Their Sweet Haven (The Men of Evergreen Mountain #6)

2. Elias

TWO

elias

“Bad news, champ, the governor canceled on us.”

I am absolutely devastated. I’m rolling on the floor in the fetal position to have heard such apocalyptic news, tears streaming from my eyes, all my hopes and dreams crushed into a fine paste.

That’s likely what my father thinks my response will be.

In reality?

I sip my coffee. I keep looking out the window. It’s a beautiful clear day. It’s going to make for a marvelous sunset.

“What a shame, pops. Did you still want to do dinner? The reservation remains.”

“Nah. I had a back up golf game to go to. Do me a favor and cancel it for me. Come join me on the course if you want.”

“You know I’ve never been one for the links, Dad.”

“You should. It’s how people network.”

“People do something called pickleball these days. Golf is old news.”

“And the people who like the old news still have all the power. Don’t write it off.” He takes a deep sigh, slurping his own coffee on the other end of the line. “I’m going to hang up. Got a bunch of emails to fire off before I call it a day.”

“Take it easy, Dad.”

“Taking it easy never got anything done.” The phone beeps, indicating the end of the call.

I set mine down, and continue to stare out the window.

Dad is one of our state’s senators. Not the type that goes to Washington, just to the state capital. A long line of businessmen who have been clawing up the chain, only getting so far due to lack of charisma and connections.

The meeting with the governor was meant to secure an endorsement for my run for Smithport’s city council.

Something I personally don’t care for.

I was supposed to be the missing charisma, he said. The pretty boy, the distinguished gentleman, the actual first man in our family to look good in a three-piece suit. He talked me up, saying I could be mayor, governor, senator, president, god-emperor of mankind with how he was fluffing me up.

I want none of it. I’m sick of it. I had a front row seat to it all growing up. I want my own destiny, not to be a vessel for my father to live through, just because he has no hope of his dreams due to his own bumbling nature and crypt of skeletons hiding in his closet.

The clock ticks toward five p.m., where I can call it a day. I ponder what to do with my evening, knowing it will not include schmoozing with the elite or going golfing.

“Mr. Lawson?” I hear over my PA speaker. “Sorry to bother you, but there is an incensed woman out here. She is shouting and demands to talk to the city’s health commissioner and won’t leave until she does. Should I call the cops?”

Health Commissioner? There’s a job that I have that I don’t feel like I’ve earned.

I go to my laptop, and click over to the security feed, curious to what exactly is going on out there.

The feed of the cameras isn’t exactly 4K quality, far from it. It’s enough to just get an idea of what’s going on, and if you should look into it more.

And I wanted to look into her more.

This curvy brunette in a sweatshirt and jeans doesn’t look like anything out of the ordinary, but seeing how she carries herself and the energy she has, I have to say I’m intrigued.

“No. No need for the cops. Send her in, I’ll hear her complaints out.”

“If you say so, Mr. Lawson. Careful, she seems feisty.”

Just the way I like it, I think.

The remote lock on my door loosens. She wastes no time in seizing that opportunity and busting right through the door, moving with fire and fury.

I’m a bit smitten. She’s absolutely gorgeous, having a bit of a charm that I haven’t seen in most of the women I’ve met these past few years. Sure, there've been plenty of curvy brunettes I’ve met, but this one? She’s different. Something about the fire in her eyes, and perhaps just the naturalness of it all. She seems real, her dark hair slightly messy, pulled back in a ponytail. The way her form just is, her chosen exercise being long walks instead of dedicated body sculpting at the gym.

“Hello there,” I say, putting on my best smile.

She takes one look at me. There’s a brief smile at first, until she remembers she’s here to be angry, and quickly fixes her demeanor. “You? You’re in charge here?”

I nod, and cock my head, trying to look as handsome as possible. It’s weird, I usually don’t go out of my way to try with women. Especially ones who are here to cause trouble for me. “Elias Lawson, health commissioner of Smith County. How may I help you?”

“One of your goons just showed up to my bakery and shut it down on a bunch of bullshit violations.”

I raise an eyebrow. Oh. It’s going to be one of those. My heart sinks, she’s not the first to come in and try to explain why food poisoning is a myth pushed by the government to deny them the joys of chicken tartare.

“I run a bakery in Evergreen Valley,” she begins, her hands on my desk, looking me right in the eyes. “One of your inspectors came in, and tried to claim that I just left raw chicken breasts sitting around on the counters next to my mixers and flour.”

“And you’re suggesting you don’t?”

“I don’t even sell anything with chicken in it. Except for eggs. Which I guess are chickens on a technicality. And when we discussed that, he accused me of lying.”

What a strange accusation to make of a bakery. “And who might this inspector of mine be?”

“Some jerk named Fred Young. And then my local rival baker shows up right along with him. Suspiciously.”

“Evergreen Valley is big enough to have bakery rivalries?”

“He moved in recently. And I think he’s taking that stance. You know, that this town isn’t big enough for the two of us.”

I rub my temples. I’m somewhat relieved I didn’t get some conspiracy tirade, and this is hardly the first time I’ve heard of some shady practices of people trying to weaponize what we do here.

I didn’t know who this Fred Young was, though. I assumed he probably worked in the department, but there are like a hundred-some-odd employees who I’m technically the boss of.

“My bakery is a cornerstone of my small town. And has been since my grandmother’s time,” she continues. “We’ve never had any serious issues with this before. It feels extreme to automatically go to a full shutdown after decades of perfect marks.”

I nod. “Alright. Sure. I’ll look into it.”

Of course, no one with a bad report admits they deserve it. Something about her, though, suggests that she’s not the same as every other complaint who wanders in. Or, who knows, maybe I’m just a fool for seeing a pretty face.

I glance at the clock on the wall. “Or I would look into it if it weren’t five o’clock.”

She grunts. “Of course, you don’t want to work beyond your early closing time.”

“Evergreen Valley is a few hours drive. Even if I wanted to push the limits, this is a problem for tomorrow, Miss...” I stroke my chin. “May I have your name?”

“Hannah. Hannah Lee,” she chimes in, smiling back at me. She’s forgetting to be angry more and more often.

“Well, then. First thing tomorrow, I’ll head out to Evergreen Valley and see what the complaints are. I’ll also be able to check the system to see if anything has been uploaded, but we’ll see if this was just or not soon enough.” I stand from the desk and stretch myself out, done with being so cooped up as I was. The thing I want to address is what are you doing tonight, Hannah?”

She raises an eyebrow. “Uhm, I guess I was going back home to be angry about all of this? I didn’t really have any other plans.”

“I don’t think stewing in anger sounds very much fun. Why don’t you come to dinner with me instead?”

She socks an eyebrow. “Are... are you asking me out on a date?”

“If you want to call it that, sure. If you want to call it just getting to know one another more, we can call it that too. Whatever makes you say yes.”

She laughs, but not in a way that it’s at me for daring to ask. “You got a lot of balls just to ask some angry citizen out when they come to you.”

“I don’t do it often.” I stroke my chin in thought. “Or ever. I assure you, you’re the first person I’ve asked out when they’ve come to me to lodge a complaint.”

More chuckling. “I gotta say I wasn’t expecting someone like you when I came to file a complaint. I expected some old fossil with coke bottle-level frames.”

“I don’t look my position, yes. Because I don’t want to be my position, if that makes any sense.”

She tilts her head, bouncing the thought in her head. “A bit, I guess.”

“Anyway, I got a reservation for Francocetti’s and I don’t want to go alone. Would you care to join me, or not?”

She raises an eyebrow. “Francocettis? The Italian place I keep seeing mentioned online? You actually got a reservation there?”

I nod. “My previous engagement was canceled. People wait months for a table and it’d be a waste to let the opportunity go.”

Hannah’s eyes widen. It’s all a bit sudden. I suppose you don’t get invited to a five-star restaurant every day, especially in a situation like the one we’re in. “Um... sure, I guess. Not like I have other plans.”

I walk over to the other side of my desk with a smile. “That’s the spirit. I’m sure we’re going to have a wonderful time together.”

She looks down at herself. “Um, uh, on second thought, I’m not remotely dressed for such a fine dining experience.”

“You look magnificent,” I say, no lies in my words. “Beautiful. Come as you are, Hannah.”

She giggles at my compliments, but seems unconvinced. “Don’t they have a dress code?”

“Dress codes are ignorable if you know what to say. Or perhaps flash them the right amount of cash.”

She cackles. “You’re going to bribe someone just to go out on a date with me?”

“I can’t think of a better use of my money. Can you?”

I have her. She’s laughing. She’s mine.

This is going to be way more fun than talking to the governor.