He opened the door and squinted at the bright sunlight that burst through along with Doug.
“We have a problem.” Doug walked past Gil.
Gil closed the door and turned to face his brother. “Is this about Moira?”
Doug sat on a stool at Gil’s kitchen island and propped up his upper body on his elbows. If he thought Gil was going to get straight to making sausage for him, he was mistaken. Instead, Gil headed over to the coffee brewer. Coffee came first. Always.
“Want a cup of joe?” Gil asked Doug.
Doug’s face scrunched. “Do you have orange juice?”
“You know I do.” Gil pointed at the fridge. “Help yourself.”
Doug got up and poured himself a glass of juice.
Within a few minutes, the coffee maker sputtered the last drop of coffee into the pot, and Gil inhaled the thick scent of java goodness. He grabbed a mug and poured himself a serving. Then he shuffled over to the stool next to Doug’s.
“You mentioned a problem?” Gil asked.
Doug nodded. “Denise Berger.”
Gil lowered his coffee mug to the counter and gave Doug his full attention. “Oh? What happened?”
Doug placed his cell phone on the counter in front of Gil. “Watch.”
Gil picked up the phone, which had a paused news video pulled up. He clicked the play icon and turned up the volume so he could drink his coffee as he watched.
Denise was on the screen, dressed to the nines in a flashy houndstooth suit and talking to a reporter from WTI-News. “How can the town of Somerset Lake even consider reelecting a mayor who doesn’t care about our small businesses? Small businesses are the heart of this town.” The fake laugh that tumbled out of her mouth set Gil’s back teeth clenching. He tried not to keep enemies, but Denise rubbed him all wrong. “Gil Ryan is not the guy for the job if he can’t support the things that matter to its citizens.”
Gil watched as Denise made her case against him. Then the reporter asked about the other mayoral candidate.
“Is Moira Green still in the running? Was she ever even in it, or is that all talk?” Denise fake laughed a second time. “That woman has no political experience. All she has is a vendetta against what’s happening to her mom’s bakery. And who can blame her? She doesn’t need to be mayor to fight for her family’s business though.” Denise pressed a hand to her chest. “I can do that. I have the experience, the team, and the passion to implement change in Somerset Lake.”
The news anchor smiled and looked at the camera. “You heard it here at WTI-News. Denise Berger for mayor in Somerset Lake.”
Gil slid Doug’s phone back toward him. He sipped his coffee some more before talking. “How do you find this stuff so fast? Do you search my name in the news every morning?”
“Of course.”
Gil should have guessed as much. “It’s just talk. Negative press is expected when you’re running for any position in the government.” Gil didn’t mind Denise’s criticism of him, but he was bothered that Moira was on the receiving end too.
“You should do an interview with her,” Doug said.
“With who? With WTI-News?”
Doug nodded. “I can set it up.”
Gil massaged a hand over his face. “No thanks. I don’t need to defend myself against Denise on a news station. I might end up saying a few things about her on live TV that I’ll regret.”
Doug looked disappointed as he drank his orange juice. “What about Moira?”
Gil glanced over. “What about her?”
“Is it true that she doesn’t count?”
That wasn’t exactly what Denise had said, but Gil understood why Doug had interpreted her words that way. “No, it’s not true.” Gil shook his head. “If you ask me, she counts more than Denise.” Gil stood and looked at Doug. “It’s early, buddy. And it’s Saturday. I’m going back to bed. Make yourself at home but don’t wake me up.”
Doug still looked upset.
“I’ll make sausage for lunch, okay? We’ll talk about possibly scheduling an interview.”
This made Doug smile. “I’ll make us sausage at lunch,” he said. “Night.”
Gil headed toward his bedroom. He wished it were still night. He wished it were still last night with Moira. He climbed back under his covers, thinking of that kiss. No, Denise was definitely wrong when she implied that Moira didn’t count. She counted.
* * *
Moira yawned and blinked sleepily into the depths of her coffee.
“Must have been some date last night.” Lucy waggled her eyebrows across from Moira as they sat at a table in Sweetie’s Bakeshop.
Tess laughed wryly. “Didn’t get much sleep, huh?”
Moira shook her head. “The date is not the reason I’m tired. Someone threw a rock at my door at two a.m. and woke me up.”
“What?” Tess sat more upright in her seat. “Who?”
Moira shrugged. “I have no idea. I was terrified for like thirty minutes, thinking someone was trying to break in. Finally, I got up the nerve to peek out the peephole, but I didn’t see anyone. Then I glanced out the window onto the street. No cars. I didn’t dare open the door until this morning. I found a rock on my doorstep.”
“Who would throw a rock at your door?” Tess asked.
Lucy frowned. “Actually, Miles told me that’s happened to several people here in town over the last couple of weeks. They think it’s just a bunch of kids. A harmless prank.”
“Well, that harmless prank cost me the rest of the night in sleep.” Moira yawned again.
Tess narrowed her eyes. “You let that keep you up all night?”
Moira shrugged, realizing suddenly that maybe that wasn’t a normal reaction. “It wouldn’t keep you up?” she asked.
Tess shrugged. “I mean, not really. Once I knew there was no threat, I would have gone back to sleep.”
“Well, I have a ferocious guard dog,” Lucy said, speaking of the elderly French bulldog that she’d inherited from her mom. “And my fiancé is a deputy sheriff. I wouldn’t lose much sleep either.”
“Maybe the dispatch is making you a little skittish,” Tess suggested.
“Yeah, all the scary stuff that happens in Somerset Lake,” Lucy said sarcastically.
Moira smiled it off. Maybe she was a little skittish and untrusting of people without reason. “Well, I hadn’t heard about this prank. Don’t kids have better things to do than toss rocks at a sleeping person’s door?”
“Apparently not. Not in Somerset Lake at least.” Tess sipped from her coffee. “We’re a small town. It’s hard for the teens to get their kicks. Don’t you remember when that kid was stealing Christmas decorations last year?”
Lucy raised a hand. “I remember very well because he stole mine.”
Tess tilted her head as she looked at Moira. “I’m sorry you lost sleep over something so silly. Now stop stalling and tell us about your date.”
Moira reflexively grinned. “It was…nice.” She lowered her head, feeling a rush of heat scorch her cheeks.
“You have been avoiding this guy for ages. We have had your back in helping you dodge him because you’ve seemed to have an unnatural repulsion for him. And now you’re blushing about him.” Lucy popped a piece of bagel into her mouth and chewed while continuing to talk. “You don’t get away with just saying it was nice. Details please.”