most of it doesn’t look comfortable.”
“Can some be removed?”
“The city council offered to store whatever isn’t needed.” He thought of Mandy. “The welcome committee made up a bed and put in basics like towels and hand soap. Not to mention stocking the freezer with home-cooked casseroles and other food.”
“Goodness. I didn’t think people still did that.”
“Me, either. It must be a small-town custom.”
“But it makes it easier for you right now. When the movers eventually deliver all our stuff, just leave the boxes until we get there. That way, you can focus on getting settled at work.”
Daniel rubbed the back of his neck. “I’ll think about it, but I’d also like to have the house look more familiar for Samantha, with her own things around. Naturally, I’ll let you decide about your own boxes.”
All of Joyce’s belongings had been marked with her name, and he wanted to respect her privacy. After the movers picked up everything from his town house, Joyce and Samantha would stay at her apartment, since it was furnished.
“I’m not worried about that. But...uh...” Her voice dropped. “I just found out that Celia and Dirk Bowlin are getting married in a few weeks.”
He rubbed his jaw, not surprised. The six-month anniversary of his and Celia’s divorce had passed, and some people saw that as the minimum benchmark for getting remarried. Since Bowlin was a politician, conscious of his image, he’d follow any conventions he thought might influence voters.
“Don’t worry about it, Joyce.”
“It’s going to be a small affair, but they’ve asked Samantha to be the flower girl.”
Daniel didn’t ask if it would be a white wedding, though he was quite certain there’d be photographers—Celia loved pictures of herself, and the mayor would want potential publicity shots. Then he suddenly realized one of the reasons Joyce was concerned.
“Flower girl? Does that mean you’ll need to stay until after the wedding?”
“Celia is having a dress made and wants studio photographs done, that sort of thing, so I think staying is best. But it wouldn’t be much longer than we originally planned.”
“I see.” Yet Daniel’s gut tightened. While it was highly unlikely his ex-wife would try to reopen the custody issue, he couldn’t suppress moments of suspicion about her motives.
In the background, he heard his daughter’s voice pleading, “Can I talk to Daddy, please?”
“Sure, honey,” Joyce said.
“Hi, Daddy,” his daughter’s timid voice greeted him. “I miss you.”
“I miss you, too, pumpkin. But it won’t be long before you and Grandma are here. Did you have a nice day?”
“Uh-huh. I made you a present.”
“I can’t wait to see it.”
“Mommy says it’s not very good.”
Daniel was tempted to tell her Mommy wasn’t worth listening to, but he was determined not to head down that road. Kids shouldn’t be the battleground for their parents; his mother and father had waged World War III throughout his childhood. They were the reason he’d considered never getting married in the first place. It hadn’t seemed worth the risk of going through that kind of pain. Now...? Well, he wouldn’t give up Samantha for anything, but there was little doubt that his own marriage had turned out badly.
“I’m sure your present is wonderful, darling,” he said gently. “And I’m glad you had a visit with your mommy.”
Samantha’s voice had a forlorn sound to it. “She came to look for a purse she forgot.”
Hell. What could he say? There weren’t any words to fix his child’s pain. He just hoped time and distance would help. “It’s still nice you got to see her.”
“I guess so.”
“You know what? I’d better go,” he said. “I’ve got to explore our new house some more and guess which bedroom you’ll want.”
“It can be a game,” Samantha answered, sounding brighter.
“You bet, and whoever wins, we’ll get a pizza to celebrate, with no little fishies on it.”
A giggle floated over the wires as he invoked an image from E.T., one of Samantha’s favorite movies.
“Can you tell your grandma ‘goodbye’ for me?” he asked.
“Sure. ’Bye, Daddy.”
“Good night.”
He hit the off button and glanced around the cavernous living room. The Victorian was going to dwarf the odd little family that they’d decided to form, and he hoped Samantha wouldn’t find it alarming after their cozy town house. Well, he didn’t have to stay for more than a year. He’d signed a twelve-month contract and promised to consider staying beyond that, but he’d been up-front about saying it was unlikely. He’d been the deputy city manager for a town of several hundred thousand and in line to get the top job the next year when the current manager retired, so Willow’s Eve was hardly a step forward. Or, maybe it was in some ways. Here he wouldn’t be anyone’s deputy, and that would look good on his résumé.
Daniel put everything away except for the box he would take to City Hall in the morning. He was just finishing when the doorbell rang.
Mandy Colson stood at the door with an elderly woman and a middle-aged man. The man was holding a large box.
“Hi, Daniel,” Mandy said. She gestured to the two people with her. “This is Jane Cutman and Clark Green. They’re part of the welcome committee.”
“Oh, thank you. Won’t you come in?” Daniel asked awkwardly, wishing they had waited before doing any welcomes. At the moment he was still groggy and his stomach was grumbling.
“Nope,” Mandy answered. “We just brought the groceries we planned to put in the fridge for you.”
With a cordial nod, Clark Green handed the box to Daniel.
“That’s very thoughtful,” Daniel said, unsure of the proper protocol in such a situation. He’d worked in places where they had a cake or given a plant to welcome a new employee, but that had been at the office, never something like this.
“We’ll go now,” Jane told him. “Mandy, dear, I’ll see you tomorrow at the center.”
“Sure thing.”
The other two left, but Mandy lingered. “I wanted to tell you that if you need anything, I’m next door.” She pointed at a sparse row of bushes on the left. “And Jane is on the other side of me in the yellow house, so now you’ve met two of your neighbors.”
Mandy lived next door? Daniel’s stomach did a peculiar, rolling swoop that had
