Page 69 of Forever Yours

“She’s moved on, Gabe. I hate to entertain this thought, but I think she could leave Amber Falls after this.” She cocked her head. “Wait, what plan?”

“I decided that before the council make their decision, I’m going to withdraw my plan, so Devlin gets the building no matter what.”

“Dang, Gabe. That’s good. I’ll admit, I’m impressed.”

“Thank you, but I’m not doing it to impress anyone. I’m doing it because it’s the right thing to do. I had no business submitting it when we got into town, especially since we hadn’t talked about anything long term. I should’ve waited and figured it all out together with her.”

“What are you going to do, then?” Annabelle asked, but his answer was cut off by the sound of the meeting starting.

Council President Reardon called the meeting to order and passed the first order of business to councilperson Campbell. “Mr. Campbell, will you please proceed with the issue of the property on Main Street and the two parties who want to buy it?”

“Yes, thank you President Reardon.” He looked around the room. “Is Ms. Watkins present?” he asked.

“No, sir, just me,” Gabe answered.

“That’s just as well. I’ll note that she didn’t submit a proposal like we asked her to at the last meeting. Since Ms. Watkins did not submit a proposal, we will grant you the permit, Mr. Atwood.”

Gabe took a deep breath before speaking. “I don’t want the permit.”

“Only one proposal is on the table—yours—and if you reject the permit we’re granting, the building will go back on the market.”

Gabe stood, perplexed at what was happening and not knowing what to do. His grand gesture to give the building to Devlin was backfiring.

“Mr. Atwood, can you please let us know your decision?”

“I have a question.” He waited until Mr. Campbell nodded then continued. “If I’m granted the permit, can I transfer it to someone else without going through this whole process again? I promise you that Devlin will be the owner of that building.” He crossed his fingers behind his back, hoping that she’d stay in Amber Falls and do just what he was promising.

Councilperson Campbell put his hand over his microphone and consulted the rest of the council before addressing Gabe again.

“Sir, only two people showed interest in the property. You and Ms. Watkins. As I stated before, since she didn’t submit they will go to you, and if you refuse we start all over.”

Rustling sounded from the back of the room and Mrs. Crenshaw stood. “Oh, let him do what he wants, Bob. He loves the girl and wants her to have the property. Don’t be an ass, just tell him that he can pass the permit on to Ms. Watkins so she can buy the place.” She turned to the people around her, explaining, “It only makes sense. What a ridiculous premise, this whole granting permits thing.” She spoke to the front of the room again. “Let the boy do it, Bob.”

The crowd broke into a cacophony of sound as the council yet again discussed the matter between them until they quieted when the President held up her hand, addressing him informally.

“Gabe, the whole proposal part of the building sale was made up by us at the last meeting because we’d never had two people want the same property. In the light of the fact that we made it up—” She shooed Bob away from his microphone when he tried to interrupt. “No, Bob, we did make it up and we can make up how to get this finalized. Here’s what I’m going to do. Based on your words and your assurance that Ms. Watkins will still buy the property, I’m going to put the permit in her name. If you decide later that neither of you want the building, we’ll just start over from scratch, but for now, we’re allowing the sale to go through to Devlin Watkins.”

Her last few words were drowned out by cheering in the hall. He gathered the permit, now made in Devlin’s name, and walked over to Annabelle, who was writing at a furious pace.

She held up a finger to stop him from talking and finished jotting down her words.

“This is going to make a great story in the paper, I can’t believe I was here for it. This stuff never happens at these meetings!” She spoke the words aloud as she wrote them. “Grand gesture made at town council meeting. Town cheers.”

“You can’t make a grand gesture if the other person doesn’t show up.”

“You sure can. And I can write about it. Now leave me alone so I can get this written while the meeting is still fresh in my mind, and go get our girl.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

Gabe called Leo at the bar before he started out from the town hall asking him to pack up some soup. He figured that if he had a reason to go to Devlin’s loft, she would be less likely to boot his ass out when she saw him at the door. His steps slowed as he walked from Finnegan’s to Devlin’s. He’d flown from town hall, his feet barely touching the ground, but his excitement waned now, not sure what he’d do if she didn’t hear him out.

He hesitated a moment before opening the door of the street to her loft. He walked up the stairs, preparing himself for the real possibility that she would kick him out, not listen to his apology or both. The TV could be heard from inside, the unmistakable sounds of a game show floating through the door. He decided that he’d taken enough liberties by letting himself in downstairs and knocked. The TV went silent, and he heard footsteps approach the door. Another eternity passed until the lock clicked and the door swung open, Devlin appearing, her hair tousled and nose red.

“What do you want, Gabe?” Devlin asked, her voice nasal and hoarse.

He held up the bag from Finnegan’s. “I brought soup and crackers. Annabelle told me you were sick, and I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

She took the bag from his outstretched hand and started to close the door.

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