The other two council members shook their heads and smiled, looking a bit dazed themselves by what had unfolded, though not exactly upset by it. It didn’t look as if Henry Bassett was held in all that high regard by his fellow councilmen on either side of the issue.
“We’ll make it official in the next few days,” the mayor said, “but since we’re all here, I say we go tell the good people of our town that we’re going to start turning Blue Hollow Falls green.”
Vivi and Chey both let out a hoot of joy and hugged, then all three of them shook the mayor’s hand before heading over and climbing the steps to the makeshift stage.
Wyatt looked at Chey, who gave him a private thumbs-up. Wyatt looked at Grant, grinned, then said into the mic, “It looks like we have some news to share.”
Wyatt and Grant moved back to make room for the mayor, the council members, Vivi, Chey, and Addie Pearl.
“Mr. Mayor,” Wyatt said. “Over to you.” He handed Fielding the mic.
A tense hush fell over the assembled crowd as the news reporters who hadn’t followed the cruisers drew closer to the stage, microphones outstretched.
“I am very pleased to announce that both projects have been examined and considered, and by a simple majority vote, and the overwhelming support of all of you,” he added, and the cheers started to erupt, “Blue Hollow Falls will soon be enhanced by a wonderful new resort and event center.”
He paused and Chey swore she could feel every collective breath being held until they heard the words they wanted to hear.
“Why don’t you tell them.” And Fielding handed the mic to Grant.
Grant nodded, took the mic, and turned to face everyone. “I’d like to announce that we are now, officially, on the grounds of the Firefly Lodge and Wilderness Resort!”
And the crowd, as they say, went wild.
Chapter Fourteen
“What’s the verdict?” Chey asked as Wyatt ended the call with the mayor and put his cell on the nightstand, then rolled back over to face her. “Were charges filed?”
He pulled the pillow back under his head and tucked her up against his body. “Oh, so many charges,” he said with a chuckle. “Hammond alone has fourteen counts against him, including money laundering, conspiracy to commit fraud, the actual fraud, tax evasion, and well, the list goes on and on. Apparently, he’s been in deep for a good long time. I don’t think even the priciest lawyer will get him off, and I’m not sure he can afford one anyway. Sounds like his buddies on the council will be joining him.”
“Good,” she said. “Well, it’s not good. It’s awful. I can’t believe we had that level of corruption right here in our little burg. I mean, those guys all grew up here; they have families. Some of them have been here for generations. I feel awful for them.”
“Thank goodness Carl Thomas had a sudden bout of decency or who knows what they might have gotten away with,” Wyatt said.
“I don’t think it was decency so much as deciding his wife divorcing him for finding out he’d been fooling around was a lesser evil than going to jail. And he might not escape that, either.” She shook her head. “It’s going to sting this entire community for a good long time. I know folks love Mayor Fielding, and he’s handled this about as well as anyone could, with a steady hand and keeping everyone calm, but this happened under his watch. It’s going to take a while to earn everyone’s trust back.”
“True,” Wyatt agreed, “but with groundbreaking on the lodge in just a few weeks, and so much good to come from that, hopefully that will gain a lot of goodwill back for the mayor and the remaining council members. It will help make the road forward easier for everyone. I heard Addie Pearl is considering running to fill one of the vacant council seats. That would be a slam dunk, I’d think. Go a long way toward making folks feel like there’s accountability.”
Chey chuckled. “Yeah, I don’t see them getting anything by Addie Pearl.” She sighed. “I tried to talk Vivi into it, but I think things between her and Grant are happening kind of quickly.”
He rolled forward and kissed her. “You say that like it’s a bad thing,” he teased.
She kissed him back. “Not at all, actually. I think they’re really good for each other. Vivi smiles like a giddy schoolgirl pretty much all the time, and Grant looks like he’s walking around on cloud nine.” She wrapped her arms around Wyatt’s neck. “But I suspect that will mean she’ll be traveling west.”
Wyatt lifted back in surprise. “Permanently?”
Chey shook her head. “No, I can’t see that happening. She wouldn’t abandon us, and she loves it here, loves what she is doing. I don’t see her giving that up for anyone. But I can see her working some kind of compromise.”
“What about you?” he said, shifting back to his side and propping his head on his elbow.
“What, would I give up Lavender Blue and Blue Hollow Falls for love?” His expression faltered briefly, but she held his gaze when she answered, and he could see she meant what she said. “I would hope that’s not a choice I’d ever have to make.”
Wyatt wasn’t sure what to say to that. Not that he planned to ask her to make such a sacrifice, but it seemed a pretty hard line to draw. He’d been grappling with the same issue, though, and he wasn’t sure he’d answer the question any differently.
Chey nudged him to his back and snuggled next to him, sliding her arm over his chest. “Let’s not talk about that,” she said softly. “Not today.”
Wyatt didn’t want to talk about it ever, but he knew that conversation was going to happen sooner than later. That he had another eight weeks or so in the Falls felt like forever right now, but the time was already passing at breakneck speed. He felt inextricably bound to her, from their childhood together all the way up to this very second, and he had absolutely no desire whatsoever to do anything to break those ties. He only wanted them to be stronger, wrapping their lives ever more securely together.
But it was a Saturday morning after a couple of very long, tumultuous weeks, both leading up to events by the lake a week ago, and the scandal that had kept the grapevines buzzing ever since, what with the arrests and revelations. Tory had said she’d take on the barn chores that morning, allowing them a lazy lie-in, at least until Hannah and Avery arrived and another day on the farm began in earnest. He liked learning about lavender growing and all the processes, how to make the variety of products they sold. Avery had offered him a tour of her mini lab, which was the processing area now, where she’d laughingly said the lavender magic happened. He was looking forward to seeing that.
Wyatt had gone out to bring Tory coffee when he’d gotten up to brew a pot earlier, along with some of the muffins Vivi had sent home with them the night before. Grant had stayed in town after the fallout the previous weekend, remaining at Lavender Blue with Vivi, supporting her and lending his assistance where he could as things progressed out at the lake. Wyatt felt the same way Chey did about their burgeoning relationship. It looked good on both of them. But he was seeing the whole world through some pretty rosy glasses these days.
He smiled, thinking about Bailey, who had been in the barn with Tory, tending to the goats. When he’d come in, she’d been in the middle of asking a million questions about the days when Tory and Chey competed against each other and whether Tory could teach Bailey how to be a barrel racer.