was his widow raising his twins. This was her reality. She just had to go with what life brought her.
* * *
Brody drummed his fingers on the table of the booth at the back of the café. He wished, for the fifth time since he’d come here, that he hadn’t agreed to this meeting with Hannah and Lilibeth. First off, the whole idea that Lilibeth Shoemaker had anything to do with the time capsule theft was crazy. Sure she was upset, but she didn’t seem that vindictive. Second, meeting with Hannah was also not a good idea. He was having such conflicting thoughts about the girl. On the one hand, he was attracted to her. On the other, he thought of the complications that were a part of her life. Widow of a hero. Mother of twins.
The door of the café opened again and Hannah stepped inside. Her plain white T-shirt was enhanced by a cluster of silver dangly necklaces, fitted blue jeans and large black purse that gave her a simple but classy look.
He sighed, crossing his arms over his chest as Hannah walked toward him. She gave him a careful smile and then slipped into the seat across from him.
“Lilibeth not here yet?”
“Not yet.”
Hannah set her purse to one side and pulled out a file folder and set it on the table. “I managed to glean a few things from the minutes I thought might interest Lilibeth.”
“We’re not breaking some privacy act with this?” Brody asked.
Hannah shook her head, a hank of dark hair falling across her cheek. She tucked it back, looking at the folder she was flipping through. “No. In fact, Mayor Shaw read through the minutes himself to find what I might need. He thought I was too busy to do it myself.”
“He’s taking quite a personal interest in your involvement,” Brody said. An edge of anger entered his voice when he thought of Mayor Shaw. The man’s use of Brody’s nickname the other day and his apparent protectiveness toward Hannah still irked him. As if Brody had no right to show any interest in the man’s secretary.
“He knows I have a lot going on,” Hannah said, sounding defensive. “He’s been busy, so I really appreciated his taking time to help us with this.”
“Of course he’s busy,” Brody said, hoping to assure her. He was being oversensitive and he knew it. “There’s been a lot going on with the centennial and there’ll be even more happening over the next few months.”
“I just hope we can get this time capsule thing solved. I know it will take a huge load off his mind,” Hannah said, folding her hands. She released a light sigh, tapping her thumbs together as she glanced at her watch, looking everywhere but at him. She clearly wanted to be somewhere else.
“Have you seen Lilibeth?” Hannah asked finally. “She wasn’t working at the ice-cream parlor today.”
“I came here right from the ranch.”
Mert came with menus and set them on the table, then poured coffee for both of them. She raised one eyebrow, winked at Brody, then left. He stifled a sigh, guessing Mert’s knowing look was a result of her promise to find him a wife the last time he’d been here.
But her wink and look made him suddenly overly aware of Hannah. And, even more disconcerting, suddenly tongue-tied. Brody liked to pride himself on being able to chat up women, but something about Hannah sucked all the smart out of him.
Hannah cleared her throat and looked as if she was about to break the awkward silence, when he heard the sound of someone clearing his throat.
Brody fought down a beat of frustration as he glanced over at Ethan Johnson standing beside them. He wore his usual blue jeans and a sweatshirt that was ragged at the cuffs. He certainly didn’t look like a pastor.
“Hannah. Brody.” Pastor Ethan’s deep brown eyes flicked from one to the other as if assessing the situation. “Nice to see you two here.”
“Oh, we’re not together,” Hannah said, cutting off anything Pastor Ethan might have to say with a quick wave of her hand, her comment and action extinguishing the faint spark of encouragement Brody had felt. “Brody and I are here only on time capsule business.”
“Time capsule business,” Ethan said, his smile growing. “Sounds official.” He then reached into his back pocket. “I stopped at town hall but read your note that you would be here. I’m donating a basket to the auction. A food basket.”
He set a completed application in front of Hannah.
“Really?” The surprised word came out before Brody could stop it.
“Don’t sound so shocked,” Ethan said, grinning at Brody. “Baking and cooking are manly occupations.”
“I didn’t say they weren’t,” Brody spluttered. “Just seems...interesting. Not something I would have associated with you.”
“Actually, it was a dare from Cord Shaw,” Ethan said. “We were talking about the basket auction and I asked him if he was going to bid on someone special’s basket. He kind of sneered about it. Said there was no one special for him and he wasn’t bidding on any basket unless it was to see if the person bidding was serious. So I told him if I donated a basket he had to bid. He laughed, agreed but said I wouldn’t do it. So here I am. Proving him wrong.” Ethan stood back and folded his arms over his chest, smiling down at Hannah.
“That’s very generous of you.”
“Maybe you could bid on it,” Ethan suggested to Hannah.
Was that a twinkle in his eye? Brody wondered. And was Hannah actually toying with her hair? As if she was flirting with him?
Jealousy twinged through Brody. Ethan, a pastor, would be exactly the kind of person Hannah should be with. Good-looking. A good man and well respected in the community he’d joined only a few months ago.
Someone who could probably hold a candle to David’s memory.
Brody clenched his hands under the table, wishing that didn’t bother him as much as it did.
“Trouble is, I can’t,” Hannah said as Brody focused his attention on his coffee. “I’m organizing it, so I would know who made which basket and it is supposed to be a secret.”
“Too bad,” Ethan said, looking from Brody to Hannah, his faint smirk showing Brody that he didn’t believe Hannah’s quick protestations that she and Brody were not here together. “But I won’t bother you anymore and shall leave you two alone.”
And before either Hannah or Brody could correct his assumption, he turned and walked away, stopping at a table farther on to chat with Chauncey Hardman and Rosemary Middleton, who sat at their table with their tea and knitting.
Brody watched as Ethan smiled and chatted, charm personified. A good man.
Like David.
The kind of man Brody wasn’t.
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