shook her head.
“I was so sure he’d come home and make this right.” Marshall picked up a pen from the desk and twirled it absently between his fingers.
“My soon-to-be ex-husband is a selfish jerk who doesn’t care about right or wrong. My concern is what happens to the community center after this.”
She felt herself twisting her wedding ring around her finger, still keeping up appearances despite the fact that her marriage had been a disaster. A part of her had, like Marshall, held out hope Craig would make things right and save her from looking like the fool she was. A look of pity crossed Marshall’s face, making her want to run shrieking from the building. She tried to see herself through the new mayor’s eyes. She’d worn a business suit to the meeting, the kind she normally reserved for town meetings. Now the tailored gray wool felt tight and itchy, as if it didn’t belong against her skin, the same way she no longer fit the mold of complacent political wife.
“Unfortunately, the community center may become one more casualty of Craig’s abandonment.” Marshall shrugged. “Jeremy Dempsey wants nothing to do with the renovations. You must have noticed that work has stopped on the project.”
She nodded. She’d driven by the job site on the way to this meeting, disappointed to see the darkened building.
“Without a general contractor, the work is stalled indefinitely. We can’t find anyone willing to take over. Guys feel like they’re being disloyal to Jeremy if they even return my calls. It’s like he wants to punish the town for Craig and Melissa’s misdeeds.”
Olivia had heard that Jeremy was making things difficult around town since learning his wife was Craig’s mistress. Olivia understood all too well the humiliation, hurt and anger Jeremy probably felt. “It’s not right that the people of Crimson should be punished. Craig and Melissa had hardly anything to do with the community center. I swear the only reason either of them cared about it was because it kept Jeremy and me occupied and off their trail.”
“I understand that,” Marshall said with a slight cringe. “I also know how hard you worked on the project, and I agree that the town needs it. But there’s no one in Crimson willing to take over, Olivia. I’ll have a public relations nightmare on my hands if I hire someone from out of town. I’m putting out a dozen fires as it is thanks to all the things Craig left undone.”
“You can’t give up on this,” she argued.
“We need more money to finish the project. I know you did the initial fund-raising when you were the mayor’s wife, but things have changed.” He sighed and rubbed two thick fingers against his forehead. “There’s a real estate developer who’s interested in the building. He wants to turn the space into condos.”
“No!” Olivia felt her heart pound against her rib cage. She’d worked hard to convince Craig to support the community center. She had so many plans for it and couldn’t stand to see them circling the drain this way.
Marshall started at her outburst, then shrugged. “I’m sorry, Olivia. I don’t have a choice.”
She wasn’t sure what she’d expected from this meeting. A part of her had hoped Marshall would say the community center could be saved. That would at least allow her to leave Crimson knowing she’d done some good during her time here. “What if I continue fund-raising?” she offered suddenly. “I’ve been managing most of the work anyway.”
“I thought you were moving back to Missouri?”
She pressed her lips together as indecision filled her. That had been the plan, the easiest way to leave behind this humiliating chapter of her life. The past two months had been awful. Olivia had hardly left her house other than to visit the ranch or Natalie’s small apartment. She drove to a town forty-five minutes away to do her grocery shopping so no one would stop her in the aisles. She knew people meant well, but she couldn’t stand how stupid she felt after being duped and then dumped by her husband.
Sara’s wedding had been the first time she’d been out in public since Craig’s departure. There she’d ended up sulking at a table before crying on a stranger’s shoulder on the dance floor. Not the most stellar re-entry into the community.
A vision of Logan’s piercing blue eyes came to mind. She thought about his comment that Craig’s leaving wasn’t her fault. She may not agree. but it was time to stop cowering behind closed doors. She loved the town of Crimson and the friends she’d made here. Why should her lying, cheating, rat husband rob her of this place, too?
She straightened her shoulders and met Marshall’s gaze across the desk. “I’d like to stay and see the community center open. Like you said, the town needs it.” She paused then added, “I need it.”
“I don’t know if continuing to keep this project going will help either of us at this point.”
She leaned forward the tiniest bit. “I’m not the only one whose reputation has suffered from Craig’s leaving. I know the mayor’s office is under a lot of scrutiny. You need some positive press for the town, especially before tourist season starts. The center was set to open by early May. I can still deliver that date. I’ll talk to Jeremy and convince him to keep working on the project. Or I’ll find someone to replace him.”
His bushy eyebrows rose. “That’s aggressive, Olivia.”
“It’s time I got aggressive about something, Marshall.”
He studied her for a few moments, then nodded. “If you want a salary, you’ll have to come up with grant money to cover it. I know you did everything as a volunteer when you were the mayor’s wife, but I can’t start paying you now.”
“Don’t worry,” she assured him with more confidence than she felt. “I can take care of myself.”
There’s a first time for everything.
He looked as if he wanted to argue, but she stood before he could speak. “You won’t regret this. I promise.” She extended her hand and he shook it tentatively.
“I hope you’re right,” he said.
Me, too, she added silently.
She turned to leave.
“Olivia?”
Marshall’s voice stopped her as she reached for the door. She turned.
“You were too good for him from the start,” he told her.
“Thank you,” she whispered, swallowing down her emotions.
Without looking back again, she walked out of the town hall and into her new life.
* * *
“You’re not being fair,” Olivia argued later that week.
She stood in the back of Crimson’s local building-and-supply store, where she’d cornered Jeremy Dempsey after he’d repeatedly ignored her calls.
“The town was weeks behind on our payment schedule.”
“There was a lot of turmoil after Craig and Melissa left, but we’ve straightened things out. You’ve been paid now.” Olivia had
