Chapter 1
1
D
ebbie sauntered out of Town Hall feeling rejuvenated. She often heard others complaining about the weekly town council meetings, but she loved them. This fact had caught her by surprise after she had been elected to the council, considering she wasn’t usually inclined to get involved in politics. As long as she had her beauty salon, she was happy.
But hearing the concerns of her friends and neighbors, and having the power to do something about it—that was refreshing. And there was certainly an abundance of concerns as the town saw more traffic and more high-end shops and restaurants moving in because of the space tourism industry that had set up less than an hour away.
“Debbie, hold up,” someone called from behind her.
Debbie paused and looked back. Rebecca, the owner of the local bakery, was walking quickly toward her. Debbie whipped back around, but Rebecca already had a hand on Debbie’s arm before she could escape.
“I noticed you were unusually quiet when I brought up the concern about another bakery opening within the next few months,” Rebecca said.
Debbie turned back toward the baker with a forced smile. “I didn’t have anything to add to the matter. I think the other council members covered it pretty well.”
Rebecca balked. “The town doesn’t need two bakeries.”
“You’re right,” Debbie said. But before Rebecca’s satisfied smile could completely settle in place, Debbie added, “The town needs three bakeries. Unfortunately, two is all we’ll have for right now.”
Rebecca’s lips pulled downward and she sputtered, “Three? Are you trying to put me out of business?”
“Not at all. If I need a beautiful cake, I know where to go. But you don’t bake breads, or bagels, or anything someone might want to grab on the go. We all have our specialties, and there is room for all of them in Amor.”
“I thought you were elected to represent the needs of small business owners,” Rebecca said.
“I was, and I am.” Debbie now felt like her personal integrity was being attacked. She pulled her arm from Rebecca’s grasp and tried to keep her patience. “Growth and change isn’t easy, but I think we’ve all seen over the past year that it is necessary.”
“Says the woman whose hair doesn’t stay the same color for more than a month at a time.” Rebecca eyed Debbie’s blond hair. “I liked it better pink.” Rebecca then spun on her heel and stalked away.
A long sigh released from between Debbie’s lips, making a whistling sound. Okay, normally, she felt rejuvenated after those meetings. And then there were the times when they made her want to climb back into bed with a bowl of ice cream.
“You handled that well.”
Debbie turned. Zoe stood there in her pantsuit, looking all official to perform her new mayoral duties. She had been the previous mayor’s assistant for years and had been the one to help begin the transition from small town to tourist town, so it had been natural for her to take the mayor’s place. It was a good look on her.
“She doesn’t think I’m protecting her rights as a business owner,” Debbie said. She knew she couldn’t please everyone, but Rebecca’s remarks had bothered Debbie just the same.
Zoe smiled. “She’ll come around. Rebecca will always be the last to change her ways, but she can’t deny how all the tourist money is improving our town.”
Debbie nodded but didn’t respond right away. Things were certainly busier, and a lot of improvements had been made, including the town finally getting an urgent care for those times when the doctor’s office was closed. But Amor had managed to retain its small-town charm through it all, and Debbie attributed that to Zoe and Sam, the previous mayor.
“Well, everyone else seems to be happy with their booming businesses,” Debbie said, forcing her thoughts away from Rebecca.
“Which brings me to a topic I was hoping to talk with you about.” Zoe’s formal tone conveyed that she was now speaking as Mayor McAllister, and it piqued Debbie’s curiosity. “Let’s walk back to your salon.”
“What can I help you with? Do you need a perm?” Debbie teased.
Zoe smiled but shook her head. She remained silent as they walked down the sidewalk toward the newly renovated downtown, where one was just as likely to meet a celebrity preparing for their space flight as they were to meet a local resident of Amor. It wasn’t until they were halfway to the salon that Zoe spoke.
“You’re very good with people.”
Debbie threw a curious glance toward the mayor. That was an interesting way to start a conversation. “Thank you,” she said slowly.
“We are growing very quickly, not with permanent residents, but with businesses and tourists,” Zoe continued. “Too quickly. We can’t keep up. We can’t supply the number of employees we need. Even at Town Hall, we have people working long hours to make up the difference.”
Debbie had noticed, but she didn’t know what this had to do with her.
“I’m sending out a recruiter to help draw people in.” Then, with a side glance at Debbie, Zoe said, “and I’d like you to go along.”
Debbie choked on her own spit. “Huh?” was all she managed to say in return.
Zoe smiled, though she was no longer looking at Debbie. “You would help recruit college students for the seasonal businesses, and recent graduates for the more permanent positions. We need people to move to Amor to manage the infrastructure we’re building.”
“Won’t people naturally move to where there is opportunity?” Debbie asked, finally finding her voice.
“Eventually,” Zoe said with a nod. “But we can’t wait for nature to take its course. We need people now.”
“But why me?”
“Like I said, you’re good with people, and you represent the local businesses of Amor. You have a couple of employees at the salon now, right? Could they spare you for a week?”
Debbie’s thoughts whirled. “Yes, I’m sure they’d be fine, as long as it’s not longer than that. How many of us would be traveling around and recruiting?”
“Three. And you’ll be paid for your time, of course.”
Earning money while her salon continued to make money for her back home was tempting. Heaven knew she needed it. The expansion of her salon had cost more than Debbie had expected, and her bank account was still feeling it.
“All right. When do I leave?”
“Is this weekend too soon?”
“As in…three days from now?”
Zoe gave Debbie a side glance. “That won’t be a problem, will it? I just need to finalize a few things with a couple of universities before you leave, and that will give you time to go over the technical details with our recruiter. He’s very good at what he does and will make sure everything runs smoothly.”
Debbie had been about to say that would be fine, but at Zoe’s words, her jaw tightened.
“The recruiter is a ‘he?’” Debbie had assumed she’d be traveling with the mayor’s assistant, Sarah. It was the type of thing Zoe would have done when she was a mayoral assistant.
“You’ll have separate hotel rooms, if that’s what you’re worried about,” Zoe said quickly, though she seemed to be purposely avoiding Debbie’s gaze now.
Debbie squinted in suspicion, then stepped in front of the mayor, facing her. “Who is he?”
Zoe’s expression held so much guilt that Debbie suspected she hadn’t been chosen for this recruiting trip for only her people skills.
“You’re busy. I shouldn’t keep you,” Zoe said, her gaze flitting across the street.
“I’m not busy,” Debbie said, not letting the mayor sidestep her question.
“You might not be busy now, but you will be in about ten seconds.” Zoe nodded to where Debbie’s salon sat across the street.
When Debbie turned, she saw that one of the front windows was broken and her stylists were frantically trying to clean up the glass. One of them looked up and saw Debbie. As their gazes met, Debbie saw the stylist’s complexion pale.
“Looks like I know how I’ll be using that extra money that you’ll be paying me,” Debbie said with a long sigh.
“Don’t you have insurance?”
“Yeah, and a crazy high deductible.”
Zoe grimaced. “I’m sorry. That’s rotten luck. And your new salon only opened a couple of months ago. Come by my office tomorrow afternoon and we’ll talk more. Maybe around four-thirty? I promise it won’t take long.” She walked quickly in the opposite direction, not giving Debbie the chance to answer.
Debbie knew that the mayor was known for her unconventional antics, and as she watched Zoe’s retreating back, she couldn’t shake the feeling that this was one of them. Zoe had looked too guilty for it to not be.
As Debbie hurried across the street to find out how the window on her salon had broken, she had to shove her suspicions aside. She’d find out soon enough.