“I wish she didn’t. Not for that reason.”
“It’s all so complicated. But you guys make it look easy. You make it look like family.”
“Well, so does yours.”
That they appreciated each other’s version of family felt special in a way she couldn’t quite articulate. But tonight had been about the closest thing she’d ever had to a sleepover. One where she felt included and welcome.
A strong, terrible thought hit her. When all of this was over, she wouldn’t only lose Flynn, but the closeness she had built up with his family.
That made it almost impossible to sleep.
Chapter 15
He’s talking about a future for us, and I haven’t let myself dream of the future for a very long time.
—Belle Martin’s Diary, January 1870
Jessie and Flynn prepared mercilessly for the debate. As it drew closer, she actually felt real calm descending over her. She had this. She just did. She knew what she wanted to say, she had done a lot of preparation, a lot of reading, and most of all she had spent a lot of time talking to people in town.
Flynn encouraged her to dress in one of her Wild West Show outfits—all rhinestones and fringe, big hair, her. Because she wasn’t trying to be Danielle.
She wasn’t.
The last week had been intense, but wonderful. She had spent every night at Flynn’s house, and though her brother had raised questioning eyebrows at her a few times, he had never commented.
On debate night, all the Wilders and all the Hancocks filed into the redbrick town hall building. They walked right into that large, white-trimmed room, leaving dusty boot prints on the dark walnut floor, and took up a whole section of seating in the very front. She felt, right then, that she had two families. Even if it wasn’t entirely true.
It was harder and harder for her to remember that she and Flynn were playing a part. They were. That’s all it was. They were playing a part.
Except the sex between them was very real, and so was the way her heart beat faster when she looked at him.
But right now, she needed to get that out of her mind.
Danielle hadn’t arrived yet, and Jessie was trying to figure out exactly what sort of power move she was making when her opponent walked into the room, her blond hair swept back into a neat, low bun. She was wearing black. A black jacket and black pants. She looked like a woman who was running for a real political office, not just mayor of a town so small it was barely a town.
Millie’s friend Heather was acting as moderator. Which had apparently been a little bit of a knock-down, drag-out fight with the town council. But Heather had been rated as someone who was neutral, and as a member of one of the founding families, she had a right to speak her mind.
But she also didn’t own a business in town, and neither did her husband, which put her in the neutral category. Even so, Jessie knew that Heather didn’t care for Danielle.
The knowledge made her heart shiver with glee.
“If everyone can please take their seats, and the candidates can come up to their podiums,” Heather said, speaking into a microphone from a small table that was facing the stage. “This debate will be conducted in a town-hall style. We will be taking questions and comments from citizens in the audience, with each candidate having two minutes to answer a question. I will act as moderator.”
There was polite clapping for Heather, and then slightly louder clapping when Jessie Jane and Danielle took the stage. She wondered which of them the audience was clapping for. But of course, the most uproarious clapping was coming from her section. And so she did what she knew she had to. She put her hand up and pumped a fist.
“Some decorum,” Danielle said.
“I’ll allow it,” said Heather.
But then, the doors opened again, and in filed some of Jessie’s favorites from the bar. Including Gus, who took a seat all the way inthe back. The turnout was huge. She didn’t frequent town meetings, but she knew for a fact that she had never seen this room so full.
“We’re going to start things off with a couple of pre-submitted questions. And this one question was asked the most frequently, so I decided to make sure it was the first thing we covered. It’s about the restaurant tax.”
Heather launched into a question about the reasoning behind the restaurant tax, the allocation of funds, and what both candidates intended to do with the measure.
Danielle obfuscated, saying that it was impossible to know exactly how they would allocate a budget when they didn’t yet know how much revenue they would be bringing in with the tax.
“I’m not having it,” Jessie said. That earned her a round of cheers. Even from people she wouldn’t have normally expected to support her. “I’m not having it because I don’t think it’s good for the town.” She launched into all the concerns that the different shop owners had voiced to her. And especially the concerns the restaurant owners had.
