kicking and screaming. Wow—Pia’s going to have Crystal’s babies.”
“She hasn’t decided that yet.”
Dakota glanced at him. “Do you really think she’ll walk away from those babies?”
He shook his head. He couldn’t see it, but then he’d been wrong before.
He took the chair behind the desk. “You and Crystal and Pia all grew up in town together?”
“Oh, yeah. Crystal was a few years older, but she was one of those really nice people who wanted to take care of the world. She worked at the library after school. She was always there to help with school projects.” Dakota wrinkled her nose. “I can’t believe I’m old enough to remember when there wasn’t an Internet.”
“You’re twenty-seven.”
“Practically ancient.” She laughed. “Pia was a grade ahead of me and my sisters, but we knew her. Or at least of her.” Her eyes brightened with humor. “Pia was one of the popular girls. Pretty, great clothes. She had the boyfriends everyone else wanted.”
The humor faded. “Then her dad died and her mom went away. Everything changed for her. Back in high school I would have sworn Pia was taking off for New York or L.A. Instead she stayed here.”
Which meant something had happened to her.
“I guess it’s where she belongs,” Dakota murmured.
“You came back, as well,” he said. “There must be something about this place.”
“You’re right.” She laughed. “Be careful, Raoul. If you stay too long, you’ll never escape.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
But the truth was, he wanted a place to call home. Somewhere that felt right.
There had been a time when he’d wanted it all—a wife and a family. Now he was less sure. Back when he’d married her, he would have sworn he knew everything about Caro. That nothing she did would ever surprise him.
He’d been wrong, and in finding out the truth about what she’d done, a part of him had been destroyed. Pia had asked if he thought people could change. He did, because he’d seen it over and over again. But broken trust was different. Even if it was repaired, it was never the same again. There would always be cracks.
Chapter Four
ONE OF THE PERKS of her job was that although Pia was a part of city government, she didn’t have to participate in any of the really boring stuff. Sure, once a year she had to present a budget, and she was accountable for every penny. But that was easily done on a good spreadsheet program. When it came to the city council meetings, she was strictly a visitor, not a regular.
So when the mayor called Pia and asked her to attend an emergency session, she found herself feeling a little nervous as she took her seat at the long conference table.
“What’s up?” she asked Charity, the city planner. “Marsha sounded less than calm, which is unusual for her.”
“I’m not sure,” Charity admitted. “I know she wanted to talk about the school fire.”
Which made sense, but why would Pia have to be there for that?
“How are you feeling?” she asked her friend.
Charity was about four months along. “Great. A little puffy, although no one seems to notice but me.” She grinned. “Or they’re lying. I’m good with either option.”
Charity had moved to town in early spring. In a matter of a few weeks, she’d fallen for professional cyclist Josh Golden, gotten pregnant and discovered she was the mayor’s long-lost granddaughter.
Josh and Charity had slipped away for a quiet wedding and were now awaiting the birth of their first child. Marsha was thrilled at the thought of a great-grandchild.
Just another day in Fool’s Gold, Pia thought cheerfully. There was always something going on.
Pia glanced around at the other women at the meeting. There were the usual suspects, along with a few surprises including Police Chief Alice Barns. Why would the police chief need to attend a city council meeting? Nancy East sat close to the front. No doubt the superintendent of schools would have information they all needed.
Before Pia could ask Charity, Marsha hurried in and took her seat at the head of the table.
The mayor was as well-dressed as always. She favored tailored suits and wore her white hair pulled back in a tidy bun.
“Sorry I’m late,” Marsha said. “I was on the phone. Thank you all for coming on such short notice.”
There was a murmur of people saying it was fine.
“We have a preliminary report on the fire,” Marsha said, glancing down at the pages she held. “Apparently it began in the furnace. Because of the unusually cool few days we had earlier in the week, it was turned on before it was serviced. The fire spread quickly, as did the smoke.”
“I heard that no one was hurt,” Gladys said. The older woman had served as the city manager for several years and was currently acting as treasurer.
“That’s true. We had a few minor injuries, but everyone was treated on the scene and released.” Marsha looked at them, her blue eyes dark with concern. “We’re still assessing the damage, but we’re talking millions of dollars. We do have insurance and that will help, but it won’t cover everything.”
“You mean the deductible?” one of the council members asked.
“There’s that, which is sizable enough. But there are other considerations. Books, lesson plans, computers, supplies. As I said, some will be covered, but not everything. The state will offer assistance, but that takes time. Which leads me into the next topic. Where to put all those children? I refuse to let this fire disrupt their education. Nancy?”
Nancy East, a bright, plump woman in her late thirties, opened a notebook in front of her.
“I agree with Marsha—keeping the children in school is our first priority. We considered splitting them up among the other three elementary schools, but there simply isn’t enough room. Even with portable classrooms, the infrastructure can’t support that many additions. There isn’t enough space in the cafeteria or on the playground. There aren’t enough bathrooms.”
Some of the tension in her face eased. “Fortunately, we have a solution. Raoul Moreno has offered his camp. I toured the facility yesterday, and it’s going to work beautifully for us.”
Pia leaned back in her chair. The camp was an obvious choice, she thought. It was big and had plenty of buildings. It was closed in the winter, so they wouldn’t be displacing anyone.
“There are some logistics for our classes,” Nancy continued. “Our maintenance staff is up there right now, figuring out the best configurations. There is a main building where we’ll have assemblies and where the cafeteria will be. Calls have gone out to schools all around the state
