Page 31 of Rival Hearts

“Hey, Grady.” Jack’s voice echoed in the almost-empty room. “Are you actually running for mayor?”

I put the phone back to my ear and chuckled. “Yes and no.” When Jack sighed, I continued, “At first it was a ‘no,’ but I think it might be a ‘yes.’ I could do the job.”

“But do you want the job?”

With a frown, I threw my pen at the wall. “I guess we’ll see. I gotta go.” The itch to move, to escape was back. I’d walk the dogs on the edge of the town as though I was daring myself to leave, to duck out into the darkness, discover another place.

Grabbing the dogs’ leashes, I hooked them up and shut my front door. This time, I locked it. Before I’d gotten my keyboard delivered, I hadn’t been worried about anything being stolen. But that thing was worth good money.

It was a warm night for late August, and I relished the fading sun against my skin. I turned my face to catch the warmth as I passed another abandoned building. I wished there was an easy solution to the town’s empty storefronts. If there had been an easy way to fix it, Maggie would have done it. Admitting that was uncomfortable, but it was true. Ahead, Jim and a little boy were exiting one of the plaza spaces.

Jim waved, and his free hand fell to the top of the boy’s head, ruffling his hair. The movement made my chest ache in remembrance of my dad. The things that caused the ache to rush to the front were surprising. The smallest memory could cause the biggest chasm to open. Something about Jim Sullivan always managed to do it.

“Grady,” Jim said. As I approached, I tightened my hold on Zeus and Hite so they didn’t scare the kid. “This is Emily’s littleguy, Amir. We were at the indoor playground.” Jim gestured behind them.

I crouched and extended my free hand to Amir while my dogs sniffed Jim and the boy. “Nice to meet you.” Amir took my hand and grinned.

“My Aunt Maggie says you’re the devil.”

A laugh burst out of me, and I glanced up at Jim who was shaking his head.

Jim grimaced but didn’t deny the child’s claim.

“I heard her and Mom talking.”

“It’s okay,” I said, rising. “Your Aunt Maggie and I are competing to be mayor.”

“Why would you want to be mayor?” Amir cocked his head. “Is that a good job?”

At a loss, I spared Jim a glance. The question was simple, but I didn’t know how to answer it. To spite Maggie didn’t seem like the best response to give either of them.

“I saw that social media thing—you know—the money for the flooding victims.” Jim let me off one hook and thrust me onto another.

“Right, yeah, that was Maggie.”

“Still, I thought it was good of you to let her use your photo. Seemed like a lot of your friends stepped up.”

With my free hand, I massaged my cheek. “Your daughter is resourceful.”

“She does well when she’s challenged, always has.” Jim wrapped his arm around Amir’s slight shoulders and brought him in a little closer. “I’m assuming you’ll be part of this concert thing she and Lila are organizing for October?”

“Concert?” I frowned.

“Lila is recruiting. She’s already got Tyler at the gym working out for some reason. I haven’t quite figured out why he needs to work out. I thought Lila told me it was a magic show?”

A concert and a magic show? Jim had to have missed some vital piece of information. Unless they were organizing a variety show? I was drawing a blank about where something like that would even take place. “What’s this all about?”

“Oh.” Jim’s expression turned uneasy. “I assumed you’d know about it. I don’t know much about what’s happening. Trent’s involved, and I guess I assumed...”

“Right.” I rocked back on my heels and pretended I’d suddenly remembered. Obviously, he didn’t know Trent and I weren’t as tight as we once were. “Yeah. With everything else, I haven’t had a chance to get much information on the event yet.”

“You were all over the place the day of the flood. A lot of people were really grateful. It’s nice that Trent’s looking for a way to give back to the community.”

I grinned, trying to maintain a façade. Inside, pieces stirred in anger while others cringed at how far Trent and I had drifted. I hated that Trent chose Maggie. When I’d been out of the country, I’d known Trent went to Maggie for help. Since I’d never been close enough to do much, it hadn’t stirred these feelings of resentment. But I was back, and Trent was still choosing her. Made me feel like shit. Guilt ate at me for a new reason. Could I fix it? Did I deserve to have Trent back?

“Are you planning to stick around Little Falls whether or not you win the election?”

I frowned and dug my hand into my dogs’ fur, lost in thought. I’d gone out for the walk because the itch to leave had taken hold. In all these years, I’d never figured out what I was running from or to, I was just running. Auburn hair and brown eyes danced across my consciousness. I shoved the image down. “Maybe. Yeah.”

---