You Only (Cameron Farms Book 1) (14 page)

“Thank you. I would not have agreed to this position if I had not been sure that I have the time and the knowledge to do the job well. I take my work very seriously, and I feel that I can cover the necessary ground in an efficient manner.” Hale’s tone was confident.

“Good. You have my support. Although I am so very sorry for the reason for your return to Whitleysburg, I am thrilled to have someone with your credentials joining our team.” Cecily gave her a warm smile.

“Thank you,” Hale answered quietly. Her eyes turned to Matt.

“I have a few thoughts, one being that there is some concern that Wes did not offer any other names for consideration. We had discussed approaching several local accountants. Two, there needs to be a firm chain of command outlined and implemented. Lastly, I would recommend that her hiring be added to the agenda for the next meeting and scheduled for vote at the following meeting. We might want to offer our citizens the ability to voice their concerns.”

Hale made sure that she did not shift in her chair nor change her facial expression. She saw right through the requests. Matt, and quite possibly Finn, did not want her on the team.

Wes cleared his throat. “I wish Finn were here, because I would like to explain this to him, too. In my line of work, the next two months are the second busiest time of the year. I spoke to Norm Fox and he laughed, he doesn’t want any extra work. Hale
is
local and quite honestly, she is probably the only one in the entire area who would work for the hourly rate that you set for me.” Wes was getting agitated. “Plus, I imagine that Hale is the most qualified accountant in the county for this type of work.”

Moe smoothly took over. “Regarding the chain of command issue, while Wes is in town, Hale is to report to and run any questions through him. When he leaves for vacation in December, she will report to me.” Moe gave the younger man a steely glance, daring him to question the plan.

Hale’s heart swelled with affection. Moe was not going to let anyone take a shot at her.

Cecily cleared her throat. “It sounds like Wes checked with another accountant that he felt would do a good enough job and came up empty handed. The chain of command concern had been addressed and outlined. I’m sure that Ms. Cameron understands its importance.” Cecily glanced at Hale.

“Yes, ma’am.” Hale nodded.

“Now, onto the talk of adding this to the agenda for an open discussion, frankly, Matt, that would be a waste of time at a meeting and an unnecessary delay. Plus, I again will stress that Ms. Cameron is doing all of us a huge favor. I don’t think opening the council floor to our citizen’s questions is a worthwhile use of time.” She directed a frown in the Press Secretary’s direction. “It is Ms. Cameron’s work that we are considering and it is stellar.”

Hale bowed her head and pretended to look at the notepad in front of her, as she hid a small smile. She liked Cecily’s style.

“So, I believe we are agreed.” Moe was wrapping things up.

“That is my understanding. Hale? Any questions?” Cecily started putting away her tablet.

“No, Ms. Newton,” Hale answered and started gathering her things.

“All right then, see you all on Tuesday night.” Cecily stood and strode to the door.

“Ms. Cameron, a pleasure.” Matt gave a brief nod while rising quickly and exiting the room.

Hale put her tablet in her bag and started to stand. “Thank you, gentlemen, for your support.”

“I don’t much like that Matt fellow, he doesn’t know his place.” Wes stared angrily at the door. “He’s Finn’s assistant, I don’t like the way he spoke about Hale.”

Hale looped her arm through her boss’ arm. “I think he is being protective of Finn. He doesn’t like me because of our past. He thinks it reflects badly on Finn. He worries that Finn will be perceived as weak if he appears to be softening toward me.” Izzy had shared that tidbit with Hale last week.

“Well, it’s not like you are bad mouthing Finn or making a spectacle of yourself. I think this town needs to move on from that old story,” Wes groused.

“I support Finn as mayor, and I don’t want to cause extra work or worry.” Hale said.

“Hale, you won’t. Matt is just being a jackass. I think that he even has problems with me,” Moe teased. “He idolizes Finn and sometimes I think he gets a little territorial. He’s young and enthusiastic, we’ll get him trained eventually.”

Hale parked in The Mug’s lot, she had a standing date with Jasmine every Thursday evening for dinner. In Jasmine’s words, it got Hale “off the farm.”

Jasmine was already seated in what had become their booth. She stood as Hale approached, giving her a hug. “I see that you were prepared for serious business—you broke out the Birkin.”

Hale laughed at her friend’s honest summation. “I thought the meeting called for the big guns, plus it adds cachet.” She took her seat, finally starting to relax.

“So, was it terrible?” Jasmine watched her closely.

Hale chuckled. “Yes and no.” She tried to choose the best words to describe her feelings. “I’ve been approved. I’m meeting Wes tomorrow at ten, to start the job.”

“Did Finn attend the meeting?”

“Um, no.” Hale didn’t meet her friend’s gaze.

“Interesting.” Jasmine stared at her intently.

The server arrived with their drinks and a bowl of pretzels. “Thank you.” Jasmine took a sip of her drink. “So, have you seen much of Finn lately?”

Hale schooled her features before taking her eyes off the rim of her wine glass. “He’s busy, I’m busy.”

“Are you sure that you aren’t avoiding him?”

“Why would I be avoiding him?” Hale challenged.

Jasmine gave her that “really?” look. “Oh, I don’t know, could it be because you two were most definitely up to something in his office the night of the parade?”

Hale felt her cheeks redden. “That was…nothing.”

“Really? After years of listening to your sexcapades, now you are going to attempt to play coy?”

“Shh, stop it, Christ, Jazz, not so loud.” Hale looked around. “Please don’t make a big deal out of this. I ran into Finn while I was waiting for you. He looked good, hell, he smelled really nice. Anyway, I enjoyed myself, he looked like he did too, end of story.” She tried to appear nonchalant, even though the memory of that night made her hot.

“We can make it known that you’re available. I’m sure your calendar would fill up quickly.” Jasmine raised her eyebrows as she studied her friend. “We might need to widen the circle, maybe include another county? There aren’t that many available men around here.

She didn’t want the hassle. Taking on another job was going to keep her busy. “Dating is hard work. I’m not really into it right now.”

“Might it also be a tiny problem because you are already interested in one special man?” Jasmine gave her that “gotcha” look and dared her to lie.

Hale shifted in her chair and leaned her elbows onto the table. “I don’t know what’s going on with Finn.”

“Talk to him,” Jasmine urged, as if it was all so simple.

“Jazz, it isn’t that easy,” Hale whispered. It was terrifying. If he knew that he still held her heart, he could do so much damage to her.

“You want him, he wants you. One of you needs to say something,” Jasmine stated matter of factly.

Hale rested her forehead on one hand, her heart beating rapidly. She had so many doubts and fears regarding her feelings for Finn. She was trying to think of a response when Jasmine’s phone rang.

“It’s Izzy, I’m going to take this outside. OK?” Jasmine stood and gave Hale’s shoulder a light squeeze.

****

Finn dropped into the chair in front of his friend’s desk. “Christ, Izz, how do you find anything in this mess?”

Izzy smiled sheepishly. “I know where everything is, Justine doesn’t touch anything. Plus, this isn’t your space, if it bothers you, go sit in your own office.”

“If I’m in the courthouse, people stop in and I get nothing done.”

“Poor you. I’d buy that excuse except I know you too well. You’re tense.” Izzy paused, giving him time to deny or confide his secrets. “Have you been working too hard?”

“You’re probably right. Everything right now seems like a lot of work.” Finn casually crossed his ankle to his knee and turned to a safe subject. “Has Jasmine recovered from the Fall Festival? I heard the numbers were good.”

“The numbers were great, up twenty percent. She’s moving on to helping plan New Year’s Eve at Hale’s.” The pride in his wife’s work was evident in his voice.

“So, she’s going to continue the tradition?” Finn worked to keep his tone casual.

“Joe asked that she do it, so she is.”

Finn said nothing as he absorbed the information.

“You know that if you talked to Hale, you could get these answers. You all seemed to be doing all right. Aren’t you?”

“We’re fine,” Finn said cautiously. Izzy was very perceptive.

“That’s good.” Izzy watched him closely. “If you’re satisfied with that?”

Finn nodded his head and attempted to change the subject. “Are you finished here?”

“Yeah, but the kids are with Moe, and Jazz is out with Hale at the Mug, so I’m not hurrying home.”

“Want to grab some dinner?” Finn wanted company tonight.

“I have a better idea. I’ll call Jazz and tell her that we are joining them.” He pressed a button on his phone.

“I don’t think they will want us to intrude.” Finn tried to stop Izzy.

Izzy held up a finger. “Babe, hey, Finn is here and we both are hungry. How about we buy the two most beautiful women in the county dinner?”

Finn watched as Izzy’s face softened at Jasmine’s response. His friend nodded affirmatively.

****

The hostess led the men to the booth. Hal
e
turned her head; her eyes met Finn’s and her muscles clenched in anticipation. He gave her an easy smile as he slipped into the booth next to her.

The waiter appeared before they could exchange hellos. “Gentlemen, what can I get you to drink?”

“Grey Goose tonic,” Izzy ordered.

“Sam Adams in a bottle.” Finn decided swiftly.

“Ladies, do you need anything more?”

Hale had to drive. “I’m switching to Diet Coke.”

“Since Hale can be our designated driver, I’ll have another martini please.”

Hale smiled at Jasmine. “That’s right kids, I’ll make sure that you all get home safely.”

“Thank you for including us in your dinner plans. I hope that we aren’t interrupting your fun.” Finn smiled at both Jasmine and Hale.

“Well, you boys can’t go hungry, so we are happy for the company.” Hale bumped him with her shoulder. Hopefully that would help reduce the need to touch him.

Their drinks arrived and after everyone was settled, Izzy cleared his throat. “I like this. Four friends enjoying a meal. I think we should toast Hale for stepping in to help Wes and sharing her time and knowledge.”

“Wow, word spreads fast,” she said. It was no surprise that he knew the outcome of the meeting. She wondered if it was Moe, Finn, or Jasmine who told him.

Everyone clinked glasses.

“It’s not a big deal. I mean, I have the time to help and both Wes and Moe said that I was their last hope. I couldn’t very well say no.” Hale shrugged, downplaying the job.

Finn shifted his body closer to hers. “I know that you are busy with the farm business, and Izzy told me that you are in the midst of planning for the New Year’s Eve event. We just put another thing on your full plate. I hope that with your experience you’ll breeze through the work, but still, it will take time.”

“I can do the audit. I want to help Wes. Plus, my dad would have wanted me to do it. Jazz and Maria are helping with the party plans, and I like staying busy.” She smiled at Finn and then looked down at her hands. She liked it that he mentioned her skill.

“How are the plans coming for the party?” Finn turned to Jasmine.

“We are in a good place. I think there are going to be a few surprises this year, just to shake things up a bit,” she hinted mysteriously with a throaty giggle.

“Should we be worried? I know that laugh.” Izzy tugged on a strand of his wife’s hair.

“I think you will enjoy the night.” Jasmine winked.

Finn turned his attention on to Hale. “Are these surprises your idea?”

“Maybe. The big one is, but Maria and Jazz have tossed in their fair share.” She bumped his shoulder again and he leaned back and draped his arm along the back of the booth.

“I’m looking forward to being dazzled.” Finn stared into her eyes.

Hale bit her lip and sat back against his arm. She could think of a few things that might dazzle him and if he was feeling grateful, he might return the favor,
God, why did it always veer off to sex when he was near?
She vowed to control her reaction tonight.

Izzy insisted on paying the bill and the four friends walked out of the restaurant. Finn draped his arm around her waist and she stiffened for a moment. But it felt so natural that she exhaled and relaxed against his body.