Page 15 of Save the Dance

“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you.” Jason brushed his fingers through hair that would be due for a trim soon. His plan to catch the mayor up on all that had transpired since Tara’s unexpected appearance in his office yesterday kept wandering from the script. The man stubbornly clung to the original plan. “Regina begged off. The person she sent instead—Tara Stewart—seems nice enough. She’s sharp as a tack and has done her research. She knows more about Heart’s Landing than she lets on.”

The mayor sneezed. “Excuse me. Allergies. The wife and I spent yesterday picking blackberries.” The conversation waited a beat while Greg gave his nose a noisy blow. “What do you think is going on?”

“I’m not sure. If I had to guess, I’d say things could go one of two ways. According to Ms. Stewart, Regina Charm feared that her own experience here in Heart’s Landing might cloud her opinion and she is simply giving us the best chance by sending someone impartial in her place.”

“But you don’t think that’s it?”

An uncomfortable feeling stirred in Jason’s gut. Someone at Regina’s level should be able to set aside her own prejudices. Since she hadn’t, it seemed far more likely that she’d tasked some innocent young reporter, like Tara, with carrying out her own agenda. Whatever that might be. “I wish I could say I didn’t have my doubts.”

“Humph,” said the mayor, finally coming around to accept the situation. “I do, too. It’d be bad enough if our ranking slipped. We’d really take a hit if Ms. Stewart goes on the attack.”

“Tell me about it.” He knew perfectly well what was at stake. Not that he thought for a moment that Tara, with her guileless smile and clear blue eyes, would deliberately set out to destroy the reputation of a town she’d never stepped foot in before yesterday.

“Well, how’d things go? You and she got along, didn’t you? Do you think we can trust her?”

“It’s hard to tell.” Jason refused to sugar-coat things. “We only spent a few hours together. I gave her an in-depth tour of the Cottage. Her response was pretty positive.” To be honest, Tara’s reaction had been more enthusiastic than he’d have expected if she’d been sent here to do a hatchet job. “She seemed genuinely interested in the Cottage’s history. We might have something in common there.” As a child, he’d spent many a snowy winter’s day hidden away in the attic, poring through the Captain’s journals and logs. He’d imagined himself on the deck of the Mary Shelby, battling pirates off the coast and sailing his ship safely through storms and calm seas. In his teens, he’d worked alongside his dad, restoring floors and wainscoting, learning how to preserve the house he’d inherited far sooner than anyone expected. He’d minored in Early American History at college, and it was rare that he didn’t read a chapter or two of some historical treatise before he turned out the lights.

“So you think she’s telling the truth? Oh, hold on a sec.”

Jason held the earpiece away from his head while the mayor cleared his throat.

“Okay. You were saying?”

“It’s a little too early for me to answer that. I barely know the woman.” If the mayor wanted someone to offer some insight into what made Tara Stewart tick, he was asking the wrong person. After all, Jason had known Clarissa for more than two years. Yet her betrayal had still blindsided him. He’d do well to keep from making that mistake again, for all their sakes.

“After the tour, what did she do?”

“She was intrigued by the library.” The Captain’s Cottage maintained a fine collection of early editions by American authors. Occasionally, one of their guests would suffer a bout of insomnia and wander downstairs in the middle of the night. The next morning, the staff sometimes found them curled up in one of the Queen Anne chairs with an aged copy of Little Women or Emerson’s Essays in their lap.

“You didn’t take her out to dinner? Did you have other plans?”

“I offered. She declined,” he answered shortly. The nerve of Greg, thinking he wouldn’t properly care for a guest in his house, whether she showed up a day early or not.

“Don’t get your feathers in a dander. I didn’t mean to imply anything. My head feels like it’s full of cotton.”

Jason took a breath. “Sorry. Guess I’m more on edge about this than I thought.” He gave his pen another push and watched it spin. The next week was bound to take a toll on everyone in town. He’d do well to keep that in mind. “The rain was coming down pretty hard about then, and she said she’d rather not venture out. We ordered in from Bow Tie Pasta.” Known for its fine Italian cuisine, the restaurant had delivered enough lasagna, penne, and salad for an army. “Evelyn set everything up buffet-style in the dining room. We looked over the agenda while we ate and made a few adjustments.” Tara’s early arrival meant shifting the schedule forward a day. Afterward, she hadn’t lingered, but had retreated to the library. She was still reading when he’d gone upstairs.

“I knew we could count on you, Jason. Now, what about today?”

He glanced at the old ship’s clock on the bookcase. “She told Evelyn she had work to do this morning and would be down around ten. You’re on tap to take her into town and introduce her to a few people.”

“I’d planned to drop in on Forget Me Knot, I Do Cakes, and The Memory Box and introduce her to Mildred, Nick, and Helen. They’re expecting us.”

Greg had chosen wisely. Although they relied on everyone in the village to do their part, Jason and the mayor, along with those three prominent business owners, had spearheaded the efforts to retain the town’s number-one ranking.

“But that was supposed to be on Saturday. I’m not sure I can get away from the shop today. What about the others?”

“Evelyn let them know about the change in schedule last night. They’re fine.” When Greg remained hesitant, he asked, “Is there a problem?”

“It’s the Smith wedding. The bride is coming in this morning. She’s decided she wants a different option for the vests. It’ll take the better part of the morning for me to reorder.” In addition to his duties as mayor, Greg owned Tux or Tails, the area’s best tuxedo shop.

Jason called up the Cottage’s master calendar. “That’s awfully late notice.” Featuring six bridesmaids and an equal number of groomsmen, the Smith wedding was one of a dozen-plus ceremonies that would take place in the mansion during Tara’s stay in Heart’s Landing. He rubbed his forehead and ran through a limited set of options. They couldn’t very well leave Tara to her own devices this early in the game. Someone would need to show her around town, introduce her to all the right people, and make sure she felt welcome. It was equally important that every detail of the Smith wedding be handled perfectly, doubly so since Tara’s engraved invitation to the event sat on his desk.

“It’s fine,” he said, instantly adjusting his own schedule for the day. “I’ll go into town with her. If you finish up and can meet with us for lunch, that’d be great.”

“We have one o’clock reservations at the White Dove Deli. I’ll do my best to be there.”

Whatever. In a town that prided itself on delivering the perfect wedding for every bride, Greg had his priorities straight. While the mayor took care of business, Jason would do his best to find out more about their mysterious visitor and whether or not she was lying to them all.

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