The Road to Rose Bend, Naima Simone [jenna bush book club .TXT] 📗

was stalling, prolonging the moment when he would have to turn and face Sydney. He needed to apologize. Dammit. What if she believed he was low enough to take advantage of her vulnerability? She’d come to him to comfort him, to apologize, to confide in him. And he’d wanted to dirty that beautiful mouth.

He could barely look at her.

Couldn’t stand himself.

“Sydney, are you going to the town council meeting?” Caroline asked.

Was she being polite? Or asking to find out why Sydney was in his office? Guilt had him twisting in suspicion.

“I hadn’t planned on it,” Sydney said. “Town politics isn’t really my thing.”

That stung. And felt fucking personal. Not that he didn’t deserve that dig. But still...

“Well, the meetings are open to the public just in case you change your mind,” she added before switching her attention back to Cole. “Ready to go?”

“Yes, I am.” Bracing himself, he finally turned but Sydney had stepped past him, giving him a full view of her gorgeous curls. He fisted his fingers, the phantom caress of the thick strands still tingling against his palm. “Sydney, I—”

“No worries, Cole,” she said, tossing him a smile that struck him as too bright. Too false. “Have a good meeting.”

Murmuring a goodbye to Caroline, she slipped out of the office, and her name lodged in his throat along with the apology he owed her. But with Caroline standing there, staring up at him expectantly and that same curiosity lingering in her eyes, he allowed her to leave. Swallowing a sigh, he moved forward, and pulled the door shut behind him.

“Let’s go get this meeting started,” he said, forcing a cheer into his tone that escaped him at the moment.

All of his focus needed to be on the next couple of hours. Not the woman whose scent still lingered in the hallway.

Whose almost-kiss he could still taste.

CHAPTER TWELVE

“THE MINUTES HAVE been distributed to all of you,” Cole said from his seat in the middle of the table. The five members of the town council sat on either side of him. “Are there any corrections that need to be made?”

Four no’s immediately met his question, but one lone person remained silent. Cole smothered an irritated sigh. He refused to let Jasper Landon see that he could get to Cole. The former mayor would jump on that and run with it.

As Jasper took his time and read through the minutes that had been emailed to each council member almost a week ago, Cole leaned back in his chair and reminded himself that his mother and father sat in the hall where the meeting was being held, so he couldn’t swear. He scanned the room, locating his parents, Leo and Wolf. While his brother and sisters took turns attending the bimonthly meetings, Moe and Ian had attended each one since he’d been elected to show their unconditional support. He suspected his father came to make sure Moe didn’t snatch up Jasper Landon and shake him like a rag doll.

Cole shifted his attention away from her and on to Sydney, who sat next to Leo. An electrical pulse popped and sizzled down his spine.

It’d been a shock to see her walk in with his family. Even more disconcerting had been the strand of satisfaction that threaded under the surprise, the sense that she belonged with them.

She did. Sydney had been an honorary member of his family since Leo had first brought her home.

Yeah, that’s what he was telling himself.

“Oh, stop it, Jasper,” Eva Wright snapped, releasing the sigh Cole had restrained. “You’ve had the minutes for a week, just as long as we have. And I know damn well you’ve ripped it apart since then, looking for something to complain about. Since you haven’t voiced your opinion yet, then there isn’t anything to change. Just vote already.”

Jasper’s head jerked up and he slid a narrowed look at Eva. He rolled his thin lips inward, but he didn’t reply. Even Jasper, who considered himself better than everyone, respected Eva Wright. Or maybe he was just afraid of her. With her cap of gray curls and whipcord frame, the older Black woman was at least in her midseventies. But her smooth, nearly unlined face and firecracker personality made the longtime Rose Bend resident and day care owner seem much younger. She’d been a council member for years, and she had no problem shutting Jasper down and putting him in his place.

“I see no corrections,” Jasper finally said.

“Thank you.” Cole nodded at the secretary, who noted the time and approval. “If there are no corrections, then the minutes are approved as distributed. The meeting is now open for new business.”

For the next half hour, Mr. Thompson, who had also never missed a meeting as long as Cole could remember, stood and complained about garbage not being picked up as frequently on his street as the one over, and his street hadn’t been paved when the one over had been. Another resident suggested nominating St. John’s Catholic Church as a state historical landmark.

When no one else stepped up to the mic, Cole propped his clasped hands on the table and leaned forward. “As indicated on the agenda, I’ve decided on my appointment for police chief.” Appointment of certain positions such as police and fire chief as well as several department heads fell under Cole’s list of mayoral powers. “I’m appointing Clarissa Ruiz as the chief of the Rose Bend Police Department.”

The room erupted in spontaneous applause, and the middle-aged woman dressed in a dark green dress and black blazer rose from her seat near the back of the room. Smiling, she nodded, and her smile widened when Cole’s father added a loud dog whistle to the thunderous praise.

When the clapping died down, Jasper cleared his throat, and Cole braced himself, a weight the size of a boulder settling in his stomach. He’d expected this. Was prepared for it. But damn, anger still smoldered behind his sternum.

“If I may,” Jasper began, wearing what Cole labeled his