Wishing on Willows: A Novel (23 page)

Mayor Ford furrowed his brow at the signatures. “I understand One Life has been a very important ministry to this town for many years. I’m no more comfortable with it going away than anyone else. But I think it’s important to point out that without these condominiums, the employees of Fixtel Software Systems will choose somewhere else to live and our town will not only miss out on some much-needed tax revenue, but many of your businesses will not see the boost in sales that would make One Life’s ministry less necessary.”

“I have to agree.” The owner of the local Piggly Wiggly stepped away from her spot against the wall. “Mr. McKay was gracious enough to pay me a visit yesterday. We talked about what these condominiums would do for my store. For all of our businesses. I think we’d be stupid not to vote in favor of them.”

Dr. Bremms, the superintendent of Peaks’s school district, raised his hand in the front. Besides Ian and the men on the dais, he was the only other man wearing a tie. “You all know our school system has suffered from
statewide budget cuts. I don’t want to lay off teachers, and I most definitely don’t want to shortchange students. If these condominiums will bring in tax revenue, then perhaps we ought to be more open to the change.”

“But, Dr. Bremms,” Robin said, “some of your students have dinner at night because of One Life. How can you take away their meals, but expect them to thrive in school?”

Several comments arose from the crowd.

“How much revenue can these condominiums really bring in?” someone shouted.

Mayor Ford set aside the petition and spoke into the microphone, listing off a series of statistics. Robin tried her best to pay attention. She knew she should care about tax revenues in her town, but Peaks was so much more than figures and data. “I think it’s also worth mentioning that they are extremely well built and aesthetically pleasing. Elaine and I took a road trip to look at some that have already been built by McKay. They will look quite charming downtown.”

“The municipality of Alchew swindled five hundred acres of farmland to set up a big box store outside their town.” The man who spoke was a local farmer—a friend of Evan’s—and his expression scrunched with disapproval. “We’ve lost enough farmland already. Agreeing to this development will lead to more. I vote we leave Peaks alone.”

Robin beamed at the man. If not for the crowd between them, she’d walk straight over and plant a kiss on his forehead.

“I understand and appreciate your concern, Mr. Noldt.”
Hold up
. Ian knew the guy’s name? Did he have a cheat sheet behind the podium? “But with Fixtel opening, the surrounding area is going to grow regardless. Peaks can either embrace these changes and reap the benefits, or resist them and miss out on revenue and progress.”

The crowd began to whisper.

“If people want to move to Peaks, why can’t they move into the housing developments on the northwest side of town?” Carl Crammer asked.

Ian bent his head toward the microphone. “The housing developments
on the northwest side of town aren’t conducive to the population that will be moving in to take jobs at Fixtel. I’ve done my research. I know what type of living these people will be looking for.”

Robin’s toes fidgeted in her boots, her nerves pulsing and twitching. She had to say something more. Fight harder.

“Think of what these developments will do for your business. Ryan and Kim”—Mayor Ford held out his hand toward the married chiropractors—“how many more clients will your practice see if we experience a population boom?” The mayor smiled at Hank, the local barber, and Jim, the owner of the golf course on the outskirts of town. “And so many others who’ve been struggling since this recession hit.”

The whispers morphed into chatter.

“This town’s economy has idled for the past five years,” a woman said from the left of the crowd. Robin could only see the top of her head. “We’re ready for a change.”

The chattering grew louder.

Robin cleared her throat. “I don’t think tearing down three local businesses and an important ministry is the best change to make.”

Mumbled arguments erupted throughout the room. Robin tried to form more words, articulate some sort of point that might silence them, but Carl Crammer beat her to it.

“I don’t hardly see how any of this matters.” He twisted his hat in grease-stained hands. “If Robin doesn’t want to sell, then ain’t we all wasting our breath?”

“Let me remind everybody here,” Mayor Ford said. “This hearing is about adding condos to the development plan. It has nothing to do with Willow Tree Café or One Life.”

Robin couldn’t believe it. How could Mayor Ford dismiss such an important point? The condominiums had everything to do with Willow Tree and One Life. “Of course it does if that’s where you’re planning to build them.”

The hall erupted. Disagreements and heated opinions spilled into
Robin’s ears and filled the space inside her head, swirling together into one giant, matted tangle. But before she could comb through any of it to find something coherent to say, her phone buzzed.

Bethany’s number lit the screen. Robin’s heart stuttered. In her fervor to win the crowd’s support, she had forgotten all about Evan and Bethany and their strange absence. The chatter in the chamber turned into a distant hum. She gripped the phone and stared at Bethany’s name, half of her wanting to stay and fight, the other half wanting to hightail it out of the chamber and make sure everything was okay.

Mayor Ford tapped his microphone and waited for the room to quiet. “Thank you, everyone, for caring about our town, for coming tonight and expressing your opinions. Does anybody have anything else to add?”

The room spun. Her mouth burned with half-formed ideas, reasons why her deep-rooted love for Willow Tree should matter to Peaks.

The mayor motioned to the superintendent. “We’ve heard how it will help our schools. We’ve heard how it will help local businesses. I apologize to those of you concerned about One Life. I apologize to anyone who doesn’t want to see Peaks change, but change is a part of life. I’d like to see our town embrace it.”

Change is a part of life …

How well Robin knew that truth.

“All right then, I’d like to see a simple show of hands. The municipality of Peaks will move forward based on majority. Who’s in favor of adding McKay condominiums to the town’s development plan?”

Arms rose into the air. Not all. Not even most. But more than half.

Robin’s phone vibrated. She took Caleb by his arm and rushed out into the night, where there was quiet and space. With her heart pounding, she hit talk and pressed the phone to her ear. Elyse screamed bloody murder in the background.

“Bethany? What’s wrong?”

“I am so sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it. Tell me what’s going on.”

“Elyse woke up screaming and she wouldn’t stop. We tried everything,
but she kept crying. We were going to take her to the ER, but Evan thought it would be smarter to rush her over to Dr. Dotts. You should have heard the way she was screaming. It was awful.”

Robin could hear her now.

“I guess she has a double ear infection. My little girl is miserable. I’m so sorry we weren’t there tonight. How did it go?”

A lump of heat lodged itself in Robin’s throat. It didn’t matter how hard she fought or that others had joined her. They still lost.

Bits and pieces of Mayor Ford’s words slipped into Ian’s brain. He tried harder to listen, but he couldn’t erase the image of Robin’s face as she made a beeline for the exit. He stared at the oak doors, where she had disappeared with her son.

Benches groaned. People stood and started arguing and talking and speculating. The excited humming vibrated the air. He stepped away from the podium and turned toward the exit, wanting to find her, to get her to reconsider his offer, but Mayor Ford hopped off the dais like a young kid and pumped Ian’s hand. “I’d be a liar if I said I wasn’t a little worried. It’s sort of like an election. You never know until the vote is out.”

Ian returned the mayor’s enthusiastic shake and smiled. The proper response. He should, after all, be thrilled. One step closer toward the condos. So why did the room feel so claustrophobic? And why had Robin worked so hard to avoid looking at him throughout the meeting? O’Malley and Maddocks joined the conversation, but Ian listened with only half his heart.

“Don’t you think so?” the mayor asked.

Ian tugged at his collar. “Sorry, what was that?”

“I was just saying how exciting it will be to see you bring our vision to life.”

“Oh yes, of course.”

“Will you be in town during the construction phase, or will you hand the project off?” O’Malley asked.

“Once I have everything squared away for the groundbreaking, I’ll hand the project over to the construction manager.” The thought of leaving
Peaks emptied him out. It was refreshing to stay in a place that didn’t carry the weight of messy memories. Nobody here expected Ian to become his father.

He enjoyed eating breakfast at Bernie’s cherry-finished dining table. Getting that woman to smile had become a challenging game. He was up to two a day. Mayor Ford’s enthusiasm was contagious. Val’s Diner served the world’s best iced tea and he got a kick out of Megan’s novelty T-shirts. And Robin … well, life would be easier if he didn’t think about Robin.

“I’ll stop in now and again to check on things,” he said.

“That’s a relief.” The flirtatious purr belonged to Amanda. She stood behind him, her hair swept into a ponytail, hazel eyes brightened by sun-kissed cheeks. “We’d hate to have you leave and forget all about us.”

Ian slipped his hands in his pockets. “Not possible.”

“So I guess congrats are in order. Your condos are looking more and more feasible every second.” Amanda’s words were meant as a compliment, but somehow they left him deflated.

The mayor clapped his hand over Ian’s shoulder. “I think we should celebrate. What do you say? Dinner and drinks this Saturday, on me.”

“I’m afraid I have a prior engagement,” Ian said.

Amanda raised her eyebrows. “A hot date?”

“My father was nominated for employer of the year. A local thing in Peoria. I’m leaving tomorrow so I can attend the banquet.” He looked at the mayor. “I’ll probably stay a few days to take care of some business. When I return, we should get together and discuss the best way to move forward.”

“I’ll have that arranged.” Mayor Ford nudged Ian with his elbow. “So this banquet. You have a special lady friend back in Peoria you’ll be taking?”

Ian raised a brow. “No, Mayor. Just myself.”

“A handsome man like you?” The mayor bounced on his toes. “That’s ridiculous. You should take someone. Like Amanda. I bet she’d love to go with you.”

Mayor Ford’s attempt at Cupid was painfully obvious, but maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea. It might be nice to take Amanda. She was young,
attractive, outgoing. Perhaps escorting her would get his mind off Robin, a woman who had no business preoccupying his thoughts. Especially when she wanted nothing to do with him. He looked down at the blushing accountant. “Would you like to accompany me?”

Loyalty and desire waged war in her eyes. Ian stood with his hands in his pockets and waited to see which side would win. Just how well did Evan Price know his kid sister? Ian didn’t have to wait long.

“Well, actually, there is this dress I’ve been wanting to wear …”

Robin set
Where the Wild Things Are
on Caleb’s nightstand and swept his bangs from his eyes. Her boy loved Max and his wolf suit. “Somebody needs a haircut. You’re turning into a shaggy dog.”

“I’m not a shaggy dog. I’m a wild thing.”

“Oh, well, I’m sorry, Mr. Wild Thing.” She tickled his belly and laughed with his laugh, then brushed her lips across his forehead. Soft skin and Johnson’s shampoo.

Caleb tucked his favorite blanket under his arm and rolled to his side. “Will you tell me the café story now?”

Robin sat on the edge of Caleb’s bed and ran her fingers through his hair. “Once upon a time, you had a daddy who was the best guy ever, better even than Spider-Man.”

His eyes went wide. Because Spider-Man was a pretty big deal.

“He knew that Mommy loved cafés. So every single day he told me we should open one together. It was Daddy’s dream for us. But then he went to be with the angels. So while you were growing in my belly, Aunt Bethy and Uncle Evan and I built Willow Tree Café.”

Caleb smiled with droopy eyelids. Robin kissed his cheek and tiptoed to his dresser.

A John Deere tractor lamp painted a yellow circle of light on the ceiling and spotlighted a framed picture below. A photograph of Micah and Evan—smiling from inside the cab of a combine—mounted on top of the dresser like a first-prize trophy. She ran her fingers down the metal frame.

“Mama?”

“What’s up, Buggerboo?”

“Is Leesey sick?”

“She has an ear infection, but she’ll get some medicine that will make her all better.” If only life could be as easy—a spoonful of medicine to chase away the loneliness, to fix the broken parts.

“Are you gonna leave when I fall asleep?”

Her hand paused over the picture frame. She only left on Saturdays, when the café stayed open through the evening. She didn’t think Caleb noticed when she left. She made a point to tuck him in before the baby-sitter came and she slipped away. She didn’t miss good night kisses. She didn’t miss before-bedtime baths or his animated stories about robots and T. rexes and evil dragons. She made a point to be there for all of it. “Not tonight.”