not, really. I know I promised to stop that, and I have. This really isn’t that at all. According to Mayor Thompson, she’s a bit of a workaholic—she works on Capitol Hill for a senator, which is so exciting I think, but doesn’t leave her with much of a social life. She completely hates the idea that the mayor has married her mother, because, you know, they eloped after barely meeting and all. So, now she’s finally coming out here to check him out, and he’s all freaked out that he needs to make this great impression on her, probably because of his own political aspirations, and being as he’s the mayor, he wants her to see how great Cedar Springs is, and—”
“Okay, okay, take a breath. What political aspirations? He’s been mayor forever.”
“Oh crap, I wasn’t supposed to—just forget I said anything.”
Jake was perfectly willing to do that. “I don’t want to know.”
“So, you’ll help me then?”
Jake swore under his breath. “What am I supposed to do? I’m not the mayor’s idea of a town ambassador. I can’t believe this is his idea.”
“Well…”
“RJ?” he said, a note of warning in his tone.
“See, there’s this other thing that he sort of mentioned, that made me think of you and…” She trailed off. And sniffled a little more.
“Ruby Jean McKenna, what have you done now?”
“Don’t get mad, okay?”
“Oh, I’m sure I will, just as I’m sure you’ll cry huge crocodile tears, and then I’ll feel like a schmuck, and then we’ll make up because I hate you being mad and sad and upset, and I’ll do whatever you ask me to, then you’ll do it all over again.”
“Good,” she said, sounding amazingly better. “Then why don’t we just skip over that part and you can just agree to do this one teensy little thing without giving me a hard time.”
“Which brings me back to why me? Arlen is not my biggest fan—”
“Because you wouldn’t fly that banner for him when he was running for re-election.”
“I run a business. I’m bipartisan.”
“He was going to pay you.”
“So do my students, and I’m not pissing half of them and their families off by flying a banner for one side or the other. Besides, that was two years ago and he managed to get re-elected anyway. As he always does. No one really runs against him, Ruby.”
“Well, here’s your chance to make it up to him.”
Jake clamped his jaw and fought the urge to yell. Or beat the wrench in his hand repeatedly against his forehead. One would have done about as much good as the other. “I don’t have anything to make up for. Other than the fact that he’s your boss, Arlen Thompson can kiss my ass.”
Ruby Jean sighed. “Can we get back to my problem then?”
“Sure.”
“Okay, and, remember you promised about not getting mad. So,” she hurried on when he just growled, “…according to the mayor, he thinks Lauren is just so career driven that she’s a little uptight, which is why he thinks she doesn’t understand about the whirlwind courtship and elopement between him and her mom. He thinks if she gets out here and, you know, relaxes a little, and finds out how good it can be when you’re not working every single minute of the day, that—”
“I get it, I get it. Thompson thinks she’s a repressed man-hater who needs to get laid so she’ll ease up on judging him for having sex with her mother. At least he married her. And did it ever occur to anyone that his stepdaughter might like what she does for a living and is perfectly happy dedicating her life to the pursuit of the happiness it brings her? And did anyone stop to consider that maybe her opinion of Arlen Thompson is right up there with my opinion of the man? And I’m not the least repressed, nor do I need to get laid, which brings me to my other point—”
“Jake, just listen a moment—”
“No, you listen, RJ. I love you, and I love that you like your job and want to stick with it. I’m proud of you, I am, and really happy that you seem to have found your niche. I think Thompson totally takes advantage of you, but you are good at what you do and I support that. But not only am I not the town ambassador, I am definitely not the town gigolo.”
“But, you’re single, and her age, and I’ve seen a picture of her and she’s not even that bad looking. If you ignore the black-framed glasses. You don’t have to, you know, sleep with her, I didn’t promise that, I just—”
“You promised? What, exactly, did you promise?”
“Well, maybe promise is too strong a word.” She rushed on. “I just sort of said that you might be willing to, you know, show her a good time. I didn’t elaborate. And the mayor didn’t ask me to. But it might be that he kind of has the impression that I meant you’d, you know, take her out. She just needs to understand a little more about romance and—”
“I am not romancing the mayor’s stepdaughter. I like his wife. Charlene seems like a very nice woman. I haven’t a clue what she sees in Arlen, but she appears to be an upbeat, positive woman, and if that can have any impact on him, then all’s the better. But I have no intention—”
“If you like Charlene, then you’ll probably like her daughter, right? Just…do this for me, will you, Jake? My job is important and this is so important to the mayor that if I can pull this off, I know he’ll keep me on staff when he runs for—” She broke off abruptly. Very abruptly.
“When he…runs for what, RJ? Is that what this is really about? These ‘aspirations’? Does Arlen have plans to try and move to the big pond of state politics? And maybe he could care less what his stepdaughter thinks of him, except that she has contacts in D.C. that might help? Because that sounds a hell of a lot more like the man I know than a guy who just wants his stepdaughter to like him.”
“I don’t know that. Really, I don’t. I only know he wants to make a good impression and it’s very important to him. And Charlene is a nervous wreck and I think it’s affecting their marriage. Apparently Lauren hasn’t spoken to her since shortly after she found out they eloped. That was six months ago now. Just…help us all out. Okay? One date, Jake. That’s all I’m asking. Just…make it a really good one. Okay?”
Jake sighed. Then he swore. “I don’t want to get tangled up in this.”
“One date is not tangling. It’s just a date.”
“With your boss’s politically connected stepdaughter.”
“You can be charming. I know you. Just…do something fun.”
He sighed again. And swore again. “Daytime date. I’ll take her up for a ride. Show her the sights from twelve thousand feet, and make the town and surrounding area look good, which won’t be hard because it’s the most beautiful place on earth. But I’m not going to preach any propaganda about our esteemed mayor. And I’m not romancing her. Cedar Springs can romance her, but I’m out of this after the plane ride.”
Ruby
