“I’m awfully glad you’re here, and earlier than you thought you could make it.”
Originally, Daniel had said he couldn’t start until the following week, but the mayor had seemed so anxious to have him start sooner that Daniel had made special arrangements.
“You indicated I was needed this week if possible.”
“Yes, we...haven’t had a manager for quite a while and...” Something was obviously on the mayor’s mind, though he appeared reluctant to say anything specific. “Anyhow, the two of us need to have a discussion soon. There’s something, I mean, well, we’ll discuss it after you’ve gotten settled. No, actually, we should do it before the city council meets this week.”
“I’m fine talking about anything you want right now.”
“No, it can wait. How do you like your new home?” asked the mayor.
“It’s magnificent,” Daniel answered, mindful of Mandy’s advice about the town’s pride in the Bertram House. She was probably right. Despite her often pointless chatter, she seemed to understand a few things about how Willow’s Eve functioned.
“We’re proud of the place,” Howard said, clearly pleased. “They talked about making it into a mayor’s mansion, but I suggested it would be easier to get a professional city manager if we could provide a nice house in the salary package.”
“It made it easier for me,” Daniel agreed. “And it was gracious of the town to provide food and make the bed. You’d never see that happen in the city.”
“Well, we want you to feel welcome. We’re really hoping you will consider staying for more than a year. You’ll like Willow’s Eve. It may be small compared with where you’ve been, but this is a good place to live. And it helps that we’ve got a good income between Fannie Snow’s trust and the paper mill.”
“Paper mill?”
“Oh, sure, out on the north end of town, and fortunately the wind doesn’t blow this way very often.”
“What difference would that make?”
“Once you’ve smelled the mill, you’ll know exactly what it means. Not that it’s a huge problem. You get used to it. And we don’t mind that much because the mill adds to the town’s tax base and provides plenty of jobs. The only problem is that...well, as I say, we can go into that later.”
“How about now?” Daniel urged. “We’ll be able to operate better if I know the issues as early as possible. Besides, isn’t the city council meeting the day after tomorrow?”
“Yes.” The other man heaved a sigh. “I suppose you’re right. There are two issues, basically. The town is on septic systems, but it’s possible we should shift to a central sewer structure, which would be a big change, and of course we’d need a treatment plant.”
Daniel nodded, already mentally calculating the kind of money needed for a project of that magnitude.
Howard walked to the window to open and close the shades a couple of times. Daniel waited.
“There’s also another issue,” the mayor continued. “Joe Jensen, the owner of the mill, wants more water, and he’s pretty anxious to expand. But there are problems with our reservoir and...hell, the town needs more water, too. I’ve looked into federal funding, and we should be able to get some, not that it’s guaranteed. Regardless, it won’t be enough.”
Restraining a wry smile, Daniel simply nodded. No wonder Howard White wanted a professional city manager on board. Two projects concerning that much money were guaranteed to be political hot potatoes. And water? In California, water rights were historically an explosive issue. Daniel knew he was due for a much bumpier year than he’d expected. But at least now he could start gathering information and get the groundwork done.
“Have you discussed this with the city council?” Daniel asked.
“I’m bringing it up at Thursday’s meeting for the first time. Since you weren’t going to be here, I tried to wait, but Big Joe keeps pushing. I...I know I probably should have said something before, but I wanted to wait until...and, well, you are a professional.”
Obviously, the mayor hadn’t been elected for his oratory skills. He appeared to have trouble uttering a sentence without qualifying himself.
“I understand.”
Mayor White left after that, in obvious relief, no doubt thinking the ball had been passed and he could relax.
Another knock on the door came a bare minute after the mayor’s departure. For a moment, Daniel pictured Mandy Colson, and was annoyed to feel his body responding. Damn. He found her exasperating, but couldn’t deny she had sex appeal...which annoyed him even more. He wanted to be in control of any situation and relied on cool logic to make his decisions.
At any rate, his priorities at the moment didn’t include women. He was focused on providing a stable home for his daughter while he sorted out the best thing to do for their future. His divorce and the resulting fallout had taken him by surprise, though it shouldn’t have since he’d never had much faith in marriage after seeing his parents’ unending misery together.
“Come in,” Daniel called, reflecting that an assistant would definitely be a helpful commodity. But there was no use wishing for what couldn’t be had. Besides, the novelty of someone new would wear off and the revolving door of visitors would surely stop.
The door opened and he saw Jane Cutman, the tall woman with gray hair and warm blue eyes who’d come to the house as part of the welcoming committee.
“Good morning, Jane,” he said.
“Hello, Daniel. I’ve been deputized to ask you to lunch with us at the Senior Center.”
He hesitated. So far he’d accomplished little with his morning except being introduced to people and some of the town’s issues, but that was part of starting a new job. Moreover, he was hungry. Food prepared for senior citizens probably wouldn’t be very interesting, but that didn’t matter.
“That sounds very nice. Thanks for the invitation.”
The woman chuckled. “Good. And don’t worry. I won’t let them fuss at you to eat with us every day. You’re always welcome, of course, but I’m sure you’ll be too busy. Folks want to meet you, though, so I was deputized to ask.”
“I look forward to meeting them, as well. When should I come over?”
“We’re gathering now, but if you’re in the middle of something, it’ll be a while before we start, and even longer before everyone gets through the line. It’s not fancy service. Volunteers serve the plates and we take them to our tables, except for a few who aren’t as mobile.”
“In that case, I’ll be out in a couple of minutes.”
Jane nodded and closed the door. She seemed a quiet, competent sort of woman, and he hoped she would be able to keep the seniors from expecting him to socialize too much. Having the Senior Center located within City Hall was a dynamic he hadn’t anticipated.
Closing his laptop, he stood and walked into the hallway, carefully locking up behind him, though he had nothing confidential yet to keep private. A group of gray-and white-haired citizens were gathered and chatting near the double doors leading into the dining area.
Jane called for attention. “Everyone, this is Daniel Whittier. He’s our new city manager.”
“Hello,” he said as various individuals stepped up to shake his hand and introduce themselves. “Nice to meet you,” he said, over and over again, the names blurring together.
A vaguely familiar woman smiled. “We were so disappointed you couldn’t stay to have lunch with us yesterday, but Mandy explained you’d traveled all night and needed rest more than food.”
“Yes,”