“Here.” Trisha held up a pair of dusty-rose-colored capri pants and a black sleeveless blouse.
Moira dropped her phone back into her bag and looked up.
“It’s feminine but also simple and no fuss. It’s very you. My best friend in Sweetwater Springs owns a boutique there. I learned everything I know about fashion from her. This outfit suits you.”
Lucy stepped up to Trisha with a dress in her hand. She lowered it when she saw what Trisha was holding. “Yeah. That’s it. That’s perfect for Moira’s date.”
Moira studied the selection for a moment more. “I love it, actually.” Her gaze lifted. “Okay, what shoes do I wear?”
* * *
By the time Moira left True You with her friends, she had four pairs of capri pants, five blouses, a pantsuit, and three different pairs of sandals.
“My debit card needs a rest for the next six months,” she said in Tess’s car on the way home.
“You rarely buy yourself anything.” Trisha narrowed her gaze at Moira in the back seat. “There’s no reason to feel guilty.”
“Plus, these are work clothes,” Lucy said. “If you’re going to be mayor, you need to dress the part.”
“Am I going to be mayor though? Can I really beat Gil?”
Trisha nudged Moira with her elbow. “Just because you’re dating him doesn’t mean we’re going to go easy on this election. We believe in you. Yes, you can be mayor if that’s truly what you want.”
Moira nodded. “At first it was just about my mom’s bakery. I wanted to fight. Now I want more than that. I want to change things. I want to do things.”
Lucy spun around from the front seat and winked at her. “Well, in that cream suit, you’re going to convince anybody of anything you want.”
Tess dropped off Trisha first, and then Lucy. Moira was grateful when Tess pulled into her driveway.
“Thanks for the ride and the shopping trip. It was great,” Moira said, unbuckling her seat belt. She had moved to the front seat after Trisha and Lucy had been dropped off.
“Of course. You okay?” Tess asked, glancing over and peering at her. “I know you have a lot on your plate right now.”
Tess really had no idea how true that statement was. “I’m fine. Thanks again.” Moira pushed her car door open and stepped out. She retrieved her bags from the back seat and then waved at Tess on her way to her front door.
The biggest thing she had on her mind wasn’t the campaign or even her date. It was the caller, and her willpower was wearing thinner every time her mind retraced the interaction. She closed her front door behind her and dropped her bags on the couch. Then she pulled out her cell phone, took a breath, and gave in to her need to dial the caller’s number. Just to see if the woman was all right.
Moira’s heart pounded as she listened to the dial tone. She was beginning to think no one would pick up. Then a woman’s voice answered.
“Animal Rescue Ranch. This is Beth.”
Moira froze. She wasn’t actually planning to talk to this person. At least she didn’t think she was. She’d just wanted to hear the woman’s voice and make a judgment on her well-being based on the tone. She hadn’t expected to get a name or a place of business.
Animal Rescue Ranch?
“Hello?” the woman, Beth, said.
“Um, yes. Hi.” Moira had no idea what she was doing right now.
“Are you, um, looking for a pet?” Beth asked.
Moira’s palms were sweating. “No. I mean, maybe.”
“Do you have a reason for calling?”
Moira chewed her lower lip. Not a reason that she could give this woman. Not without putting her job in jeopardy. “Maybe a dog. My grandmother used to have a King Charles something.”
“Cavalier King Charles spaniel,” Beth supplied, her voice level and confident. “I love that breed.”
“Oh,” Moira said, feeling a flutter of excitement, even though she wasn’t really in the market for a dog anyway. This call was completely about checking up on the woman who’d called in distress the other day.
“We don’t get many Cavaliers in. I can put you on a list and call you if we get one though.”
Moira didn’t think that was a good idea, just in case Beth realized Moira worked at the dispatch and made the connection to why she was calling. Which she should not be doing. “I, uh, I’ll call back another time,” Moira said quickly. “Take care of yourself.”
“Oh. Okay,” Beth said. “Um, you too.”
Moira disconnected the call and blew out a breath, shaking from head to toe. Beth had sounded okay. She was breathing at least. Maybe knowing that much would take Moira’s mind off the situation. At least she hoped so.
* * *
For the last forty-eight hours, some part of Gil had been waiting for Moira to cancel their date. He felt like he was walking a tightrope and couldn’t allow his hopes to get up too high. He had liked this woman for what seemed like forever. And she’d been shying away from him for that same amount of time.
He pulled into her driveway, cut the engine, and checked his cell phone one last time to see if she’d canceled. She hadn’t. This was really happening. He grabbed the bouquet of flowers he’d purchased at Somerset Florist, feeling only a little bit silly for buying them. He somehow suspected Moira hadn’t been given flowers too often in her life. In Gil’s opinion, every woman deserved flowers. He picked his mom up a bouquet several times a year just because.
The bouquet he’d gotten Moira was an arrangement of wildflowers, which he thought suited her best. They were simple, yet beautiful, and they represented a mountainous countryside in nature. Gil headed up the porch steps and rang the doorbell, still halfway expecting Moira to shoot him down once she answered. Instead, when she opened the door, she was dressed in a pair of soft-looking cropped pants and a sleeveless black top that shimmered in the dwindling sunlight. Her hair was down in loose curls that bounced near her shoulders as she smiled back at him.
Gil grinned foolishly as he looked at her, relieved that she wasn’t backing out of their plans. He was also suddenly nervous that he’d screw this night up in a hot second and she’d slam the door on him.
“Are those for me?” She gestured toward the bouquet of flowers he was nervously crushing with his hands.
He held them out to her. “Oh, yeah, as a matter of fact, they are. I hope you don’t mind.”
“That you brought me flowers? Why would I mind?” She didn’t wait for him to answer. Instead, she gestured him inside. “I’ll just put these in water. Thank you. It’s been a long time since anyone has given me flowers.”
“Oh?” Gil asked. “Anyone I know?”
Moira glanced over her shoulder. “Benny Myer.”
Gil stopped walking and watched as she reached for a vase in her cabinet. “Benny Myer? You two dated?”
Moira held up a finger. “One date. We only went out once.”
“That good, huh?”
Moira seemed to be in a good mood tonight. She looked relaxed, and she was laughing easily. That boded well for their evening. She arranged the flowers in the vase, taking her time to spread them around evenly. Then she admired them for a long moment. “They’re beautiful.” She looked at up him. “Thank you.”