he felt Emily’s gaze on him. She smiled like the proverbial cat who ate the canary. “Nothing compares with the freshness of new ways of looking at things. Shaun and Brooke, our newest committee members, could we prevail upon the two of you to head up our Christmas outreach efforts?”
Brooke’s gaze locked with Shaun’s. Squirming in his chair, he looked equally taken aback by Emily’s request. Brooke forced down a swallow while pawing through her oversize purse for the water bottle she’d brought. She’d tried to persuade both Diana and Emily yesterday that she wasn’t quite ready for committee involvement, but she may as well have been arguing with those fence posts Shaun had been hauling. Maybe if she stalled long enough, he’d make convincing excuses for both of them.
He coughed into his fist. “I actually just came along at Kent’s invitation. I’m not really in a position to—”
“Oh, you’ll do fine.” Emily reached across the table to pat his wrist, then did the same to Brooke. “With your unique combination of skills and experience, you two are exactly what this committee needs.”
Nearly choking on a sip of water, Brooke shook her head. “Wouldn’t you rather ask someone who knows the community much better than either of us?”
“Right,” Shaun agreed. “We’re both practically strangers to Juniper Bluff.” He set his hands on the armrests as if preparing for a quick exit.
Kent, obviously the future brother-in-law Shaun had mentioned, chuckled to himself while appearing a teensy bit remorseful about setting Shaun up for this. Family pressure? Brooke could totally relate.
Emily maintained her ethereal smile as she jotted notes. “Shaun and Brooke, why don’t you two get together over the next couple of weeks and hammer out a plan of action? You can report back to us at our next meeting.”
Brooke cast Shaun a get-us-out-of-this stare. He responded with tight lips and a helpless shrug. Before either of them had a chance for further protests, Emily moved on to the next item on the agenda. Brooke scarcely heard a word as she mentally rehearsed one statement after another about why she was a bad choice for this assignment. She’d hit Emily with them the moment the meeting ended. The glazed look in Shaun’s eyes suggested he was doing exactly the same.
After other business had been covered and Emily adjourned the meeting, Brooke and Shaun attempted to corner her. The woman barely slowed her pace as she turned off lights, locked the classroom and marched out to the parking lot. But no matter how forcefully they reiterated their objections, she insisted they were more than up for the task and they should feel free to call if they had any questions.
“Oh, boy, I’ve got plenty,” Brooke muttered as Emily drove away.
Shaun stood beside her. “Remind me to strangle my almost-brother-in-law.”
“Where is he, by the way?”
“Over there waiting for me in his truck.” Shaun nodded toward the dusty tan pickup Brooke had seen him driving on Saturday. “Kent should have warned me. His prize Brangus bull’s got nothing on the world’s most ruthless committee chairperson.”
Giving a snort, Brooke rifled through her purse for her keys. “I definitely need to have a word with my brother and sister-in-law.”
“Don’t tell me—you were steamrolled into joining the committee, too?”
“My family seems to think I need an actual life away from the office.” Brooke rolled her eyes. “Bossy big brothers and their wives are the worst.”
“Meddlesome little sisters and their fiancés are just as bad.” Shaun took a few steps toward Kent’s pickup, then turned and blew out a resigned sigh. “So, I guess we’re doing this?”
“If for no other reason than to prove Emily wrong. Should we decide on a time to talk one day soon?”
Offering a wry half smile, Shaun said, “I’m not the one keeping office hours. You name the time and place.”
“Things are a little crazy at the chamber right now while I get a handle on this new job. But maybe we could meet early one morning for coffee.”
“That works. Anyway, I’d say Diana owes you free coffee and doughnuts for life.”
Brooke snickered. “I’d have to agree.” She took out her cell phone and they traded numbers. “I’ll give you a call after I double-check my calendar at the office tomorrow.”
They said good-night, and Brooke slid behind the wheel of her metallic-red sedan. Passing the town square on her way home, she recalled her first two encounters with Shaun O’Grady. She still didn’t know what to make of the man. Although, thanks to Emily’s brief introductions of the other committee members, Brooke now knew Shaun was an ordained minister and former missionary—both of which made him much more qualified for a church outreach project. Maybe she could plead busyness and convince him to take the lead.
Besides, she’d been sorely dreading Christmas, her second since Mom died. Last year, she and Dad had been able to distract themselves with excitement over Tripp and Diana’s January wedding. This season, Brooke had planned to stay so busy at the chamber that she wouldn’t have time to think about the approaching holidays.
So much for that idea. At this rate, Christmas could be at the top of her priority list for weeks to come.
A few minutes later, she parked in the garage at home. She and her dad had rented a two-bedroom brick cottage down the block from Tripp and Diana’s house. For her dad’s sake, she couldn’t deny the advantages of living near family again, but being this close would take some getting used to. Especially if they insisted on micromanaging her personal life.
“How was the meeting?” Dad asked as she let herself in through the kitchen. He’d just poured himself a bowl of oat cereal as a bedtime snack.
Brooke tossed her purse onto a chair. “Fine, if you count getting roped into cochairing the Christmas outreach subcommittee. Tripp and Diana are so going to pay for this.”
Dad merely chuckled. “Not biting off more than you can chew, are you?”
“Probably.” After filling a cereal bowl for herself, Brooke plopped down at the table across from her father. “Hopefully my new partner in crime will carry most of the load.”
“And who might that be?”
“Guess I didn’t tell you about the guy I met at the coffee shop on Saturday. His name’s Shaun O’Grady, also new in town. He’s a minister taking a break from missionary work. That’s about the extent of what I know about him.”
“Old, young?” Dad swallowed a spoonful of cereal, then winked. “Married, single?”
Making a growling sound in her throat, Brooke glanced toward the ceiling. “Probably around my age and probably single. Happy now?”
“I’m plenty happy. The question is, are you?”
She let her father’s words hang in the air while she finished her cereal. But the question followed her even as she changed into her pajamas and crawled into bed. No
