I saw doubt and caution consuming my brother. “Take the position,” I insisted. “As a deputy warden, you’ve earned everyone’s respect. Also, it’ll set you up nicely to one day sit in the high seat yourself.”
Matt opened his mouth to protest but stopped himself. He threw back his shoulders as he accepted my challenge. “You really think I could do the position justice?”
I beamed at him. “Of course. I’ve always assumed that’s what would happen. We’re just getting you there a little sooner than expected.”
My brother drew in a steadying breath and stepped forward. “I, Matthew Duane Goodwin, declare that my grandmother, Vivian Goodwin, can no longer fulfill her duties on this council.”
And just like that, our grandmother’s time as leader of Honeysuckle Hollow ended. Murmurs and comments rose from the crowd.
Tucker caught my eye, his face drooping in stress and regret. “I’m sorry,” he mouthed at me.
“It’s okay,” I answered back with silent words. He didn’t know that my brother and I had our plans.
“Does the council recognize my claim to the Goodwin seat?” Matt pushed.
“Seconded,” popped off Flint.
Tucker folded his hands in front of him. “It is so recognized.”
“What do I do now?” Matt whispered to me out of the side of his mouth.
Placing my hands on his back, I pushed him to move. “You go sit in Nana’s seat.”
As he made his way with slow steps, someone clapped for him. By the time my brother got closer, the whole room erupted with applause.
Matt pushed our grandmother’s seat back to sit down, but Aunt Nora yanked it away from him. “What do you think you’re doing? This is the high seat, and although you may have taken over the Goodwin position, you do not inherit Vivian’s position of power.”
“Then you expect me to stand for the rest of the meeting? Or shall I cast my vote now, which is actually against you, Aunt Nora.” My brother turned to face the audience. “Here’s where I stand. I see no need to fill the high seat with too much haste and during such a troubled climate. The wardens have everything in hand, and there is no indication that there should be any further problems at this time.”
After encouraging my brother to take the biggest step of his life after marriage and fatherhood, I’d climbed down the stage stairs and grabbed the chair next to Clementine.
As her mother argued with Matt, my cousin laid a gentle hand on my arm. Leaning over, she whispered in my ear. “I’m so sorry for everything she’s putting you both through. I tried my best to convince her not to push so hard for something that doesn’t matter, but it’s like my father’s brush with mortality flicked on some sort of switch inside her. If he weren’t still recovering, I would have enlisted him to help me hold her back.”
“It’s okay,” I reassured her, nodding up at my brother. “I think he can handle things from here.”
A debate raged between my head and heart whether or not to tell my cousin about her mother’s strong-arming of Tucker. Her disappointment was already overwhelming, and sure, Aunt Nora had said some truly foul things. But this was Clementine’s mother and my mom’s sister. If I told her, would it screw up their relationship? And did I want to be the cause of any possible rifts?
Flint listened to Matt and Aunt Nora argue their points until he couldn’t take it anymore. When they both refused to back down at the gnome’s request, he climbed on top of his chair, stomping on it.
“Enough!” he bellowed, his beard wagging from Flint’s headshaking. “At this point, the vote is tied two against two.”
“I don’t understand why Tucker would side with my mother,” Clementine said.
Her husband glanced between the two of us. “If it’s a tie amongst the council, then I see no reason to force the issue.” Keeping his eyes on his wife, he ignored the heated glare from his mother-in-law.
“Then I move for this farce of a meeting to be ended,” Matt proposed, acting with an air of authority I always knew he could achieve.
“I don’t know who you think you are, but—” Aunt Nora began.
“Seconded,” Flint agreed, crumpling onto his chair with relief.
Tucker blew out a breath and smiled at Clementine. “Then, since there is no other business, we should—”
The door to the hall clunked open. Bagan ran down the aisle, yelling for Flint.
“Help! It’s not my fault. They just drove straight through the barriers!” Breathless, the new guard stood at the foot of the stage, waving his hands in distress.
Aunt Nora wrinkled her nose in disgust. “What are you talking about?”
“Humans!” Bagan shouted.
“Let me handle this, Leonora. It is my job,” Flint insisted. He crouched down on the edge of the stage and tried to get his new employee to calm down. “Now, say again and try to be as clear as possible. What’s the problem?”
The new guard shook where he stood as he delivered the news. “It’s mortals, sir. Two of them. They’ve breached our barriers and are standing in the middle of Main Street.”
Chapter Sixteen
Curiosity and fear swept over the entire hall as the meeting ended in sheer panic. A mass exodus clogged the nearby exits.
Clementine clutched my arm. “What do we do?”
I took her hand and pulled her with me in the opposite direction, climbing the stairs to the stage. “We are doing nothing. You need to keep yourself safe.”
Tucker rushed over to us and gathered his wife in his arms. “Thanks, Charli. I’m sorry about everything—”
“We don’t have time for explanations and stuff,” I cut him off. “You two should stay inside until you’re sure it’s safe. With all the craziness and emotions running high, there’s no point in putting your family’s safety at risk.” Without meaning to, my gaze darted to my cousin’s belly.
“How did you know?” she asked.
I gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. “We’ll talk later. Congratulations, by the way,” I yelled over my shoulder as I
