“I can and will. What are your orders, my general?”
“You’re coming with me.” She pulled out her phone and dialed before the plan had fully solidified in her brain.
“Edison Hardware.”
“Tyler, it’s Norah. Have you got somebody who can man the store for a few hours?”
“I can call in Dad. What’s up?”
“I need your design skills.”
Norah could hear the other woman’s interest pique. “For what?”
A miracle. “Tell you when I get there. Mitch and I will be in to pick you up in half an hour.”
She called Molly next, arranged for the coalition chair to meet them downtown. Then and only then did she turn to Cam. He hadn’t moved from where she’d interrupted his pacing. She couldn’t read his shuttered expression, couldn’t tell if she’d crossed a line or pissed him off.
“Five minutes are up. Are you coming?”
“There’s something else I need to do first.” Without another glance her way, he stalked from the room.
Speechless, she stared after him. He’d walked away. She didn’t know what she’d wanted, exactly. For him to leap enthusiastically back into the cause. To say, “I trust you. I’m sorry I doubted. What next?” To say he believed in her and her ability to pull this off. To show any kind of willingness to keep fighting. Because, Lord knew, she could use some of that support right now.
But maybe he didn’t believe.
And that meant she’d failed where it mattered most.
Aunt Liz wrapped an arm around Norah’s shoulders. “He’ll come around.”
Norah wasn’t at all sure that he would. But that was a disappointment that would have to wait until she’d finished her own fight.
~*~
Hush’s berserker mode let Cam know that Norah had finally come in search of him, despite the drizzling rain. He continued to sip at his beer, simply calling out, “It’s open!” when she knocked.
The fruits of the afternoon’s labor sat in a neat stack on the counter, highlighted and cross referenced with the same level of precision he expected from Norah herself. He wasn’t leaving anything open to misinterpretation. Giving this to her at all was a calculated risk. But it was one he had to take or he wouldn’t be able to live with himself. She had a right to know.
Though she lit up in response to the dog, Norah had lost her smile by the time she made it through the gauntlet of Hush’s enthusiastic greeting and crossed the room. “You never made it downtown.” Her tone was cool.
“Sorry. I had some Council business to take care of.”
One delicate brow arched.
“The firm that did the impact study will be attending the hearing when it’s scheduled.” No reason for her to think he was bailing now.
“Good. Were they difficult to track down?” Translation: Where were you the rest of the afternoon?
“No. I was also working on lining up a second evaluation. Avery’s boyfriend, Dillon, is working on his MBA up at Ole Miss. He’s checking to see if any of his professors could do it, or know of someone who can. There’s also the possibility of getting one or more of them to the h
earing to rebut based on the literature, even if we don’t manage to get a full second evaluation. We should hear something in a day or two.”
Her poker face melted into a smile of approval. “Excellent.”
Cam hesitated. “There’s something else. I was following up on some leads.”
She sat at the counter. “On what?”
“I think it’s better if you read that for yourself.” He handed the sheaf of papers to her. “I highlighted the relevant passages.”