“She’s my cousin.” Why had Ean brought this up?
“Why are you giving her special treatment?” Tilda mocked Megan’s earlier words.
Megan looked at each member in turn. “I’m not a leader—”
Ean interrupted her. “Yes, you are. You’ve taken the lead on this issue with the center.”
Megan spoke in a firm tone. “This is the first time I’ve ever been active on a government issue. I can lead an organization. I can run a business. But leading a town, balancing the needs of hundreds of people within a budget, is a completely different set of skills. We have to find someone else.”
“I don’t know who.” Doreen sounded disappointed.
Megan blinked. Doreen had been active in community organizations all of Megan’s life. Had their future mayor been sitting among them this entire time?
CHAPTER 23
The bell above the front door to Ean’s business suite chimed Monday afternoon. He straightened from the box of office supplies he was transferring into his supply closet and stepped into the hallway. He froze when he saw Leonard George standing in his waiting area.
“Your office looks good.” The older man shoved his hands into the pockets of his winter coat as he glanced around.
“Thanks.” Ean had arranged a couple of chairs and a corner table with current magazines in the waiting area.
Leonard met Ean’s eyes. “Are you busy?”
They’d just spent Thanksgiving together. What did Leonard want now? Ean glanced over his shoulder toward the supply closet. He resisted the temptation to further delay their conversation. Coach George had always been persistent.
Ean gestured Leonard into his office and followed him. “It can wait.”
Leonard settled into one of the black leather chairs in front of the large mahogany desk. “I like this furniture.”
“Thanks.” Ean circled his desk and lowered himself into the matching executive chair.
He sensed the other man’s discomfort, which meant they had something in common besides affection for his mother. Neither of them wanted this meeting.
Leonard’s shoulders lifted and settled in a deep breath. “I care about your mother.”
“I know.” Ean’s tension rose in the beat of silence that followed his response.
“I mean . . . I’m not . . . using her.”
Ean really didn’t want to have this conversation. “My mother wouldn’t allow anyone to use her.”
Leonard gave in to a short laugh. “That’s true. It’s one of the things I admire about her. Dorie is a strong woman.”
Dorie. Ean cringed on the inside. “Yes, she is.”
Leonard shifted in the visitor’s chair. “Look, Ean, I know you’re not happy about my dating your mother. I don’t understand why. I’m not trying to replace your father. You just said you know I’m not using your mother. Then what is it?”
Ean studied his high school football coach while he tried to put his feelings into words. “I’m having trouble adjusting to the change in your relationship with my mother.”
“Is that really the problem, or are you wondering whether your mother and I were together even before your father died?”
Ean tightened his grip on the arms of his chair. His former coach was coming too close to the line. “My parents loved each other very much. Neither would ever have been unfaithful to the other.”
“But you didn’t know how sick your father was or for how long. It’s natural to wonder what else you didn’t know.”
It was a struggle to control his temper. “Maybe you’d wonder, but I don’t have to.”
“Then what would it take for you to accept my relationship with your mother?”