Trinity Falls (19 page)

CHAPTER 29

Ramona flung her sheets off and threw herself from the bed. She wrenched her robe from the closet and shrugged into it as she stomped down the hall to her front door. She braced her fingertips on the cold blond wood and rose up on her bare toes.

Ramona jerked the door open. “What the
hell
is your problem?” When he didn't immediately respond, she stomped her bare foot. “Well?”

“You look so much younger without any makeup.”

That growling was coming from her throat. “What do you want, Quincy?”

He lifted a copy of
The Trinity Falls Monitor
chest high. “You're free to leave Trinity Falls now.”

Ramona snatched the newspaper from him. “Take off your shoes if you're coming in.”

She turned and marched into her living room. A photo of Doreen smiled up at her beneath the headline FEVER ENTERS RACE FOR MAYOR.

“Do you always wake up in such a bad mood?” Quincy's words followed her.

Ramona spun on her bare heels. “Do you always lean on people's doorbells at such an ungodly hour of the morning?”

Her gaze dropped to Quincy's feet. He'd better have taken off his shoes before he'd lumbered across her white carpet. She relaxed as she noted his long, narrow feet covered in black dress socks. It was a sexy look for the bookish professor. Ramona pulled her gaze up past his black pants and gray jacket over a white dress shirt and black tie.

“It's after seven o'clock in the morning.” Quincy walked farther into the room. “Most people are on their way to work, if they haven't already arrived.”

“I'm. Not.” Ramona froze with the sudden realization of just how scary she must look.

She wasn't wearing makeup. And she was certain her hair was matted and pointed in all different directions like a weather vane in a storm.

She closed her eyes. This was her worst nightmare. She dragged her fingers through her tangled hair and scrubbed a hand over her face.

In contrast, the university professor looked as though he'd been up for hours. His rugged features were clean-shaven. And his business clothes loaned his tall, bulky form the scary elegance of a Chicago mobster. Ramona's body heated.

“How would I know your sleeping habits, Ramona?” Quincy's voice had deepened. Its texture stroked her skin.

Ramona raised her eyes to his darkened gaze. She knew how he felt about her. Was that the reason she was responding to him? How much of what she felt was wishful thinking, and how much was the pull of his masculinity?

“Why did you say I was free to leave?” Her question was meant to remind him of the supposed reason for his obscenely early visit. She exhaled when he broke eye contact with her.

Quincy gestured toward the newspaper. “Last time, you ran unopposed for the mayor's position. If Doreen's willing to take on the job, you don't have to run at all.”

Ramona regarded him through narrowed eyes. “You don't think I should run for reelection? Has my performance been that bad?”

Quincy frowned. “That's not what I'm saying.”

“What
are
you saying?”

“You don't want to live here. If you campaign again, you'd be tied to Trinity Falls for another four years.”

Ramona tossed the paper onto her glass-and-silver metal coffee table. “I've done a good job with this town. I've implemented improvements and I've reduced the deficit.”

“You've done a good job under difficult conditions.”

She jerked her head toward the discarded paper. “Then why are people challenging me?”

“You're missing the point. You're not obligated to run for a second term. Step down next January. Then you can move to wherever you want to live. Start the life you've always wanted.”

“Where?” Ramona spread her arms. “Ean's not going back to New York, and you don't want me moving to Philadelphia with you.”

Quincy crossed his arms over his chest, a surprisingly broad chest for such a stuffy college professor. “Stop using Trinity Falls as a crutch.”

Ramona stumbled back. His words slapped her with the sharp sting of truth. “That's not what I'm doing.”

“You're an intelligent, capable, independent woman. You'd do fine on your own.”

“As well as I did as mayor?” Ramona blinked, battling back tears. “As well as the last time I moved to New York?”

Quincy studied her in silence for several long seconds. “What happened in New York, Ramona?”

She pressed her thumb and third finger against her eyes. “I failed. Just as I failed at being mayor.” Ramona grabbed the newspaper, crushing it with her fist. “Show yourself out.”

Ramona turned and hurried down the hallway, back to her bedroom. She slammed the door closed. Where would she go if she couldn't go to New York or Philadelphia? Who would she be if she couldn't be mayor of Trinity Falls? What was scarier than starting over? Starting over without a clear idea of who you were or where you fit in your community.

“Doreen's announcement that she's running for mayor made the front page.” Grady Weatherington, owner of Fine Accessories, shoved his copy of
The Trinity Falls Monitor
across the table. As usual, the town center group had pushed two of the square tables together to accommodate their members for the meeting.

“It's a good article.” Ean looked up from the newspaper and smiled at his mother. He caught Megan's approving regard from across the table. It was a nice change from the cool looks she'd been giving him since Friday evening. Was she ready to forgive him?

Grady ignored Ean. “What good is her campaign going to do? The election is a year away. Ramona could sell the center before then—or worse, raise our rents again.”

Ean studied the newspaper photo of his mother. She looked great. Happy. Confident. He'd vote for her. “Ramona won't raise our rent before the election.”

“How do you know?” Grady sounded like a petulant child.

Ean passed the newspaper to his mother. “I doubt she'll sell the center, either.”

“How do you know?” Grady's voice held a bite of impatience.

Megan answered him. “With Doreen challenging her campaign, Ramona will be more aware of the impact her decisions will have on her chances for reelection.”

“But you don't
know.
” Grady sighed, running his hands through his thinning hair. “Why didn't you come up with something to help us now?”

“Like what?” Megan turned the question to Grady.

“I don't know.” Grady threw up his arms.

“If you don't know, how are we supposed to?” Tilda Maddox, the card store owner, rolled her gray eyes.

Grady turned toward Doreen. “No offense, Doreen, but I don't know how introducing you as our candidate is going to help me pay my rent.”

“No offense taken, Grady.” Doreen inclined her head. “But my campaign is about much more than your rent relief.”

Ean smiled at his mother's saucy response. He didn't remember her having so much spunk. “My mother's running to help the entire town.”

Grady grunted. “She can't beat Ramona. No one can. Ramona's got this town twisted to her will. No one wants to go against her.”

“Maybe you don't, but Doreen does.” Belinda Curby, the beauty salon owner, tapped the tip of her magenta-painted fingernail against the Formica tabletop. “You must not have read the article.”

Grady scowled at her. “Is that supposed to be funny?”

“You see any of us laughing?” Tilda's voice was as dry as dust.

Grady gestured toward Doreen. “What makes you qualified?”

Ean had had enough. “My mother stepped forward to help Trinity Falls, which is something she's been doing since before I was born. No offense, Grady, but when have you ever done that? For as long as I can remember, you've looked to other people to find solutions to your problems.”

Doreen squeezed Ean's upper arm. “That's enough, Ean.”

“No, Doreen.” Grady folded his hands on the table. “Maybe he's right. Maybe I was expecting Megan to solve my problems. But I've run out of time and no one can help me.” He stood. “I'm going to have to close Fine Accessories when this rental agreement is done.”

Belinda gasped. “Grady, are you sure?”

Grady nodded. “I just can't afford the rent anymore. It's draining my savings.”

Tilda fisted her hands on the table. “Grady, you coward.”

Grady frowned at her. “I'm not a coward.”

Tilda continued as though he hadn't contradicted her. “You can't give up now. We have to stick together.”

Grady turned toward Megan. “You were smart to diversify the bookstore. I should have done something similar with Fine Accessories. It's too late now.”

Megan shook her head. “Grady, it may not be too late for you to revamp your company. Let me help you.”

Grady shook his head. “You can't. I've run out of time and money. That's what I told Ramona when I mentioned we were gonna run someone against her.”

Megan's brows arched. “You told her?”

Grady's cheeks flushed. “It came up in conversation.”

Ean listened to the other association members trying to rally the accessory store's owner. Megan even offered to help him diversify his store. Still, Grady wasn't willing to even try. “You give up too easily.”

Grady rewarded Ean with a glare. “My family has owned Fine Accessories for generations.”

Ean arched a brow. “Isn't that even more of a reason to hold on to it?”

“I've done all that I can.” Grady's gaze circled the other faces around the tables. “Good luck with Ramona. You're going to need it.”

Ean considered the other business owners as they watched Grady walk away. Was he the first to go or the last?

Most of these entrepreneurs presided over businesses that spanned back generations. What would happen to Trinity Falls if its residents continued to lose the enterprises that represented their history and heritage?

He looked toward his mother. Doreen's intelligent, dark gaze focused on each member of their group. She was attentive to what they had to say. She was engaged in the town and its people, interested in their needs. How could he have ever considered giving her less than his wholehearted support?

Instead of questioning her decision, he should have been asking himself what he could do to help the town. Well, he'd ask that question now.

CHAPTER 30

“I'm proud of you, Mom.” Ean broke the comfortable silence as he walked with his mother to her home after the association's meeting Wednesday night.

“Thank you, Ean.” Doreen sounded startled.

The farther they traveled from the center of town, the fewer pedestrians they passed, and the darker the night became. They'd first accompanied Megan home, stopping to make sure she entered safely before continuing to Doreen's house.

“I'm nervous.” His mother chuckled. “But I'm excited, too.”

“I'd be worried about you if you weren't nervous.” Ean tossed her a grin. “You're going to be the best mayor this town has ever seen, and I'm going to do everything I can to help you get elected.”

Doreen linked her arm with his. “That means a lot to me.”

“I'm sorry that I wasn't supportive of your decision right away.”

“Megan reminded me that you're adjusting to a lot of changes.” Doreen glanced at him. “I know I'm not the mother you remember.”

Ean smiled. “That's an understatement.” He sobered and held his mother's gaze. “But I like this assertive, independent businesswoman. I always thought I'd inherited my stubborn ambition from Dad. Now I wonder whether I got it from you.”

Doreen's dark eyes twinkled with mischief. “You got your stubbornness from your father and your ambition from me.”

Ean chuckled. “My change of mind is purely selfish, you know. Now that I've moved back to Trinity Falls, I have to make sure that my taxes are spent responsibly and that I'm getting the services I need.”

Doreen placed her free hand on her heart. “I promise that if I'm elected, the roads will be maintained. The mail will arrive on time and the water will be properly treated.”

Ean nodded, satisfied. “You'll have my vote.”

Doreen sighed. “I wonder if I'll have Leo's.”

“Coach is pretty old-fashioned, but he cares about you, Mom.” Ean patted his mother's gloved hand. “He'll come around when he sees that this is what you want to do.”

“I wish I had your confidence.”

They were quiet for a time. The neighbors' porch lights eased the creeping dark. Several of them had banners or flags announcing the town's upcoming 150th birthday. Ean breathed in the fresh, cool scents of Trinity Falls at night.

“After your father died, I was so lost.” Doreen's voice was low. Ean had to strain to hear her. “It's unfair that your father got sick one year after he retired. He'd worked hard all of his life. His retirement was supposed to be our second honeymoon. Instead, he suffered with cancer for a year, then died.”

Ean's stomach muscles knotted with the thought of the pain his father had endured. “I wish I'd known.”

“He didn't want you to see him like that. He said there wasn't anything you could do, anyway.”

“I know. But I still don't understand.”

“Your father had his reasons.” Doreen sniffed several times before continuing. “After Paul died, I felt as though, at the age of sixty, I had to rebuild my life from scratch.”

“I'd have come home sooner if you'd called me.” Ean's response was just as quiet.

“It's my life, Ean.” She cleared her throat. “I had to rebuild it on my own.”

But she hadn't been on her own. Megan had been there, presenting her with a career opportunity. Leonard had offered her a new love life. Ean had been on the outside, unaware of what his mother had been going through. Could he ever forgive himself for allowing his career in New York to keep him so disconnected from his family and friends? Only if he never let it happen again.

“Do you think that you've rebuilt your life now?” His mother's house was paces ahead of them. Ean glanced across the street. Lights shone in Ms. Helen's house.

“Not yet. But at least I have a direction.” Doreen released her hold on Ean's arm to dig her house keys from her handbag. “What about you?”

“I'm on my way.” Ean followed his mother up the walkway to the front steps. “I should be able to open my practice soon.”

“Congratulations.” His mother's grin made him feel even prouder than when he'd earned his college scholarship.

“But I wish my relationship with Megan was as easy to figure out as my law practice.”

Doreen held the door open for Ean. “Uh-oh. Is there trouble in paradise?”

Ean unzipped his coat as he crossed the threshold. “Sometimes she seems a little distant, as though she's not quite sure whether things between us will last. I think she's waiting for me to leave Trinity Falls again.”

“That doesn't make sense. Why would you open a law practice here if you were planning to leave?”

“I wouldn't. That's what I told her.”

“I know she cares about you.” Doreen shrugged out of her coat and hung it in the closet. “Give her time, Ean. Actions speak louder than words. When she realizes you've settled in, she'll stop pulling away.”

“I hope so.”

But how much time would Megan need? He was growing tired of being under suspicion. What more would he have to do to earn her trust?

Ramona knocked three times on Quincy's office door Thursday morning. “Am I interrupting?”

The suddenly sexy university professor rose to his feet. His penetrating stare remained on her face as he gestured toward the guest chair in front of his desk. “No. Have a seat.”

His unexpected welcome made her eyes sting. Why was she so weepy? It must be fatigue. She'd barely slept last night. She drew in a deep breath, filling her lungs with the stench of stale coffee. How much of that stuff did he drink?

“Thank you.” Ramona settled onto the uncomfortable oak chair. A nervous giggle popped from her lips.

“What's wrong?” Quincy sat down again.

“The last time I was here, you didn't ask me to sit. You didn't stand, either.”

“The last time you were here, you were buried under makeup and hair spray.” His eyes smiled at her. “The new look suits you.”

Ramona touched her face. A blush crawled up her neck. “Thank you.”

Quincy's eyes sobered. “What's on your mind?”

Ramona made several false starts before the words came. “You asked why I'd left New York. I left because I wasn't good enough for Ean's world.”

Quincy's coal black eyes ignited with anger. Was it at her or for her? “Who said that? Ean?”

Ramona's eyes stretched so wide, they hurt. “No! Oh no! No, of course not.”

“Then from where did you get that idea?”

Ramona stood to pace the office. What little space he had was crammed with bookcases and file cabinets. She had to move carefully. The two-toned blue carpet was faded, thin and worn. It should be replaced. She was pretty sure the eggshell walls had once been white. The room needed a fresh coat of paint. The garbage can was in the wrong place. She picked it up and moved it to the other side of his desk.

Quincy gave her a dubious look. “What are you doing?”

“That should improve your feng shui.”

He arched a brow. “Stop stalling.”

Ramona turned to wander the room, carefully. “Ean was my ticket to the big city. But he did his job too well.”

“What do you mean?” Quincy gently prompted.

She flexed her shoulders and drew in another breath of stale coffee. “When it was my turn to step into the bright lights, I got stage fright. The female lawyers and the partners' wives were so fashionable and polished. And they were smart and well-read. They made me feel like some hick who'd just bounced off a hay wagon in the middle of Madison Avenue.”

“You're polished, fashionable and smart. You were keeping up with those other women . . . until you came to the well-read quality.”

Ramona gave him a wounded look. “This isn't funny, Quincy. I've never felt so out of place or alone.”

Quincy was desperate. Ramona seemed broken and lost. What should he say to make her feel better?

With her face bare of makeup and her hair pulled into a simple ponytail, she reminded him of the young woman who'd gone to New York full of confidence, then returned to Trinity Falls in defeat. How could he help rebuild her self-esteem?

He crossed to her. He cupped his hands around her slender upper arms and resisted the urge to draw her into his embrace. “Did you tell Ean how you felt?”

“Of course not.”

“Why not?”

She lowered her gaze. “I was too proud.”

Quincy sighed. “He may have been able to help you.”

“I didn't think so at the time. So I came home. I'd only meant to stay a little while, just until I got my courage back. But then my grandfather died and I couldn't leave Megan alone.” Ramona's shrug was restless. “Or maybe
I
didn't want to be alone. Then the mayor's term was up, and no one else wanted the job.”

Quincy released her before he hugged her. “Why did you run for office? You'd never been political before.”

“Did you see the state the town was in?” She shook her head in disbelief. “The roads were falling apart. The mayor had been in office two terms too long. Doreen was doing a great job rallying the town to raise money for the schools and clinic, but we needed infrastructure help.”

Quincy's lips curved into a smile. “So you stayed because you thought your cousin needed you. Then you stayed longer because you thought your town needed you.”

Ramona turned away, dragging the scrunchy from her hair. “Before I knew it, six years had gone by.”

“You once asked me why I'm in love with you.” Quincy deliberately paraphrased Ramona's earlier words. “It's because you have a big heart.”

Ramona blinked—a slow, sexy reflex that squeezed his heart. “You're the only one in Trinity Falls who thinks so.”

He paced to within an arm's length of her. “They don't see the real you.”

“But you do?” She didn't sound like she believed him.

“I always have.” Quincy relaxed, allowing his eyes to show the love he'd hidden in his heart for fourteen years.

Ramona looked away. “You're scaring me.”

Her words chilled him. “How?”

“I don't know who I am.” She blurted out the words.

“Who do you think you are?”

“All my life, I thought I was a displaced New Yorker. When I finally got my chance in New York, I failed. I thought I was the mayor of Trinity Falls, but the town's trying to replace me. I've failed again.”

“It's not personal, Ramona.”

“It sure feels that way. Now you're telling me you know who I am, and you always have. How is that possible? How can you see the real me when I don't even know who that is?”

The tears in her voice tore him apart. “Don't allow New York or Trinity Falls to define you. Don't even allow me to tell you who you are. Only you can decide who you are.”

Ramona's ebony eyes were watery. “How do I do that?”

Quincy approached her. He drew the tip of his index finger down her soft, café au lait cheek. “Step one, you've already removed your mask.”

“And step two?”

He lowered his arm. “Stop hiding from yourself and everyone else. Start following your heart. Then you'll figure it out.”

For the first time, Quincy allowed himself to hope that her plans could include him.