“No. It still makes me smile, especially the clay moose you made.”
“He hasn’t fallen apart?” He started eating his stew.
“Why would he? We put Mod Podge on all the animals.”
“Twenty-two years ago. Your closet must be a perfect environment. Better leave it over there.”
“I’ll be glad to, but if you change your mind, it’s yours.”
“Speaking of changing minds….”
She put down her coffee and steepled her hands over her plate, another Tracy move. “I’m gonna nix whatever you come up with. You should know that in advance. One night is my limit.”
“Okay, I accept that.”
“You do?” Was that a flicker of disappointment in her eyes? She picked up her spoon and dug into her stew. “Then I guess there’s nothing more to discuss.”
“Yes, there is.”
“What?”
“Days.”
She paused, her spoon in midair, and stared at him. “Are you nuts? Carrying on under your family’s nose at night is difficult enough, but in broad daylight it would be impossible.”
“Not if we change the venue.”
“I don’t follow.”
“Between the work on the house and keeping up with my duties as mayor, I’m driving into town almost every weekday. Nobody will think anything about it if they spot my truck in the courthouse parking lot.”
“So what? I’ll be working.”
“Are you booked solid next week?”
“Not every hour of the day, but I—hang on, are you suggesting you’ll come by for?—”
“Yes, ma’am. That’s exactly what I’m suggesting. Check your calendar and tell me when you don’t have a client and I’ll slot those times into my schedule. If nothing else, we can skip lunch and grab a sandwich later.”
“That’s insane! You can’t be popping into my office every day. That will look suspicious as hell.”
“You only think so because you know why I’m doing it. Everyone else will see a harried mayor who’s dealing with a complicated legal issue.”
Her breath hitched. “It won’t work.”
“Why not?”
“You’re asking me to pause in the middle of the day, run upstairs and have a quickie with you, then pull myself together and go meet my next client.”
“When you put it that way, it sounds even more fun than I first imagined.”
She rolled her eyes. “What if someone just stops in, hoping to catch me even though they don’t have an appointment? That happens. Auntie Kat is famous for it.”
“You have one of those signs that says you’ll be back at such-and-such. I’ve seen it, the one with the clock face.”
“Well, yeah, but?—”
“There’s your solution. We’ll lock the door and put up the sign.”
