Until She Met Daniel (4 page)

“That's terrific,” she said.

“Yeah.” Yet Susan sighed, her body sagging slightly. “And now it's back to real life.”

Her expression suggested something was wrong, or at best, not quite right.

“Is something up?” Mandy asked.

“No...it's just...stuff. Reality bites.”

Mandy wasn't sure if Susan wanted her to push for details or back off. “You need to talk?”

“Not now.” Susan glanced in the hallway. “So Daniel Whittier got here.”

“Yeah, yesterday. We thought he was getting into town
today
from the message the mayor's admin sent out, so we hadn't finished all the details, like shopping for fresh foods and stuff. And of course, his office was still a disaster.”

“Ouch. Not the best way to show off Willow's Eve to him.”

“No, but we got things scrambled together,” Mandy said. “The house was clean and now the office is, too.”

“That's good. I'm meeting my father for coffee, but I'll pop in and say hello later.”

Mandy nodded sympathetically, seeing the tension on her friend's face. She'd met Big Joe Jensen on several occasions and wouldn't enjoy having coffee with him—at the beginning of the day, or any other time. “Glad you had a good trip. I can't wait to see the pictures.”

After Susan left, Mandy yawned and poured herself a cup from the coffeemaker she kept on the credenza along the wall. There was always a pot of both decaf and regular in the parlor, but the seniors preferred an old traditional brand instead of bolder blends.

Mmm. Sipping the fragrant brew, she stared at the newsletter on her computer screen. Thank heavens she'd managed to get the electric typewriter replaced. Talk about antiquated.

After she'd started work, the seniors had debated whether new equipment was needed in the director's office. Some of them didn't trust computers, but others did and argued in favor of getting one.

Finally, Mandy had talked to some old friends at a computer company; they had not only donated a laptop to her office, but they'd also provided a desktop model for the seniors to use. The first thing she'd done was establish email accounts for anyone who didn't have one, making sure the addresses went to their kids and grandkids. After pictures began arriving and they'd tried Skype a few times, the naysayers were sold—not only sold, but they'd also voted to start a fund to buy several more. So far they'd added two, now sitting in the parlor.

Mandy had gone home that night and danced in triumph all over Jane Cutman's lawn. Jane had just laughed; she'd become accustomed to her neighbor's exuberant ways.

 

CHAPTER THREE

S
USAN
 
WALKED
 
OUT
 
of City Hall, wishing she'd told her father she couldn't make it for coffee. But like it or lump it, he
was
her father...and her boss, because after getting her accounting degree, she'd let herself get talked into becoming the paper mill's chief financial officer.

“Hi, Susan.” Dora Taylor was coming up the walkway. She was a fellow city council member. “Did you have a nice trip?”

“Yes, it was great.”

Susan thought about what she'd told Mandy regarding the vacation. With Evan starting university, the trip was supposed to help her and Chris relate more as a couple, rather than simply as coparents. And on the surface, the trip had done that. After all, couples didn't need to do everything together and the evenings
had
been wildly enjoyable. Still...she had a vague sense of disappointment about her vacation, as if something should have happened that hadn't.

Shaking away her thoughts, she tried to focus on Dora.

“Have you met Mr. Whittier yet?” Dora asked.

“I'll introduce myself later this morning.”

“I'm going in now to meet him. I...uh, I'll see you Thursday at the meeting.”

“Right.”

Susan sighed as Dora rushed past her into the building. After living nearly forty years in her hometown, you'd think she'd feel more comfortable with its citizens. But she often felt as if they regarded her with caution since her father was the town's major employer. Almost everyone in Willow's Eve had a relative or good friend at the mill—case in point, Dora's son worked on the loading docks.

At Elena's Coffee Shop, she found her father waiting with an impatient look on his face, even though she was a few minutes early.

“Hi, Dad.”

“Good morning, Susan. Are you starting back to work today?”

The knot in the muscles of her lower back started hurting. That particular set of knots belonged exclusively to her father. Chris owned the ones between her shoulder blades, though she never said anything to him about it. He'd probably be shocked to know how often he stressed her out.

“No, Dad, I'm not going to the office today. My vacation is through the end of the week, remember?”

He frowned. “I can't understand why you didn't go to Hawaii. What's the matter with your husband? The only thing your mother wanted to do was give you a nice anniversary gift.”

“We've been over this. Chris felt it was too much to accept.”

“Damned inconsiderate of him to hurt his mother-in-law that way.”

“I'm sorry if she was disappointed.” Susan's mouth tightened. She shouldn't have to explain, excuse or apologize, but she usually did to keep the peace. If only Chris understood how hard it was to... Her mind shied away from completing the thought. She loved Chris with all her heart—despite the way he made her muscles bunch and twist.

The situation between her husband and father was wearing more on her nerves than usual. How would
they
enjoy being yanked between two junkyard dogs?

And it wasn't as if she hadn't known what it would be like. The first time she'd taken Chris to meet her family, the battle lines had been clearly drawn. Her father, who belligerently believed in damming every river and clear-cutting every forest, was the fundamental opposite to Chris, who held a doctorate in timber and wildlife management, and passionately wanted to protect natural resources.

She finished her cup with relief and refused a refill.

“Thanks for the coffee, Dad,” she said as he threw a ten-dollar bill onto the table. One thing she could say for him, he tipped generously, though it was partly because he wanted to feel important in town.

“I'm just glad you're back safely from that trip.”

His tone made it sound as if she'd ventured barefoot into the Antarctic.

“It was a wonderful vacation,” she said pointedly. “I enjoyed it.”

“I'm glad,” he answered, his voice skeptical.

“Okay. I'll see you next week when I'm back at work.”

The return walk to City Hall wasn't long enough to release the muscles in her back. But she needed to meet Daniel Whittier and welcome him to Willow's Eve. As for the rest? She was probably just suffering from empty-nest syndrome, and that's why the whole thing between her husband and father was getting to her more than usual.

* * *

M
IDWAY
 
THROUGH
THE
morning as Mandy was reading through her grocery purchase order for the center, a shadow fell across her desk.

“Ms. Colson...er, Mandy?” It was Daniel Whittier, and she nodded pleasantly.

“Can I help you?” she asked.

“I want to thank you for the information, and apologize for assuming it didn't include what I needed.”

Well, that was nice of him. “I'll let it slide this time,” she replied with a wink. “Have you met Susan Russell?”

“Yes, along with a couple of other members of the council. Mayor White isn't in yet, though his assistant came down.”

“I think you'll like Howard, after you get used to him.”

“Excuse me?”

“You'll see.”

Daniel frowned and she was sorry she'd said anything, but her tongue was still flapping out of control around him. Somehow she needed to regain her equilibrium. He drew back and closed the door behind him as he left. She got up and opened it.

“Daniel?” she called and he turned back.

“Yes?”

“I prefer keeping my office door open when I'm here, okay?”

“Oh, of course.”

Then she felt guilty, as if she was being too picky with the guy. But she liked leaving the door ajar so she could see who was coming and going, and many of the seniors felt uncomfortable about stopping for a chat if they had to knock.

“Yoo-hoo, Mandy,” Mrs. Gower called from down the hallway.

She walked over to the elderly woman. Elva Gower was bent over with arthritis and her hands were gnarled, but she faithfully hobbled to the Senior Center every morning and contributed extra money toward lunch in case there was someone who didn't have enough.

“Hi, Elva.” Mandy stooped and gave her a gentle hug.

“Who was that man? Are you finally dating someone?”

“Nothing of the kind,” Mandy corrected. “It was Daniel Whittier, the new city manager.”

“He's a handsome devil,” Elva whispered. “Don't you think?”

It was one of those impossible-to-win questions. If Mandy agreed, she might appear interested in Daniel—which could lead to gossip—and if she disagreed, no one would believe her. Plus, she'd be lying. Daniel Whittier was gorgeous and possessed a sexy magnetic quality up the wazoo. It was partly the way he moved, with the easy, deliberate grace of a panther, and she was a sucker for cats of any size.

Mandy grinned, pushing the image away. “Elva, you're going to make your beaus jealous if you keep this up. But I'm not judging. Make a play for him if that's what rings your bell.”

Elva chuckled and moved toward the parlor, while Mandy headed for the kitchen. Some of the volunteers were on vacation or home sick with the customary round of illnesses that showed up with the start of school. As a result, Mandy was cooking more than usual. She shredded purple cabbage to add to the salad, wondering if Daniel would eat with the seniors today. The folks would love having a chance to get acquainted with him, but she sure wasn't going to be the one to invite him.

* * *

I
N
 
HIS
 
OFFICE
,
Daniel pressed a hand to his throbbing head and dropped into the desk chair.

Maybe it was a good thing Joyce and Samantha wouldn't arrive for a while. Much as he missed his little girl, he had to get things settled at work, and he didn't want his daughter to feel as if she was getting the short end of his attention. He didn't doubt his ability to manage a small town such as Willow's Eve, but he felt as if he was acting awkwardly with the people, especially since he was already questioning their secret agendas.

Still, visits that morning from members of the city council and various other city officials had gone well.

A knock at his door made Daniel sit up. “Come in.”

A man entered and Daniel recognized him from the Skype interview he'd done with the city council.

“Hi,” the mayor said while shaking Daniel's hand. “I'm Howard White. I'm sorry I haven't been in earlier. I had a doctor's appointment and I thought I'd better keep it.”

“Of course. It's good to meet you in person, sir.”

“Please, we're not formal around here. Call me Howard.”

So much for his vision of instituting a professional atmosphere into his work at City Hall. Daniel had a feeling he'd better get accustomed to having his plans turned upside down.

“Howard, then.”

“I'm awfully glad you're here, and earlier than you thought you could make it.”

Originally, Daniel had said he couldn't start until the following week, but the mayor had seemed so anxious to have him start sooner that Daniel had made special arrangements.

“You indicated I was needed this week if possible.”

“Yes, we...haven't had a manager for quite a while and...” Something was obviously on the mayor's mind, though he appeared reluctant to say anything specific. “Anyhow, the two of us need to have a discussion soon. There's something, I mean, well, we'll discuss it after you've gotten settled. No, actually, we should do it before the city council meets this week.”

“I'm fine talking about anything you want right now.”

“No, it can wait. How do you like your new home?” asked the mayor.

“It's magnificent,” Daniel answered, mindful of Mandy's advice about the town's pride in the Bertram House. She was probably right. Despite her often pointless chatter, she seemed to understand a few things about how Willow's Eve functioned.

“We're proud of the place,” Howard said, clearly pleased. “They talked about making it into a mayor's mansion, but I suggested it would be easier to get a professional city manager if we could provide a nice house in the salary package.”

“It made it easier for me,” Daniel agreed. “And it was gracious of the town to provide food and make the bed. You'd never see that happen in the city.”

“Well, we want you to feel welcome. We're really hoping you will consider staying for more than a year. You'll like Willow's Eve. It may be small compared with where you've been, but this is a good place to live. And it helps that we've got a good income between Fannie Snow's trust and the paper mill.”

“Paper mill?”

“Oh, sure, out on the north end of town, and fortunately the wind doesn't blow this way very often.”

“What difference would that make?”

“Once you've smelled the mill, you'll know exactly what it means. Not that it's a huge problem. You get used to it. And we don't mind that much because the mill adds to the town's tax base and provides plenty of jobs. The only problem is that...well, as I say, we can go into that later.”

“How about
now?
” Daniel urged. “We'll be able to operate better if I know the issues as early as possible. Besides, isn't the city council meeting the day after tomorrow?”

“Yes.” The other man heaved a sigh. “I suppose you're right. There are two issues, basically. The town is on septic systems, but it's possible we should shift to a central sewer structure, which would be a big change, and of course we'd need a treatment plant.”

Daniel nodded, already mentally calculating the kind of money needed for a project of that magnitude.

Howard walked to the window to open and close the shades a couple of times. Daniel waited.

“There's also another issue,” the mayor continued. “Joe Jensen, the owner of the mill, wants more water, and he's pretty anxious to expand. But there are problems with our reservoir and...
hell,
the town needs more water, too. I've looked into federal funding, and we should be able to get some, not that it's guaranteed. Regardless, it won't be enough.”

Restraining a wry smile, Daniel simply nodded. No wonder Howard White wanted a professional city manager on board. Two projects concerning that much money were guaranteed to be political hot potatoes. And water? In California, water rights were historically an explosive issue. Daniel knew he was due for a much bumpier year than he'd expected. But at least now he could start gathering information and get the groundwork done.

“Have you discussed this with the city council?” Daniel asked.

“I'm bringing it up at Thursday's meeting for the first time. Since you weren't going to be here, I tried to wait, but Big Joe keeps pushing. I...I know I probably should have said something before, but I wanted to wait until...and, well, you
are
a professional.”

Obviously, the mayor hadn't been elected for his oratory skills. He appeared to have trouble uttering a sentence without qualifying himself.

“I understand.”

Mayor White left after that, in obvious relief, no doubt thinking the ball had been passed and he could relax.

Another knock on the door came a bare minute after the mayor's departure. For a moment, Daniel pictured Mandy Colson, and was annoyed to feel his body responding.
Damn.
He found her exasperating, but couldn't deny she had sex appeal...which annoyed him even more. He wanted to be in control of any situation and relied on cool logic to make his decisions.

At any rate, his priorities at the moment didn't include women. He was focused on providing a stable home for his daughter while he sorted out the best thing to do for their future. His divorce and the resulting fallout had taken him by surprise, though it shouldn't have since he'd never had much faith in marriage after seeing his parents' unending misery together.