“Sure.”
“It’s going to piss your mom off.”
“Yep,” he said, grinning. “It will also piss off her husband, and their other son, the one they actually love. So I guess if you want to call that petty, go right ahead. I personally … I’m just going to go ahead and call it justice. And that’s why Jessie’s doing it. Justice for all of us. You felt driven to clear the record about Austin Wilder, while she feels driven to change the whole power structure of this town.”
Maybe he was overstating it, maybe he was giving a little too much credence to the purity of Jessie’s motives, but hell, anything was better than the continued reign of his maternal family. And repeating their motives back to Austin, he believed that there was good in Jessie’s plans even if he didn’t have a personal stake in the election.
It was more than just poking at his family, though that was a nice bonus. It was the potential to shift the whole vibe of this place. He liked that idea. Because the town had been divided into the good guys and the bad guys for way too long. It was about time the outlaws had a say in how things ran.
In truth, as founding families, the Wilders and the Hancocks had always had a certain amount of power on the city council, but it was a formality more than a reality. Because their outlaw reputation had hung over the families the whole time. They hadn’t bothered to participate for years, not until Austin had agreed to help Millie get funding for Gold Rush Days in exchange for some information he needed for his book. That had ended in the two of them getting married, and Austin changing the historical record forever.
“You opened the door, big brother. She wants to walk through it. I respect that.”
Austin looked uneasy. “It’s just … her family …”
He raised his brows. “Are you really discriminating against people who get treated the same way we do?”
“I’mnot. It’s just … William Hancock is a glorified con man.”
“I think he preferscarnie.”
“Whatever. You know what he’s like. And you know what West is like.”
“He’s an asshole. Hell, come to that, Jessie kind of is too. I don’t know if she can win. But you know, she’s pretty damned convincing. Even though I really don’t like her, she brought me around to her way of thinking in about fifteen minutes flat.”
“Because she’s going up against people that you don’t like. Not everybody here has a personal vendetta against Danielle.”
“Fair enough. But maybe enough of them do. Or maybe enough of them are just tired of the way things work. Jessie’s a wild card.”
“My wife is going to enjoy this way too much.”
“You think so?”
“Yes. Millie is a secret anarchist.”
Flynn laughed. “It’s actually not that secret. She’s a little contrarian. But I feel like librarians usually are.” He paused for a second. “Are you … are you uncomfortable with this because it relates to the Millie/Michael-who-is-not-my-brother/Danielle thing?”
Austin made a huffing sound. “I … no. I’m not … no.”
“You are a little bit.”
“No. I don’t think Millie cares about that anymore.”
“I know she doesn’t,” Flynn said. “Though it doesn’t mean she wouldn’t enjoy seeing Danielle and Michael endure a little hardship.”
“It’s not about Millie. I just … I want you to be careful,” Austin said. “Because playing with the Hancocks feels a lot like playing with fire. Maybe you think that’s small minded of me or something. I like to think of it as taking the appropriate amount of caution.”
He huffed a laugh. “What exactly do you think I’m vulnerable to?”
“There’s always been something between the two of you.”
“There has not been. Nothing that I don’t feel for any number of women. Jessie’s hot—I’m not disputing that. But the idea that I’m vulnerable to her in some specific way is ridiculous.”
“I’m your older brother. It’s my job to look out for you.”
“You’re notthatmuch older than me.”
“I’m older enough,” Austin said.
