to a fellow Democrat, but he had to divert all available funding to the roads leading to a new airport addition in Philadelphia. Big cities always scored the funds for infrastructure. Our roads out here were just as important. Granted, they weren’t carrying travelers from a major airport into a bustling metropolis, but they were carrying milk trucks from local farms to milk processing plants which then shipped that milk to the big cities. People in Philly like milk. I like milk. It doesn’t like me but—
“Try goat milk.” His voice startled me so badly I nearly choked on my bite of tuna sandwich. My gaze flew from the library book in my hand to Gideon’s smug face. Damn but the man was good-looking. How was that even fair? Seems a soul as corrupted as his would leech ugly out through the skin. But nope. There he stood in jeans and a NASA T-shirt, dark hair dancing in the autumn wind being all movie star gorgeous. “Goat milk is said to be easier to digest for people who are lactose intolerant. Something about the smaller fat globules forming a smaller curd than cow’s milk which makes it easier to digest.”
“Thanks. I’ll look into it.” I actually did know a lady out on Buggy Drop Road who had dairy goats. “I didn’t realize I’d muttered that out loud.”
“Seems a dicey habit for a politician. Then again, you liberals do tend to speak without thinking so…” He shrugged a shoulder and smirked down at me. Would the moms next to me think poorly of their mayor if I slapped this annoying man in the face with his own book?
“What are you doing here?” I snapped the hardcover shut. His sleek eyebrow twitched when his gaze flickered to the novel in front of me.
“Here in Poe Park or here in Pennsylvania?”
“You’re such an obstructionist.”
That made him laugh. Then he threw a long leg over the long wooden plank that served as a seat. I sighed wearily as he settled in across from me.
“Pray tell how am I delaying any kind of progress here?” He threw his hands into the air. “I was just out for a walk as I worked on my first editorial piece for the paper and saw the mayor sitting here all alone. Seeing as we’re old friends—”
“No, no.” I waved a finger at him then saw there was a glob of tuna on it and lowered it to wipe it on my napkin. “We’re not friends. We were never friends. I think the word you were looking for was adversaries.” Two young boys ran past with a ball, one keeping it away from the other, making the smaller of the two cry. “See that?” I pointed at the two lads. “That was us.”
He watched the children for a moment, his lips twitching with humor. “Mm, I do see the parallels. Don’t tell me that you’re still upset over a few playground scuffles, Mayor. We’re well out of knee pants.”
“Knee pants? Did we grow up in Elizabethan England?” I chortled at him. That seemed to remove a little bit of smug.
“Forgive me for trying to elevate our conversation. Should I fall back into the delightfully cornfed accent we grew up with?”
Ouch. Well, someone had issues. “I personally think our accents are appealing and uniquely Pennsylvania.”
“Hmm, yes, this town is uniquely something.” His wandering attention returned to me green eyes sharp as the blade of an emerald knife. I was about to question him on why he’d returned to Cedarburg since he seemed to hold such disdain for the town when he pulled out his phone, tapped a few buttons, and then laid it beside the copy of his book on the weathered table. “So, I had a few more questions for you, Mayor Evan. Or do you prefer Mayor Griffiths? We’ve known each other since we were little boys, so perhaps we could even be on a first name basis?”
“Mayor Griffiths is fine.” I felt my spine straighten in preparation.
Gideon smiled. It was like looking at a devil sizing you up for a soul evisceration. “Okay, Mayor Griffiths. I’ve been doing some digging into the pleas that you’ve made to state and federal agencies begging them to back our little Christmas Carnival.”
“That’s right. I’ve applied to several state and federal agencies hoping to find money to bolster the event and expand it. You wouldn’t know this as you left the area as a young boy but over the years our