Page 58 of Flights and Sights

“Later,” I promised.

He whined but stepped back and respected what I’d said. “I guess you’re right,” he said glumly. “We can’t be late.”

“Now, go get dressed while I clean myself up.” I pinched his ass for effect and he laughed.

While Paxton was gone, I washed my face and tidied my clothes and hair, making sure any hints that screamed “I just had sex” were gone. I also opened the email from the Pearce Foundation and skimmed the terms of the agreement—it looked amazing. It was exactly what we needed. Paxton emerged from his bedroom shortly after, wearing those dark charcoal pants again, this time with a jewel green shirt. He was also wearing a tie that was the same color as his slacks.

My mouth went dry and I reached for him. “Jesus,” I muttered. “It’s not fair.”

“What’s not?” By the playful look on his face, I could tell he knew exactly what I meant.

“You’re so fucking hot like this.”

“I tried to blow you not ten minutes ago,” he pointed out. “You said no.”

I grunted and stepped back. “I have a few regrets.”

“Alright,” he said finally. “Let’s hit the road.”

“Fine, fine. But you owe me one when we get home.”

“When we get home?” He nudged me gently. “I like the sound of that.”

My stomach fluttered at the realization that I liked it, too. Maybe more than I should, considering I was about to leave the country for three months. I sighed and shook it off. This could wait. I needed to think about the meeting, to focus on what was about to happen, rather than thinking about my regrets, my fears, my hopes for our relationship. I needed to focus.

We got in my car and I took us into downtown Foggy Basin, parking near the municipal buildings. There were people milling around outside and my stomach clenched with anxiety.

“Are we ready?” I asked.

Paxton nodded confidently. “We have the money. Well, most of it. And we have a path to get the rest. Everything is going to be great.”

Chapter 29 - Paxton

We headed into the town hall, my stomach in knots. Inside, we made our way to the big meeting room. It had ugly blue carpet and a long table with seats for the council, along with seating in classroom-style rows for attendees. There was an aisle in the middle of the chairs and at the end of the aisle was an old, wobbly lectern. At the front of the room, seated at the council table, was Barbara Traylor, the woman who’d visited the meadery a month ago to warn me of what was coming, along with several other council members. In the audience area sat a handful of residents, the kind who attended all of these meetings, along with several men and women in suits.

I recognized Evelyn immediately, an older woman with silver hair known for being the town busybody and gossip. She attended every single council meeting, regardless of the topic, mostly so she could spread the word about what had happened when she went about her business in the following days.

Nearby was Reuben Bennett, the mailman for Foggy Basin and the areas around. He also liked gossip, but he was never cruel about it. Reuben was a bear of a man in his late forties, with a ton of thick, red hair. He was a great guy, and generally well-liked.

Finally, I spotted Mr. Atkins, who was in his eighties. He was the kind of guy who used a cane but loved to walk everywhere he went, and spent his days lingering in local businesses. Some of the businesses didn’t appreciate his visits, but most at least tolerated him.

I glanced over at Callum. “Well?”

He nodded toward the front and made his way to the second row. “Let’s sit here,” he murmured. We took our seats then and I folded my hands in my lap, fidgeting with my fingers incessantly, until Cal put his hand on top of mine and squeezed gently. “It’s going to be great,” he assured me.

I forced myself to stop fidgeting and nodded. Slowly, people began to fill in the seats and eventually, the seven council members were all there and ready to begin.

“I now call this meeting to order,” Mrs. Traylor announced, and a hush fell over the room. “We have a busy agenda today, so let’s get right into it.”

With Callum by my side, I listened to Barbara read off the agenda. There was a public comments section on the agenda, which surprised me. Anyone there could speak on anything relevant to the town—whether it was a part of today’s meeting or not—and for some reason, that made my anxiety skyrocket. What if people were there to protest the expansion of the meadery? It seemed unlikely, but not impossible. What if the developer had somehow won over some of the townspeople and convinced them that whatever they wanted was better than what I wanted to do?

I swallowed hard and squeezed Cal’s hand. His steady presence was reassuring, giving me a touchstone to focus on while the agenda was listed off. The first thing on the agenda was school expansion. I tried to listen carefully, but I found I didn’t care. If the school needed to be expanded to keep up with population growth, so be it. There was plenty of land around the school to be used. The school wasn’t technically a part of Foggy Basin, but apparently that’s where the local students attended, so the council gave an opportunity to hear opinions about it.

The next thing they covered was the fall charity auction and dance. With fall approaching, they had a subcommittee preparing for the event, which was going to be raising money for a new library.

Finally, it was our turn. “Next up, we need to discuss the sale of parcel 108485. The property between Celestial Cask’s meadery and taproom, and the alpaca and Christmas tree farm,” Barbara announced. “We have two presentations from interested parties.”

The people in suits stood quickly and one of them cleared his throat. “We’d like to speak first if that’s agreeable to you, Mrs. Traylor.”