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.It still hurt to know what he thought of her and her work and that pissed her off even more.He walked back past everyone until he stood in front of her again."What about it?""You're a member.""As town sheriff, it's my duty to be on all sorts of committees.""Don't you know what they stand for?""Yeah, making the town a better place, hence the name.That includes upgrading the town gazebo, the new playground at the elementary school, making improvements to the fairgrounds—""Closing down The Blue Creek."That gave him pause, and this time she saw the truth in his eyes.Anger flared hot and hard inside her chest."You bastard! I saw the letter…I saw your name! It says by dancing on the bar, the girls are behaving improperly and immorally.Donna Pearson showed up herself last Sunday to tell me that we are no better than common strippers."She planted her hands on her hips."As if the Belles and I are responsible for sending every man in the county into a sexual frenzy, God forbid, and as a result bringing down the moral climate of the state.If you ask me, Donna Pearson could use a little sexual frenzy in her life.""I didn't sign a letter.""And now I have a hearing before the town selectmen—""I didn't sign any damn letter." Gage cut her off."Not the original or the one they sent you today."Chapter NineS he could take her out.Right here.Right now.She wouldn't even need a running start to body slam Donna Pearson onto the meeting room's faded gray carpet.She'd have to slip off the stilettos, but that was okay, they were pinching her toes anyway.Racy pulled in a deep breath through her nose and slowly released it through pursed lips.Stay calm, it's almost over and you get the last word.Donna's sharp voice filled the room and echoed off the walls.Her censure of the Belles sounded more like a lecture from the pulpit on the sins of drinking, dancing and having a good time than a response to a community issue.And the community connection was Racy's ace in the hole.She hoped.Besides, her bar wasn't the only place in town to get a beer.There were a couple of other bars and a few restaurants, including the new steak house.Of course, none of them had dancing waitresses.The seven men and women who made up the town's leaders sat side by side at a long table in front of her.The dozen or so members of the betterment committee occupied nearby chairs in the stuffy, small room.And here she sat alone, with her leather portfolio in front of her, mentally willing herself not to sweat.Even the telephone that allowed Max to listen in from Florida was on the selectmen's table.She'd already wowed them visually in her subdued basic black suit, Christian Louboutin knockoff stilettos, hair in a conservative French twist and demure makeup she hoped hid the results of only a few hours' sleep.And financially, with a detailed report of the economic impact The Blue Creek had on Destiny.Her compulsion to track every penny earned and spent since she had become manager had made it easy to pull the facts and figures together.Forgetting the way she'd talked to Gage last night?Not so easy.After voicing his innocence in signing the letters in that low-timbred voice of his, he'd ushered her friends on to the promised tour of his house.Silence had filled the game room for a long moment until Dev had suggested he could make sure her friends got home okay.Racy had jumped at his offer and after a quick apology for disturbing the party, she and Jack had left and headed straight for her office.She'd read an encouraging e-mail from Max, signing off on the report she'd sent earlier, then she'd pulled out the two betterment committee letters and read them again.Gage hadn't signed them.Oh, his name was listed—along with the other members—but Donna's was the only actual signature on the two correspondences.Damn, damn, damn!She'd ignored the desire to call him despite the late hour.Instead, she'd arrived at the town hall early this morning determined to deliver an apology while the jolt from her first cup of coffee was still running through her veins.Gage was nowhere to be found.Leeann had joined her, dressed in her official khaki uniform, not showing a hint of aftereffects from the night before.She'd been called into duty thanks to a three-car pileup on the highway that had required Gage's attention.The meeting had been called to order and Racy had tucked away her frustration, refusing to think about why she cared if he was there or not [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]