“What else am I missing?” I ask, and he takes a deep inhale.

“Your father was not a liked man,” he says. “He did things shady as fuck, but he made sure he covered his tracks.”

I shake my head and hang my head. “This is the man I wanted to look up to and be like,” I say.

“You surpassed him a long time ago,” he tells me. “That said, we are on the same page, and we both want what is best for the town.”

“I agree,” I say, and he gets up. “Now if you will excuse me, I’m going home to shower and then get my girl.” He stops halfway to the door. “You going to keep Savannah with you?”

“Yeah,” I say.

“You going to tell her that you love her anytime this decade?” he asks, and I shake my head.

“I don’t want to ruin what we have,” I say. He puts his hands on his hips, and I raise my hands. “I know, I know, but …” I shake my head. “I will take her any way I can, and if it’s only through friendship, then that is what I’m going to do.”

“She might need you more than just a friend,” he says as he walks out of the office, slamming the door behind him.

I rub my hand on my face, and I’m about to call her when there is another knock on the door. This time, it opens just a bit, and my mother sticks her head in. “Knock, knock, knock,” she says with a smile as she enters. I get up to greet her. Of course she is dressed perfectly in a skirt and a matching top with a sweater tied at the neck. Her pearls hang perfectly around her neck. Her blond hair curled to perfect and even her makeup is perfect. That is my mother, perfect all the time. “There he is. My son, the mayor.”

She comes over and hugs me. “So nice of you to come out,” I say, and she nods at me. “Come sit down.” I point at the couch. “Bonnie, can you get us something to drink, please?” I ask. Bonnie gets up, smiling.

“You look tired,” my mother says when I walk back to the couch. “I heard about Savannah.”

“Yeah,” I say, sitting down.

“It’s terrible,” she says, putting her hand crossed in front of her while she folds her legs to the side. “Your father told me this morning when he got back home.”

“Back home?” I ask her. “Where did he go?”

“He had some sort of meeting somewhere.” She brushes it off. “A business venture. Now that he’s not mayor, he needs something to keep him busy.” Bonnie comes in with a tray of tea before I can answer.

“Thank you, dear.” My mother smiles at her. “My favorite cranberry tea.”