“Then I’ll be the first,” Tom had retorted, unwilling to bend. “My life. My choice.”
“Well, don’t come running to me when you’re getting on in years and don’t have two dimes to rub together,” his father had replied.
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Tom had said, feeling triumphant about sticking to his guns, when it would have been easier to cave in to his father’s demands.
It was at times like those that he really did wonder if he hadn’t chosen his career just to spite his family. The truth, though, was that he enjoyed helping a town define or reinvent itself. He had clear visions of what communities ought to be and how to manage growth and development in a responsible way.
Serenity had appealed to him because it was on the cusp of huge change. So far, it had retained its small-town charm. Thanks to a few business visionaries like the women who’d opened The Corner Spa, and Ronnie Sullivan who’d helped to revitalize downtown with his hardware store and construction-supply company, Serenity was trying new things. It had avoided sinking into despair the way so many small towns did when they let growth get out of hand and allowed big-box stores to ruin local businesses.
He didn’t miss the irony that one of the charms of small-town life in Serenity—the Christmas festival—was currently the biggest annoyance in his life. And that a woman who seemed almost as uninterested in it as he was had the potential to derail all his well-laid plans.
“Damn,” he muttered, tossing his pen across the room. He was overanalyzing things as usual. If he wanted to spend the evening with Jeanette, then he was wasting time holed up in his office. By now she’d probably concluded that he’d had second thoughts and decided to back his mother. He knew that would not sit well with her.
Unfortunately, when he called The Corner Spa, she’d already left for the day. A check of the phone book didn’t reveal a home phone number, which meant she’d deliberately kept it unlisted. He could call any of her friends and get it, but it would probably come with a whole passel of unsolicited advice from the women Cal and everyone else in town referred to as the Sweet Magnolias. Sweet, he thought. Meddling was more like it.
He was still determined to find Jeanette and spend the evening with her. One of the advantages of being at Town Hall was that he had access to computerized property records. He typed in her name, but nothing came up. That must mean she was living in a rented home or apartment. Apartment complexes were few and far between in Serenity, but a rental home could be anywhere. He clicked off the computer with frustration. Now what?
There was only a handful of places where people hung out on a Friday night. Sullivan’s was one. Rosalina’s was another. It would be easy enough to check out both of those.
But as he walked outside, he heard what sounded like a low roar. Glancing up at the October sky, he saw bright lights in the distance. Football! There must be a game at the high school. With Cal’s involvement in high-school sports, even though he coached baseball, not football, Tom suspected that’s where he’d find not only Cal and Maddie, but their friends, Jeanette included.
He drove across town to the high school, but had to circle several blocks before he found a parking place. Cheers and groans greeted him as he hurried back to the stadium. Inside the gates, he bought a hot dog and a soft drink, then scanned the bleachers for familiar faces.
“Hey, Tom, up here!”
He looked up and saw Cal waving. Maddie was beside him, along with all their kids, even the baby. Jeanette was at the end of the row, holding Jessica Lynn on her lap. She didn’t even glance his way. He almost smiled at the deliberate snub. It proved she’d noticed his absence and drawn the wrong conclusion about it. That meant he must matter to her, at least a little. He’d take it.
Tom sprinted up the steps, then squeezed past Cal and Maddie and the kids to sit beside Jeanette.
“I thought I might find you here,” he said just as Jessica Lynn reached for his hot dog, grabbing it in her tiny fists and then covering herself in mustard.
Jeanette retrieved the hot dog and laid it back in his bun. “You may want to reconsider eating that,” she said as she wiped off the little girl’s hands and face. There was nothing to be done about the mustard all over her pink T-shirt.
Tom shrugged, wrapped up the hot dog and set it at his feet.
“I’ll get another one later. Are we winning?”
“The scoreboard’s over there,” she said, nodding toward the end of the field.
“You mad at me?”
“Why would I be mad at you?” she asked, still avoiding his gaze.
“Because I told you I’d call and I haven’t.”
“I haven’t been sitting by the phone, if that’s what you’re thinking,” she said.
“Oh, I’m sure of that,” he said. “Still, I’m sorry. I’ve had a lot on my mind.”
“Such as whether you want to be seen with a woman who’d insult your mother right to her face?”
He grinned. “Nope, that had nothing to do with it.”
She met his gaze at last. “What was it, then?”
“I was wondering whether you’re starting to matter too much to me,” he said. There, he thought as heat zinged through him, that was the problem. One look and he was completely off-kilter. He hated the sensation, but he couldn’t seem to stop himself from coming back for more. “Could we go somewhere and talk?”
“I’m at a football game with friends,” she said, pointing out the obvious.
“Yet you didn’t even know the score,” he said, barely containing a chuckle. She was going to fight him every step of the
