Nate took her hand and stood, grabbing everything they’d brought up themselves and escorting her toward the door to the stairwell.“Are you sure we’re safe to go back inside?I don’t want to interrupt anything.”
Grabbing his wrist, Lottie twisted it to get a look at his watch.“I think we’ll be okay.Your brother has a lot of stamina, but even he can’t go for more than an hour.”
Nate pulled a face.“I’m going to file that under information I never needed.”He shivered lightly in disgust, making her smile grow even wider.
Lottie chuckled and started down the stairs.“Sorry, but I’ve been sitting on that information for a long time and other than Willa, I haven’t been able to share it with anyone.”She leaned against his body, blinking her eyes up at him innocently.“You’re not upset with me, are you?”
Shaking his head, Nate wrapped his arm around her and brushed his nose along the shell of her ear.“Not at all.If anything, I’ll consider it the bar I need to clear when I’m with you.”He kissed the spot just under her ear, causing her to shiver in both delight and anticipation of when that particular gauntlet would be thrown down.
“I look forward to it,” she told him.Lottie had been going for a flirtatious tone, but she’d been looking forward to being with Nate again for so long that it came out far more genuine than she’d intended.
Nate gazed at her seriously.“As do I.”
As they made their way back to his mercifully empty apartment and spent the rest of the night planning for his forum, Lottie couldn’t help but think back on everything she’d learned about the man she had such strong feelings for.They were the same feelings he shared for her, but that was what threatened to break them apart.Was there such a thing as too much love?Lottie wasn’t sure, but regardless of the danger it presented to her heart, she couldn’t wait to find out.
****
The high school gymnasiumwhere the public forum was being held brought back a lot of memories for Lottie, most of them good, some of them awkward, but after reburying the memory of her getting her first period in the middle of gym class, Lottie felt far more ready to face the surprisingly large crowd that had gathered for the meeting.Butterflies took flight in her stomach despite her not needing to talk much at all.Like Nate’s family, she was really just there for moral support, but when it came time for the event to commence, the mayor had pulled her up to the table in the front right along with him.Like always, Lottie didn’t question where they were going or why, followed along the moment their skin touched.Now that she was seated next to Nate, the hard metal of the folding chair digging into her back, Lottie wasn’t so sure she should be up there.
Leaning over to Nate who looked just about ready to call the meeting to order, Lottie tugged on the sleeve of his forest green sweater, trying to ignore how good he looked in his less formal attire.“Are you sure you want me up here?This is your thing.I’m just helping out a little.”
Nate covered the small microphone that sat positioned on the table in front of them and moved closer, his sandalwood cologne washing over her.The smell was soothing and familiar enough to banish a few of the winged creatures in her belly, but then some decided to move south and Lottie felt her desire stirring.She tamped it down as best she could.This was definitely not the place for that.
“Of course I want you here, Charlotte.”He smiled and tilted his head toward her ear.“I need you up here with me.”
Lottie looked at Nate’s eyes, wanting to dive into the pools of blue and take a good long swim, but the community members in front of them started to shift and grumble, so it would have to wait.“Okay.I’m with you.”
Nodding, Nate uncovered the microphone and addressed the crowd.“Good evening, Applewood.”A few stray claps and a holler sounded before Nate was able to go on.“We’ve opened this public forum to discuss the downtown revitalization project, but more specifically, the renovation of the current town square.”
Nate went on to point out the large posters he’d had printed that showed his ideas for the square which included a small stage for live music, a water feature for kids to splash around in during the warmer months, and a few areas where a rotating line-up of artists could display their sculptures.The cement on the ground would be replaced entirely by cobblestone to match the rest of the area and the seating would come in the form of new benches to replace those that had started to disintegrate from weather and time.
Overall, it seemed like a lovely plan and Lottie was impressed that Nate had been able to draw it all up on his own.Before he was mayor, he had worked in the town planning office, so it made sense, but knowing that he was capable and witnessing it were two very different things.Apparently Lottie had a competency kink because listening to Nate describe his plan and how he would put it into action was actually turning her on quite a bit.Her skin felt hot and flushed, and she had to remove her cardigan just to cool herself off.
When he was finished with his speech, Nate opened up the proceedings for questions.The first hand in the air was from Nate’s dad, and after receiving a loving eye roll from his son, he stood and addressed the group.“I, for one, think this is a wonderful plan and am one hundred percent on board with it.”The rest of Nate’s family clapped and when Lottie looked over to Nate, he was blushing.
Ducking his head for a moment, Nate looked back up and nodded at his father.“Thank you for your support, Mr.Kemp.”The rest of his family clapped for the patriarch as he retook his seat.Nate looked over toward another member who’d stood and Lottie tried not to groan out loud.Lottie loved just about every person in Applewood with a few notable exceptions.Helena Brandon, the most ornery person Lottie had ever had the displeasure of interacting with, was one of them.She was a bitter old woman and she also happened to own a sandwich shop that faced into the town square.“Ms.Brandon.Would you care to weigh in?”
Helena stood, smoothing her hands down her stark white hair.“Unlike your father, I don’t believe we should be so quick to throw out what has been working perfectly fine for the town so far.”
A chorus of agreement followed her words, the echo ringing in Lottie’s ears as she looked over to Nate.For his part, he looked completely calm in the face of so much dissent.“I appreciate your viewpoint, Ms.Brandon, but how well does the town square actually work?”Nate stood and gestured out into the crowd.“How many of you can say that you have spent more time in the square than it took to cross it on your way toward your final destination?When was the last time you sat on the small patches of grass infiltrated by weeds or on one of the rotting benches?”
Mr.Harvey stood up and smiled sadly at Nate.“I appreciate what you’re trying to do, Mayor, but even though we may not spend much time there now, a lot of us have special memories tied to that place.I would hate to see the bench I proposed to my wife upon get turned into a pile of kindling.”
More agreement rang out and when Lottie looked to Nate again, it was almost like a window into the past.Lottie had seen the same look on his face when he faced a debate opponent in class who was putting him off his game or when he’d been up to bat on the ball field and had a full count.She’d also seen it that night on the farm when they’d had sex just before it morphed into resignation.Cora’s words from the pool also floated to the front of Lottie’s mind.Nate sees the world one way, and when you challenge that, he fights it.It was clear that Nate was gearing up for a fight, and while she couldn’t let him do that and blow any chance of ever getting what he wanted, she also couldn’t watch him give up again either.
Nate opened his mouth to talk, but Lottie pushing her chair back, the metal squealing against the wood of the basketball court, drew everyone’s attention over to her.“What if we bring the past into the future with us?”
All eyes were on her, including Nate’s.Lottie had half expected him to look pissed, but instead he smiled and nodded at her.“What are you thinking, Charlotte?”
Lottie smiled at him before turning back to the group.“You said you wanted to have rotating sculptures in the square, but what if one was permanent.”Nate nodded and Lottie licked her dry lips.Thinking on the fly was something she was used to, but she hadn’t done it in front of such a large group of people she admired and respected in years.“We take the parts of the existing benches that aren’t rotted and get an artist to construct something as a tribute to the wonderful memories that people have made on them.The benches are going to rot away eventually, but this way we preserve what we can while also creating a monument for the town.”
Lottie looked out at Mr.Harvey who scratched at his white hair.“That actually sounds pretty nice.”He smiled at Lottie and Nate before retaking his seat.
A nudge at her side had Lottie turning to Nate.“Keep going,” he commanded, his voice soft but sure.“I know you have more ideas up there.”
Beaming at him, Lottie turned back to the group.“We can also have dedication bricks that people can have engraved with their names or a quick blurb about one of their favorite memories.That can make up the center portion of the square.”Lottie saw Mrs.Brandon start to stand and another idea formed in her head.“Oh, and we can have café tables and chairs set up to provide extra outdoor seating for some of the nearby businesses.”
Mrs.Brandon seemed pleased at the idea of more seating, but she continued to stand.“What about all the business I’m going to lose during construction?”
