That Man of Mine (Whispering Bay Romance 3)

She steeled herself for this next part. They’d had “the mother-daughter sex talk” a couple of years ago. Mimi had made Claire promise that before she ever thought about having sex, she’d come to her beforehand so they could discuss it. It had been the hardest conversation she’d ever had with Claire. Until now.

“Are you and Adam having sex?”

“What? That’s none of your business!”

“No, it certainly is my business. If you and that boy are having sex then I need to make sure you know exactly how to protect yourself.”

“Don’t worry, I’m not planning on getting pregnant. I’m not you.”

Mimi’s heart ricocheted around her chest a couple of times before it eventually settled back in place. “Wow. I bet you’ve been waiting a long time to say that to me.”

Claire’s eyes went shiny. “I’m sorry, Mom. I didn’t mean it that way.”

“Okay, fair enough. But I want you to think about what I’m going to say. If your decision to stay here and go to community college is based strictly on Adam, then you’re doing yourself a huge disservice. It’s true, I didn’t plan on getting pregnant at seventeen, but I did have choices. And I made the best one possible for myself and for Zeke. And for you. Because I already loved you the instant I knew you were inside me. I’m always going to want the best for you, Claire. I just want you to be happy, but I don’t see how keeping your life a secret from the people who love you the most makes any kind of sense.”

Claire seemed to waiver, but then her eyes got that steely look in them that Mimi knew all too well. It was the Zeke Grant look of rebellion. “Is that it? Can I go to my room now?”

“Sure. I’ll call you when dinner is ready.”

She watched as her daughter grabbed her backpack and headed off to her bedroom.

Momma was certainly right about one thing. She might not have worded it this exact same way, but children were like a great big old vacuum cleaner, just sitting around waiting to suck the life right out of you.

Mimi sat impatiently through the city council meeting. The budget, which was supposed to have been approved in April, was still being discussed. Bruce and Larry were opposed to almost everything Mimi and Gus were for, with Denise squarely in the middle. But something had to give. And soon. Or the town of Whispering Bay was going to enter the fiscal year in September without a budget.

Over the course of the two-hour meeting, she’d tried catching Doug’s attention but each time she managed to lock gazes with him, he smiled in that bland way of his that was beginning to grate on her nerves. Hadn’t he gotten any of her messages? It was Thursday, and she needed to get that check to Fatback Bubba by tonight. Their manager had called this morning to say they’d expect their money by five p.m. sharp.

It was now a little after two and the meeting seemed to be going on forever.

“I think we’ve done about enough for today,” she announced, standing up. “As mayor, I want to go on record that I’m very disappointed we haven’t been able to agree on a working budget. May I suggest that we give this two more weeks, tops? After that, we need to consider some sort of mediation.”

Bruce and Larry exchanged a meaningful glance. “You mean outsiders?” Bruce asked.

“Exactly. If we can’t agree then we’re going to have to get help. I sincerely hope it doesn’t come to that, but, we may have no choice.” She hated being the bad guy here, but someone had to take charge.

“We never needed a referee when Bruce was mayor,” Larry grumbled under his breath. It was loud enough for Mimi to hear, though. Just as he’d intended.

Denise looked at her thoughtfully. “That might not be a bad idea. I second Mimi’s motion,” she said, taking Mimi by surprise. It was the first time Denise had openly supported her.

“That was a kick ass move,” Pilar whispered in her ear. As the city’s attorney, Pilar attended the city council meetings strictly in an advisory role. Mimi wished she had a vote. Then maybe they could actually get things done. “You’re going to Bunco tonight, right?”

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Mimi replied. “I seriously need to relax.” She watched as Doug gathered all his papers and tried for a quick exit. “Doug! Hold on. I need to talk to you.”

He looked a little harassed, like he was late for something, but he came back and laid his briefcase down on the table.

“See you tonight!” Pilar called to Mimi on her way out.

Mimi waited till everyone else had left before she said to Doug, “You’re a hard guy to get ahold of.”

“Sorry.” He shrugged. “It’s just this budget thing. And then I’ve been out of town and, well, you know.” He smiled and Mimi felt herself relax. For a minute there, she’d thought Doug was going to say something else. What that something else was, she wasn’t sure, but it had given her a momentarily bad feeling.

“So I have less than three hours to get that check to the band for the festival. Do you think you could cut that for me now?” she asked, rushing all the words together.

“Check?” His expression changed to one of incredulity. “Mimi, I’m sorry, but I thought you’d realize…that is, without the city approving a budget for the coming fiscal year, it’s impossible for me to give you that check. Right now, every penny in the city treasury is being scrutinized.”

Mimi’s face went hot. That had never occurred to her. “But, you said it wouldn’t be a problem. And you know the festival committee is going to pay the city back. We’ll have the money by Monday.”

“What if for some reason the festival can’t clear that amount and you can’t come up with the money? I’ve done my research. Last year the festival didn’t break even. There was no extra money for anything. If this year follows the same pattern—”