Page 49 of Fight Or Flight

Ethan swallowed down a lump that formed in his throat. “They plan to sell.”

Anne’s smile returned. “Excellent. That’s excellent news. Will they do it soon?”

“I don’t know.”

Anne’s facial features unnaturally jerked around, from concentration to concern to glee. “Doesn’t matter, I guess. I forgot to mention, when I retake office, I plan to allow a portion of the budget for environmental restoration. You can apply for some grants, and I will see to them. Personally,” she said with a wink.

Ethan’s grip on the door tightened. “I don’t need a grant. I need the property to remain undeveloped. Speeler told me he petitioned your office to change the land zoning, but you blocked it.”

“It isn’t fair to take private property owners’ rights away. Besides, it would be better if those two were on their way.”

“Better for who?”

Her smile dropped, and a hardness took over. “Everyone. Have a wonderful dinner, Dr. Pierce. I hope I can count on your vote.”

Anne turned away just as a movement on the street caught the corner of Ethan’s eye. He looked over, and coming around the corner down the sidewalk was Natalie, in a yellow dress holding a bottle of wine. When she saw the back of Anne, she quickly ducked between the houses into the backyard.

Anne seemed to sense something, like a shark smelling blood but not sure where it was coming from. She slowly turned toward Ethan’s gaze, but Natalie had already concealed herself.

“Uh, we’ll see,” he said. “Thanks for stopping by. Good luck.”

Anne’s face whipped back to her forced smile. “Okay. Good evening.”

She strutted to her car, got in, and took off.

Ethan waited.

Then waited some more.

Finally, he got sick of waiting, pulled on his sneakers, and went off the porch to find Natalie. When he came around the corner between the houses, he found her hiding in between the ten-foot-tall hydrangea bushes that were covered in huge white and pink blooms. She was clutching the bottle to her chest with both hands and deep breathing.

“Uh, the coast is clear.”

She opened her eyes and forced a sheepish smile. “Hi.”

“Hi. You okay?”

She nodded but didn’t answer.

He narrowed his eyes at her, assessing. “How can you have so much guilt about your mother’s affair? You won’t even look Anne in the eye.”

She shrugged and looked down at her sandalled feet, then softly kicked at the wood chips.

“I really don’t think she deserves your sympathy, Natalie.”

“She looks like she bounced back well, after I left.”

With one hand, Ethan gently pried the wine bottle from her grip; with the other, he cautiously clapped her upper arm in a friendly gesture. He knew the dangers of getting too close, but he couldn’t leave her hiding in the bushes looking ashamed.

“You did nothing wrong, and you’re not responsible for ensuring Anne’s happiness. She could have left him.”

Natalie looked up and stared into his eyes without a word for a long moment. He watched the back and forth play out in her eyes and could almost feel the torture she was putting herself through.

“Ethan . . .” she said.

The sound of his name on her lips rendered him completely lost. She was so beautiful. Her hair was down around her shoulders, and he knew how soft it was from experience now. And the mix of her sweet-smelling perfume and the flowers that surrounded them messed with his brain. He stared into her eyes, waiting. “Yeah?”

She took a step closer to him, smiled, then reached her hands out and rested them on his forearms. They drifted up to his elbows, then down to his wrists and gently squeezed. “Thank you for being so nice to me.”

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