Having her mother say the words aloud was a better present than Jeanette had ever expected. Even if her parents turned down the invitation for this year, those words were enough to make her keep reaching out. Maybe, at long last, she’d reclaim the family she’d thought for so long was lost to her.
* * *
Tom was actually starting to warm up to the whole concept of the holidays. He was pretty sure it was Jeanette’s enthusiasm rubbing off on him. Or maybe it was because everyone in town seemed to have the holiday spirit. He’d even caught himself pausing in the town square before walking home to admire the tree and enjoy the sound of carols, which were now blasting from loudspeakers set up at Ronnie’s store.
He was about to leave his office when Teresa stuck her head in, her expression disapproving, and announced that he had a visitor. “He doesn’t have an appointment, but he says it’s important. Shall I tell him to call first and schedule a better time?” She sounded as if she really wanted to do exactly that. She did not like disruptions to her routine any more than Tom usually did. Today, however, he was in such a good mood, he saw little reason to be difficult just for the sake of his schedule. He could spare a few minutes.
“No, it’s okay. Send him in. Did he give you a name?”
“Dwight Mitchell.”
Tom wished he hadn’t acted so hastily. Dwight Mitchell was the last person he wanted to see. Still, he plastered a formal smile on his face and held out his hand when the high-powered attorney from Charleston walked into his office.
“What brings you all the way to Serenity?” Tom asked, gesturing toward a chair.
“You, of course. I thought we should talk again after that abbreviated conversation we had with your father.”
Tom frowned. “I certainly appreciate you taking the time to come here, but I think I made my position clear. I have no interest in practicing law.”
Dwight grinned. “You made that clear. Have to say it was good to see your father flustered for once. I didn’t think that was possible.”
“If you understand I’m not interested in practicing law in Charleston or anywhere else, then why are you here?”
“Actually I’m head of the search team for a new financial person in Charleston. I know you held that position in another town not long ago. Now, as town manager here, you have even more experience in all aspects of government. After listening to how committed you are to this kind of work, I think you’re exactly the kind of man we’ve been looking for. I thought I should check with you, though, see how you’d feel about me tossing your hat in the ring for the job. Are you interested?”
For once Tom didn’t have to feign his enthusiasm. To have an opportunity like this drop into his lap was amazing. An image of Jeanette’s likely reaction gave him pause, but he couldn’t deny that he was interested. Surely it made sense to at least explore the opportunity. That was reasonable, wasn’t it? He fought off the sensation that Jeanette wouldn’t see it the same way and met Dwight’s gaze. “I’m interested,” he said.
“Glad to hear it.”
“It’s exactly the kind of move I’d been hoping to make eventually.”
“Well, sooner’s better than later, don’t you think? This strikes me as a nice little town, but all the real action is in a city.”
That was precisely what Tom had always thought. Of course, just because Dwight Mitchell was here to test the waters didn’t mean he’d get the job. Still, he owed it to himself—and to Jeanette and their future—to explore the possibility of moving into a position that could really take him one more rung up the ladder to the kind of job he eventually wanted as manager of a major city. He winced as he realized he was trying to mentally justify moving forward on something that was bound to upset her.
“Tell me something, though,” he said, suddenly struck by a thought. “Does my father have anything to do with this?”
“Not a thing,” Dwight assured him. “I doubt he even knows I’m on the search committee. We’ve been pretty low-key up till now. John Davis isn’t leaving the job until February, so we have a little time to get all the right candidates lined up. You’d be at the top of my list.”
“I appreciate that,” Tom said. “And, yes, I’d definitely like to be considered.”
“Then we’ll schedule an interview. What about day after tomorrow? Can you get over to Charleston? I realize that this time of year schedules are crazy, but I don’t want to wait until after the holidays.”
Tom glanced at his calendar and saw that was the day that Jeanette’s parents would be arriving, and only two days before Christmas. She’d asked him to join them for dinner, but he could probably make it back in time for that.
“What time?” he asked.
“Let’s say two o’clock,” Dwight said. “You’ll be the first person we’ve talked with, so if you make the kind of impression I’m expecting you to, we can wrap this up right then and there. That would give you time to give people here plenty of notice that you’re leaving.”
Two o’clock would be cutting it close, but Tom figured the interview wouldn’t last more than an hour, two at the outside. That would still give him enough time to make it back for dinner. If things went well, he could sit down with Jeanette afterward and fill her in. They could make the final decision together. No need to worry her before that.
“I’ll be there,” he told Dwight. “And thanks again for thinking of me.”
As soon as he’d walked Dwight to his car, he considered calling Jeanette and discussing the potential job right then, but something held him back. Perhaps it was the hundred percent certainty that she wasn’t going to be nearly as happy about this
