Harmony Cabins (Finding Home 2)

A pretty pink blush rose in Audra’s cheeks. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you. You’re doing me a favor by teaching me how to fish. I wanted to repay you.”

Jack’s gaze dropped to her mouth. Her lips drew him like a thirsty man to water. They were moist, slightly parted, and pink as candy. Suddenly he wanted a taste more than he wanted his next breath. Before he could change his mind again, Jack swooped in and claimed her lips.

He felt Audra’s gasp against his lips before he sealed her mouth with his. Her touch, her scent, transported him to another place and time, down the rabbit hole. Jack pressed a little deeper for a better taste. His heart stuttered, then beat hard and fast after having felt nothing for so long. The darkness that had borne down on him for years eased. Her warmth was healing him. And for a moment, Audra had responded. He was sure she had. He’d brushed his tongue across the seam of her lips. They’d softened beneath his touch before she pushed away.

Jack blinked to focus on her face. Concern and remorse chilled him when he saw where his beard had chafed her chin and cheeks. He wanted to soothe the areas, but feared she wouldn’t want him to touch her again.

What was happening to him? Had hiding in these cabins so deteriorated his civility and self-control that he now resembled an untamed beast?

Audra frowned. “That’s not the way I repay my debts.”

“You don’t owe me anything.”

“Then what was that?”

A hungry man seeking sustenance? A blind man reaching out to see? “I don’t know.”

Audra’s expression said, I don’t believe you. “I don’t do flings.”

“I’m sorry.” Jack scrubbed his left hand over his beard. “It sounds stupid, but I don’t know what came over me.”

Audra rose. “Thank you for the fishing lesson.”

She was leaving? Of course. He’d crossed the line and made her uncomfortable.

Jack stood with the bucket. “Would you like the fish?”

“I at least want the one I caught.” Audra’s half smile gave him hope that he could redeem himself.

“Fair enough.” Jack helped Audra collect their belongings before escorting her to her cabin.

He was beginning to believe he needed redemption. He’d been alone in the dark for so long. Could Audra, with her warmth and light, draw him from the cold darkness his life had become since Zoey’s death? Did he deserve saving?

“Good morning, Simon. What can I get for you?” Doreen masked her surprise at finding Simon Knight at Books & Bakery’s food counter at eight o’clock, Tuesday morning. The retired pharmacist had never appeared this early before.

Simon waved her off. “Nothing, thanks, Doreen. I’ve already eaten.”

The mystery deepened. “Then what can I do for you?”

“I want to tell you first, and in private, before I make a public announcement.” He bounced on the toes of his black loafers. “I’m running for mayor.”

Doreen stared at the older man for seconds that felt like minutes. “You’re running for mayor? It’s mid-July. The campaign filing deadline was December.”

“I’m starting a petition to join the race. I just need about five hundred signatures to get my name on the ballot.”

Was this some kind of joke? But Simon wasn’t known for his sense of humor. Rather, he was a thorn in the side of anyone who ever tried to get anything done for the benefit of the town’s nearly fifteen hundred residents.

Doreen crossed her arms. “Simon, you’ve lived in Trinity Falls all of your life. You’ve never been a member of any civic organization. You’ve never participated in any improvement campaigns. You’ve never even attended a town meeting. Why have you decided to run for mayor?”

Simon stood straighter, looking down his broad nose at Doreen. “The residents of Trinity Falls deserve to have a choice of mayoral candidates. We haven’t had a two-candidate competition for three election cycles.”

“Is that going to be your campaign platform, giving the town a choice for mayor?” Did she sound as incredulous as she felt?

Ramona McCloud, the current mayor, was not running for reelection. Instead, she’d made the life-changing decision to leave Trinity Falls next month with her boyfriend, Doc

tor Quincy Spates. That meant Doreen was the only registered candidate for the election. She’d been prepared to challenge Ramona for the office, though. She’d understood how their visions for Trinity Falls were different and why. In contrast, campaigning against Simon would be like kickboxing smoke.

Simon gave her a smug look. “My platform will be the sesquicentennial celebration.”