “Where? I’m really confused.”

“Dallas. You remember that my husband Bob is the regional vice president for American and Coastal Property and Casualty insurance company?”

Angela nodded.

“Well, last night the board of directors informed him that they’re dropping the ‘coastal’ part. They’re closing up the Port Provident office and letting most of the people go. They have a new position for him, but it requires an immediate relocation to their offices in Dallas. We talked about it last night and with Bob’s health being what it is, I’m just not comfortable being five or six hours away from him indefinitely while we repair here.”

Angela felt her eyes get wide as she took in the meaning of the mayor’s words.

“So, an hour ago—right before I called you—I tendered my resignation to the city manager. And according to the city’s by-laws, because you’re Mayor Pro-Tem…until a special election can be called, Angela Ruiz, you are the new mayor of Port Provident.”

Angela was taken aback. “Of all the scenarios that went through my mind when you called me this morning, I have to say this is not one I considered.”

Her heart raced a bit at what now lay on the horizon for her. She wouldn’t just be a key player in Port Provident’s recovery. She’d be leading it. 

She first ran as a candidate for City Council because she wanted to give a voice to the ideas and needs of the people she lived among and had grown up with. Their previous two representatives had been allied with developers who wanted to sell out parts of the district to the highest dollar, and didn’t care about tearing apart the character of the tight-knit community that had been a fixture in Port Provident since the Second World War.

But now, she had been gifted the opportunity to do so much more. Angela closed her eyes, taking it all in.

Please God, let me shine like the stars in the sky. Let me light the corner of the world you’ve brought me to.

“Oh, and one more thing,” the outgoing mayor said, digging in her top desk drawer. “This should be yours now.”

She held out a brass-colored key on a utilitarian aluminum circle-style key ring.

“That doesn’t look like the keys to the offices here in the building. That’s not the key to this office, right?” Angela reached her hand out to take the proffered key.

“No, it’s not. It’s the key to the trailer in Space One at the Port Provident Disaster Recovery Residential Community. It had been set aside for me to move into. I believe you’re the leader of this community now. And you’ve fought so hard to make that place a reality in a short period of time. You and your sweet girl deserve Space One. Welcome home, Madam Mayor.”

Linda Blankenship let go of the key and it fell into Angela’s hand. She felt the weight of it in her palm. She felt the weight of Port Provident on her shoulders.

She would have to rise to the challenge. She would need to shine.

Pete closed up The Grace Space about an hour early after receiving Angela’s text to bring Celina to the former RV park that now housed the trailers that the government relief agency had brought in. People would begin moving in tomorrow and they’d staged a small ribbon cutting to mark the occasion.

Every step of progress, no matter how small, was celebrated in Port Provident these days as one more step on the road back to normal.

Pete parked his truck between two white vans from local TV affiliates in Houston. Space seemed to be at a premium—maybe this was going to be a bigger deal than he’d figured it would be. Pete held Celina’s hand and weaved through the crowd.

Angela stood at the front, just to the side of a bow that had been tied on top of the large metal gate. A sign with the official seal of Port Provident was balanced on top of a low fence next to another sign bearing several logos from government agencies. TV cameras made a semi-circle around Angela and Mayor Blankenship, and reporters pressed in.

“This is a big day for Mommy,” Pete leaned down and whispered in Celina’s ear. “She’s worked hard to make sure that the people who lost their homes have a safe place to stay while they’re rebuilding.”

“Just like we have our place with you, right, Pete?” Celina smiled.

“Exactly. Here, I’ll pick you up and put you on my shoulders so you can see what’s going on.” He hoisted the little girl up and she tucked her feet under his arms for greater stability. Pete’s heart melted a little like butter that had been left out on the beach. Celina was so sweet and trusting and she saw the world through a child’s eyes—all wonder and newness.

The time he’d spent with her had forced him to slow down and see his corner of the world from a different angle too, like going out of his comfort zone and creating The Grace Space from the ground up.

He thought about how natural it felt to have Celina balanced on his shoulders, like he’d always been a part of her life.

Like the dad with the white picket fence he’d once hoped to become.

And then he thought about the man who could have had that chance and instead walked away before this little girl had even entered the world. As the words crossed his mind, a well-groomed man in a polo shirt and dark khaki dress pants crossed through Pete’s line of vision.

David Carbajal. Lead anchor for KHOX-TV.

And Celina’s biological father.

Pete’s mind scrambled. What was he doing here? Anchors didn’t go out to the field to do their own reporting unless something major was happening, and the ribbon cutting on a trailer park did not meet that kind of standard.

What was going on?

In spite of the afternoon heat, all Pete felt was ice. It filled every inch of his veins and poured into his stomach.

He couldn’t go running up to Angela to ask what she wanted him to do—that would create a bigger scene and judging from the body language of those up front, the event was about to start.

He couldn’t run away without triggering a string of six-year-old questions, which would also be disruptive to the event.

His only option was to stay put.

Pete gripped his hands around Celina’s legs, where they rested on his shoulders. He would protect her. He would not let go.

And then it hit him with all the kinetic force that Hurricane Hope had brought ashore so recently.
He would not let go of Angela either.

On one hand, the revelation stunned him. On the other, it fit as close and true as the pairs of latex exam gloves he wore every single day while working with patients. This wasn’t about wanting to make up for a kiss that had gone awry. And it wasn’t about proving that he could move past Anna’s death, like he’d talked about with Marco.

It was about realizing he’d found a woman who fascinated him with her drive and her compassion and finding a family that had a spot where he wanted to belong.

“And with that, I’ll turn it over to the new mayor of Port Provident, Texas, Angela Ruiz.”

Pete’s head snapped around as Celina let out a squeal and an extended series of excited clapping. He’d been so lost in thought that he’d missed something major, something big enough to attract the attention of news crews and one particular news man from Houston.

He needed to catch up on what just happened…and fast.

“Thank you, Mayor Blankenship,” Angela said as she stepped to the microphone. “I know I speak for everyone in Port Provident when I thank you for your years of service to our town and we wish you all the best in this new chapter in your life.”

The crowd that had gathered behind the semi-circle of reporters applauded again. As Angela paused for the recognition of Mayor Blankenship, a ray of sun broke through one of the stray clouds in the sky. It focused its radiance just over Angela, capturing cinnamon and rust and mocha highlights mixed in with the darker coffee color. She smiled as she scanned the crowd, and it touched Pete’s heart in a way he never expected.

She seemed at ease, relaxed, completely in her element. Like she’d been made for such a time as this.

“And now we are going to celebrate one more milestone as Port Provident continues the work of rebuilding from Hurricane Hope. I’m happy to announce that behind me is the Port Provident Disaster Recovery Residential Community. A lot of people have made this happen today, and I’m glad to announce that by the end of the week, we will have moved everyone out of the temporary shelter at the high school and into housing here. These aren’t just trailers that people will live in for a few months while they rebuild their homes. They’re bringing hope after Hurricane Hope. And that’s going to be my theme as we rebuild our island—we are going to bring hope to our citizens. And as the mayor, I’ll be right alongside of you, living in Space One as I rebuild my own home.”

The assembled crowd clapped again and so did Celina. Angela turned and walked over to the gate that blocked the driveway. She unlatched the pin that held it shut and swung the metal barrier wide open.

“Welcome home, Port Provident,” she exclaimed, loud enough to be heard without the microphone. Flashbulbs went off, capturing the moment—but the sun and the flashes were no match for Angela’s high-wattage smile, demonstrating her pride in the little housing development and in the community that she now led.

As the crowd disbanded and some of the residents went to go inspect their new temporary homes, Pete tried to hang back at the edge of the grassy lawn, still unsure of what to do about David Carbajal.

While thinking about the best course of action, he noticed David wrapping up with his camera crew and unhooking his microphone. David strode over to where Angela stood, talking animatedly with two citizens.

The crowd had disbursed, so Pete could hear Angela clearly as she spoke to David. “Not right now. You need to wait your turn.”

The tone in Angela’s voice was all business. Pete stayed where he was, bouncing up and down a bit to distract Celina into thinking he was a horse. He didn’t want to bring Celina any closer, but he didn’t want to leave Angela by herself, either. The best course of action seemed to be to wait and see. He was used to that. He did that all the time while attending births. Just wait and see how things progressed—usually everything worked out on its own timetable.

After the two women walked off, David asserted his place as the next in line.

“This is off the record, Angela. This isn’t a reporter and the mayor. This is you and me.”

Angela folded her arms across her chest. “Mmm-hmm. What do you need, David? It’s been six years. It figures that you only come back to talk to me when I get the mayor’s position.”

“I told you, that’s not what this is about.”

“Then what is it?” She raised her eyebrows. Pete observed a flicker in her sugary eyes, which were quickly turning a much darker shade than he’d ever seen.