The mayor chuckled and turned back to the crowd.
Maggie bumped Polly’s shoulder—a silent thank-you.
Maureen suddenly held out a flask. “Here. You might need this.”
“Why would I?—”
“Trust me.”
Still frowning, she took the flask but didn’t open it.
Then, like clockwork, the door beside the stage opened and Ethan stepped in, closely followed by the other four members of his team.
Her fingers tightened on the flask.
“Shit.”
Maggie barely registered Polly’s curse. She was too focused onhim.
Out there on the street, she’d tried not to stare.
Now, she could see everything.
His beautiful green eyes, which had always reminded her of that moss on the bottom of shallow water. The way his gray shirt stretched over his broad chest. And his lips… God, his lips. They’d always been beautiful. Wide and soft and so incredibly kissable.
Her belly flopped.
He looked at her, and she knew that had she been standing, she would have caved to the floor. That’s what one glance from Ethan Moore did to her. What it hadalwaysdone.
The mayor continued to talk, but she barely heard a thing he said. At least until Polly shifted forward on her seat and called out, “What did you say?”
The mayor cleared his throat. “I said, that due to the recent missing people and the increased crime in our town over the last few years, Ethan Moore and his team will be forming an elite search and rescue team to get this town safe again.”
Maggie’s jaw dropped, and she looked back at Ethan to see his eyes directly on her.
4
Drag your damn gaze off Maggie.
The words screamed in Ethan head. But, fuck, it was hard when she sat in the front row, so close that two steps would bring him within touching distance.
A low rumble of whispers sounded over the crowd. Then Ward shot up, crumbs falling from his protruding stomach. “What the hell is this? I didn’t approve a new SAR team.”
“You didn’t have to,” Ferris said confidently. “I’m the mayor.Iapproved it.”
“We already have a SAR team.”
Ethan laughed, but there was no humor in the sound. “We have a group of five senior citizens who have no formal training and only joined because no one else wanted to.”
“Well, what are you all gonna do for work?” Ward spluttered. “There aren’t enough jobs in this town.”
“Thisistheir work,” Ferris said. “Their positions are paid.”
“By who?” Ward huffed. “I don’t want my tax dollars to go to a bunch of hotshot SEALs.”
“Your tax dollars are safe. I don’t know if you’re familiar with the term anonymous, but it means the donor gets to keep their identity hidden.”
Ward scowled at Ethan’s team like they were here to hurt his town rather than help. Liketheywere a problem. “I would like to speak to you all right now,” Ward seethed. “In private.”
