Page 19 of The Christmas Eve Delivery

“So you’ll just level them instead? Where is the integrity in that?”

“Evie, let’s hear them out.”

“Thank you, Mayor. What we are proposing is to bring in a resort-level property. It will provide jobs and bring tourist dollars back into Brookdale.” As I continued to present the images and maps on Jackson’s laptop, the librarian, Evie, seethed. I swear, she even growled under her breath like a threatened animal.

She managed to keep her calm for about fifteen minutes before she was ready to lunge at us again.

“Do you see that map, Dan?” She pointed at the computer. “That’s where the library is, the post office, and all those houses on the east side.”

She didn’t mention the inn, but it was in the middle of the highlighted area.

“We aren’t touching any of the thriving businesses downtown,” Jackson pointed out.

“Maybe not businesses, but those are people’s homes. The library is my home.”

“With the revenue from the sales of these properties, Brookdale would be able to put in state of the art facilities for the public library and the post office,” I pointed out.

“The library is state of the art enough,” Evie snapped. “It’s a library. It doesn’t need all the bells and whistles.”

“And the post office? Wouldn’t it be nice to ear-mark funds for additional equipment, or more employees, instead of replacing the roof or the floor?” I asked. “What’s the next major repair? Does the town have twenty thousand in reserve when the HVAC system needs to be replaced?”

”How did you know we had to do that recently?” the mayor asked.

Had these people never heard of doing research?

The rest of the meeting went much the same. Jackson or I would present a feasible plan with recommendations. We even focused on the job creation aspect of this project, both in theconstruction phase and after it opened. Our proposal was all about potential and growth opportunities. But Evie was like a viper, ready to strike at any flaw, any hint of contention.

The mayor simply nodded and listened. I figured I could get him to see reason. He was a thinker, while the librarian was reactionary. It was always going to be an uphill battle with her.

“I told you, these women around here are like pit vipers,” Jackson said as we left the meeting.

That Evie woman had not gone easy on us.

“At least her co-chair hadn’t shown up. I can’t imagine we would have been able to get a word out with two of them constantly on the attack,” he said.

“Yeah.” I agreed. “Next time, let’s see if we can get Mayor Dan alone. He seems easily swayed. Maybe if he doesn’t have his little bodyguard with him, we could get through.”

“She is like one of those little yappy dogs,” Jackson joked.

“Well, I’m sure in her case, her bite is as bad as her bark. She’s a librarian. She’ll be looking up all the laws and legal precedence to keep this from going forward. We have to win her over.”

“You aren’t going to send Harris up here to seduce her too, are you?”

I laughed. “No, he’s got a grandma to work on,” I joked. “I wouldn’t wish seducing her on anyone.”

“Sure.” Jackson nodded. “We get a cute one with some spunk, and you back down.”

I already had someone I was interested in seducing again, but that wasn’t any of Jackson’s business.

I looked around at the town. The last time I had been there, it had been cold and covered in snow. It was pleasant out. The weather was warm without being overbearing and hot. We hadn’t yet turned the corner on summer. It would be unbearably hot in the next few weeks, and then the heat would turn to fall. Brookdale would be charming in all the oranges and reds of an Upstate autumn, so much tourism potential.

Jackson looked at his watch. “If we leave now, we can be back in the city in time for dinner.”

“You go ahead, head on out. I want to stick around a bit, give this place a good look while the weather is good.”

“Oh, that’s right, you got stuck here during that freak snowstorm. Weren’t you trapped inside that old hotel?”

“I wouldn’t exactly say trapped, but yeah, I was there.”

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