Because as much as she adores you, Summer, she loves her husband. And, honestly, he loves her.”
“Scarlet,” she reminded her aunt.
“Fine. Scarlet. Summer. Whoever you are.” Aunt Frances waved a hand. “Your name doesn’t change the fact those two have always had a connection.”
“How? She didn’t live here long enough to fall in love. She was a kid.”
“Love doesn’t happen when it’s convenient, honey. It happens when it’s meant to be. Rayne and Brent were meant to be from the first time he pegged her with an acorn to get her attention. He truly loves her…way more than he loves himself.”
Scarlet didn’t respond. What could she say? No sense in arguing. Not with Aunt Fran, who had obviously had her boots charmed off by the dashing boy next door. “Maybe.”
“No maybe about it. If you stick around for a while, you might see for yourself and feel better about things.”
How she wished those words could be true. Not only for Rayne, but for her, too. How long had it been since she felt truly happy? She knew the answer, of course. It had been a Wednesday and John had taken her to dinner and then a concert in Central Park. They had danced beneath the stars and she’d outlined all the things they would do in Italy when the film wrapped. They would shop for heirloom silver in the piazza shops, hike the trails above deep blue lakes and eat at the trattorias hidden down meandering alleys. It had been the last night they’d made love. The last night he’d kissed her and whispered he loved her.
The next afternoon, it had been over. Nothing but smoldering ashes in what was once her heart. Scarlet caught the tiny charm John had given her between her fingers and directed her thoughts from the pain echoing in her empty heart. She couldn’t save Rayne, but she could help the town by speaking up against Harvey Primm and the misguided library board. She ignored the voice in her head telling her she searched to save others because she couldn’t save herself. That wasn’t true. She was okay and getting better every day.
Hadn’t the sexy police chief jump-started her with his touch, with his warm—okay, sizzling—regard?
Still, a town meeting and a protest would be just what she needed to make her feel productive. Useful. Powerful.
She had less than a week to help organize opposition to the censorship of The Magpie’s Jewel. Her blood roared with purpose. She’d fight the good fight.
No man could stand in her way.
Not even the memory of the man she loved still.
CHAPTER FIVE
SIX DAYS LATER, Scarlet wiped her brow with the damp cloth she’d stored in the ice cooler at her feet and lifted her sign with purpose.
“Children have rights!” she shouted, circling the flagpole and World War II memorial centered in the front of the Oak Stand branch of the Howard County Library. Other protestors joined her in her cries for justice. There were more than twenty of them. All from different walks of life, all gathered with purpose—to protest the library board’s removal of The Magpie’s Jewel from the shelves of the children’s sections of the seven library branches.
“It’s hotter than hell today,” Meg Lang grumbled, tugging her long skirt up so air circulated around her pale legs. “Wish I’d worn something cooler. Thought the black emo look would stage well for the cameras. I’m paying for my stupidity.”
Scarlet smiled. Rayne’s assistant had likely let vanity get in the way of practicality. The Texas sun played no favorites as it bore down upon the shoulders of the protestors. Meg wore a tight T-shirt that declared Protest This! with a not-so-polite gesture below it, along with a long, tight black skirt and combat boots. Her short hair stuck to her head, making her look as if she were a silent-screen goddess. Well, it would have if not for the silver ring piercing her nose.
“Yeah, I don’t think I could wear any less without getting arrested.” Kate Mendez groaned, fanning herself with a now pudgy hand. She was way too pregnant to be out in the sun. A fact her husband, Rick, complained about every five minutes on the dot. Currently, her husband stood on the sidewalk with the yummy Oak Stand Police Chief.
Scarlet eyed Adam as he watched attentively from the sidelines. He stood with several townspeople who had gathered as news cameras whirred, capturing the sweating but determined protestors. “Bet he’d do it, too.”
“Who? Adam?” Kate brushed away a trickle of sweat. “Maybe. He’s a by-the-book kind of guy, but he hasn’t taken our signs away and made us leave even though technically we don’t have a permit. Although, I think I might let him cuff me if it means spending some time in the AC.”
Scarlet thought she might let him cuff her with or without air-conditioning.
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