His apology was sincere and acknowledged a simple fact. So why did it make her feel sad?
“It’s okay. I can see why they want you to talk to Lilibeth. She does seem attracted to you and she’ll probably open up quicker to you than anyone else.”
“She’s just a kid,” Brody protested.
The door opened again and this time Mayor Shaw strode into the entrance. He wore a Western-cut suit jacket today, which, combined with his white shirt and black Stetson, gave him a commanding look. Usually he had a smile for Hannah, but today he looked especially grim.
His steps slowed when he saw Brody standing by Hannah’s desk.
“Afternoon, Harcourt,” Jackson Shaw said, stopping by the counter, his steely gaze ticking from Hannah to Brody. “How are things with you?” he asked, his deep voice smooth as any good politician’s should be.
“Fine, just fine,” Brody answered.
“Good year on the ranch?”
“We had a decent year. Only had a loss ratio of two percent, which we’ve never seen before,” Brody said, straightening as he spoke to the mayor.
Hannah didn’t blame him. Jackson Shaw was an imposing figure as well as a patriarch of the community. His ancestors were one of the two founding families of Jasper Gulch, the Shaws and the Masseys, and the only one to still have holdings in the area. Rather large holdings, too.
“That’s good. Better than we did at our outfit. You raise Angus, correct?”
“Red Angus.”
“Good breed. Thrifty calves. So, what brings you to town hall today?” Jackson’s mouth shifted as he looked from Brody to Hannah. “You’re not flirting with my secretary, are you?”
“Hannah and I are simply dealing with some time capsule business,” Brody said.
Jackson Shaw’s eyes narrowed. “She’s had a tough go, Book-it Brody. David was a good man. They don’t make many like him. He was a hero.”
Brody straightened, and his mouth became tight at Mayor Shaw’s not-so-subtle chiding and the use of his nickname. Hannah didn’t blame him. Though he hadn’t come out and said it, Mayor Shaw had inferred that Brody was in fact flirting with Hannah and was no match for David. Did Mayor Shaw see Brody as unsuitable?
You thought the same thing.
Mayor Shaw looked at Brody a moment longer, as if to underline what he’d said, then turned to Hannah. “How are things coming with the fair? Will we be able to fill the space?”
Hannah was surprised to see how quickly his expression shifted from stern to kind. How his features softened when he looked at her. It was as if he had pulled a mask off.
She couldn’t identify what about that bothered her. It was as if he was a different person depending on who he was talking to. “We have most of the spaces for booths spoken for,” she said. “The way things are going, I’m hoping we’ll be all booked up by the end of the week.” She hesitated a moment but felt she should say something on Brody’s behalf to Mayor Shaw. “In fact, Brody booked two booths for the firefighters,” she said. “And they hope to have their truck available for the children, which I’m excited about.”
Mayor Shaw nodded, shot another quick look at Brody, as if still assessing his character, then turned his attention back to Hannah. “Did you confirm plans with the company who will be doing the midway?”
“Yes. We’ll be having a carousel for the kids as well as a few other rides and a midway. We have them booked for the entire weekend.”
“Perfect. Really good.” He ran his hand over his hair and caught his lip between his teeth. Then without another word, he spun on his heel and with long, swinging strides walked away.
Brody blew out his breath as Jackson turned the corner and disappeared from view. Then he turned to Hannah. “Am I being oversensitive or did he seem kind of wound up?”
“He’s been under a lot of pressure lately. It seems half the town wants us to use the money from the fund-raisers for the museum we had planned for years, and the other half wants to use it to fix up the bridge over Beaver Creek, though Mayor Shaw prefers not to.” She sighed as she looked up at Brody. “I’m surprised he remembered your nickname.”
Brody slapped his cowboy hat against one leg. “I’ve had a few run-ins with him. I had his son Austin with me in the truck a couple of times when I got stopped by Deputy Calloway when we were in high school. Mayor Shaw collared me in the café and told me to stay away from his kid. Said I was a bad influence on him.” Brody paused a moment, then seemed to shrug it off. “That was in the past, but he can’t seem to let go. And, like Cord said, I don’t go where I’m not wanted, so I tend to avoid him if I can.”
“This time capsule theft has weighed heavy on his mind,” Hannah said in Mayor Shaw’s defense.
“It’s just a capsule. I’m sure there’s some neat memorabilia in it, but what could be in that capsule that losing it would make him so uptight?”
“I think he feels the pressure of his legacy. After all, Shaws have been a part of this community since it was founded. Maybe he feels like he’s let that legacy down, especially after the whole fiasco was televised.”
“I’m sure he feels foolish about it, but then again, he’s not the one who stole it,” Brody said with a laugh.
Hannah smiled at his joke. “No, but I know it bothers him.”
“Which gives us more reason to talk to Lilibeth. L.S., to be precise,” Brody said. “So if you can come with a few crumbs to give her from the minutes of the meetings, maybe we can get her to talk.”
“Or you could turn on that Harcourt charm?” Hannah said with a teasing grin.
Brody pointed a finger at her. “Don’t you start.”
Hannah’s grin widened, but she resisted the urge to make another quip.
He looked as if he wanted to say something more, then his gaze ticked over to David’s picture and he dropped his hat on his head, turned and walked away.
Hannah released a careful sigh as she watched him go with a feeling of regret. For a moment, just a brief moment, she’d felt like a woman. Not a mother of two children and the widow of a hero.
She looked back at David’s picture and made a face. “You put me in a real bind when you proposed just before you shipped out.” But no sooner did she speak the words than she felt the usual guilt that seemed woven through her memories of David.
Yes, she had loved David, but in the weeks leading up to their wedding there were times that she wished she could slow everything down. Step back. Take a breath.
But she had agreed to everything David had wanted because she loved him and he was a soldier going to fight for his country. She had agreed to the bare-bones civil ceremony with only Julie and his friend as attendants. Had agreed to the simple honeymoon in Bozeman at a bed-and-breakfast.
And then in a matter of heartbeats it was over. David had shipped out and she was left wondering if the wedding had happened at all.
Hannah sloughed off those pointless thoughts. Regardless of how it came about, she had married David and now was his widow raising his twins. This was her reality. She just had to go with what life brought her.
* * *
Brody drummed his fingers on the table of the booth at the back of the café. He wished, for the fifth time since he’d come here, that he hadn’t agreed to this meeting with Hannah and Lilibeth. First off, the whole idea that Lilibeth Shoemaker had anything to do with the time capsule theft was crazy. Sure she was upset, but she didn’t seem that vindictive. Second, meeting