And that’s how he felt—played. For the most part anyway. As she stood there, all business, despite her casual outfit and gorgeous, albeit still damp hair, he was stunned how she could flip a switch so fast. A few seconds ago, his heart ached for her. There were so many things he hadn’t known about her when they were together. Learning the real reason she took the Atlanta job had been a relief. She hadn’t just dumped him on a whim. She had a good reason—her love for Logan.
The knowledge carved out the resentment he’d held against her for so long. Underneath the frost—the protective barrier she developed due to her childhood—was a generous, loving, heroic woman. And he was falling for her, even harder than before... until the switch. He’d seen the emotion change in her eyes after he said he would have helped her, and her softness grew an immediate edge when she moved off the couch. Then she went in for the proverbial kill. For a split second he wondered if her vulnerability was just a ruse to catch him off guard.
Except she hadn’t been able to completely detach. Even at thisdistance, he could see a flicker of emotion, of uncertainty. Of desperation. And because he caught it, he was able to speak his next word.
“Okay.”
“Huh?”
“I’ll talk to him.” Seb patted the empty seat next to him. Yeah, he was being a little manipulative himself, but she started it. “I have a condition, though.”
She moved to resume her seat, still looking guarded, but much less so. “What’s that?”
“I want to tell you whyThe Clementine Timesis so important to me.” It was also important that she understood why he would inevitably say no to Miles, no matter the price, no matter the circumstance. But he wouldn’t tell her that part. He wasn’t looking forward to listening to Miles Harrington’s greasy sales pitch, but he could go through the motions to help her out. “Are you willing to listen?”
“Absolutely.”
He settled back against the couch as she faced him, sitting cross-legged.
He started from the beginning, telling her about working for Buford when he was a kid, much like Tyler did for him now. He skipped over his time atThe Democrat-Gazette, since there was no point in rehashing, and explained how Buford had offered him the paper.
“You bought it for a dollar?”
“Yep. The deal of the century.” He told her about learning the business, about Buford’s and Glenda’s deaths, about dealing with the ups and downs. “The Timesis on a shoestring budget, but it wasn’t always. We have longtime employees like Paul, Cletus, andFlora, who just came back on a volunteer basis. We also have some local stringers. Mayor Pancake has a column, Eugenia Pickles donates recipes—”
“The square dance lady, right?”
He nodded. “The point is, even though we’re going through a hard time right now, Clementine needs its newspaper. So do the surrounding communities. It’s how we stay connected. How else am I going to know that Tilly Henshaw had baby number three last month, Rob Cartwright is giving half-off haircuts every other Saturday, that the Cherry Hill school board is considering renovating the football field, and the Clementine Community Church is planning a potluck on June twentieth.”
“What’s special about the twentieth?”
“Not sure, although the CCC doesn’t exactly need a special occasion to get together to eat.” He smiled, but it quickly faded. “I know big companies are picking up the little papers at a discount, and that bothers me. Harrington Media isn’t going to care about people who live here. They’ll get their news from feeds, their advertising from companies that don’t even exist in this area, and of course, their money. I can’t blame publishers for selling if they can’t keep their paper afloat.The Timesisn’t there. Not yet, and I’m going to fight to keep it that way as long as I can.”
Jade didn’t respond. He didn’t either, wanting everything he said to sink in. There were many other reasons why he wanted to hang on toThe Times, but he’d given her plenty to ponder.
Finally, she spoke. “I hadn’t thought about it that way before. I’ve always been focused on the numbers.”
“Those are important too.”
“On behalf of us accountants, thanks for being so magnanimous.”
“Hey, I admire you accountants. Since Flora left, I’ve been tryingto make sense of—” He stopped. Jade didn’t need to know about his aversion to balance sheets, and she definitely didn’t need to know about the lost ledger. Which he still had to find by Tuesday. Egad, he had to get on top of that.
“Not everyone can have the gift of words that you do,” she said softly.
He was touched by her compliment. “I didn’t know you read them.”
“I read all your columns, remember?”
Actually, he didn’t. Had she mentioned that when they were dating? Or was he too distracted by her, in a good way, of course? Definitely a good way. It was nice to hear... again.
“I understand what you’re saying about your community too,” she said. “I took a drive today.”
He listened as she told him about her trip through the greater Clementine area. When she finished, he said, “I can show you some other places if you’re interested.”
“Actually, I am.”
She seemed surprised by her own statement. He wasn’t going to draw attention to it. “How about tomorrow?”
