Twisted Up (Taking Chances #1) - Erin Nicholas Page 0,37

thirty years. “She’s sad about the farm and her hometown and the fact that she’s letting everyone down because she can’t keep up anymore. I don’t like Aunt Gigi being sad or feeling bad about anything. So we are going to rebuild Chance, and we’re going to make sure that everyone is happy and upbeat and optimistic while we do it.”

She looked each of the people in front of her directly in the eye, and Avery felt her spine straightening, too. Damn, this girl had some sass when it came down to it.

Shelby looked a little calmer. “And you all know this is about more than just the farm to the Bronsons. It’s about the town—where they’re going to live, go to church, send their kids to school. Each of the brothers has a wife, and one has three kids, one has four. We really want them to like it here. We all really want them to like it here. Right?” She met everyone’s gaze again, one by one.

One by one, they nodded.

Avery agreed that making the Bronsons fall in love with Chance was hugely important. No question.

“This town is going to be like a Norman Rockwell painting,” Shelby said. “It’s going to be that all-American small town where everyone wants to live and work. And you are all a huge part of that.” She took a deep breath. “You all have jobs that lend themselves perfectly to this rebuilding. However, more than that, you are all models of this community. Everyone here knows and likes you. They look to you for leadership and as a gauge for how things are going. You’re young and successful, and you all grew up here and care how this turns out.” She narrowed her eyes. “Which means you are all going to be on your best behavior. You are going to act like you like one another. You’re going to cooperate and support one another.”

Avery felt sheepish. Shelby was right. She and Jake arguing was hardly professional. It wasn’t mature, and it was definitely not what they should be focusing on right now.

“You’re right,” she told her. “Jake and I will make an effort to get along when we see each other.”

“Oh, you’re going to need to do more than that,” Shelby said. “You’re going to see each other, a lot, on purpose.”

Avery blinked at her, trepidation building without her fully understanding why. “We are?”

“Guys, Frank and I would like to formally ask you to stay in Chance for a couple of weeks to help out. We need the hands, and we can really use your experience in mass disaster situations,” Shelby said to her cousins.

The guys all nodded. “Of course, Shel,” Max said. “Happy to stay.”

“Yeah, you can count on me,” Dillon said.

“Me, too,” Jake added.

A couple of weeks? No! Avery would never survive two solid weeks of Jake.

“And Avery and I will be seeing each other?” Jake asked. “I believe you said a lot?”

Avery had to squelch her first instinct to rise to his teasing. She had just acknowledged that she and Jake needed to try to act like grown-ups.

“You’re going to be working together. Jake is an expert in disaster recovery. You are our expert,” Shelby said to Avery. “It makes perfect sense that you would spend time together working on the recovery efforts. It will make the town feel completely secure and optimistic to know that you two are in charge.”

She turned to Bree and Max. “Just like it makes sense for you two to work together. Chief Mitchell wants to put Bree in charge of more of the emergency-management efforts for the police department, and Max can teach you everything he knows. Max will be primarily in charge of building inspections and rebuilding, but, as the weather expert, you’ll also be in charge of addressing questions about the storm itself.”

She finally looked at Kit and Dillon. “Everyone knows that you’re two of the smartest people to ever graduate from Chance. And you’re both in health care. Knowing that you’re teaming up for the physical and mental well-being of the people will make everyone feel completely at ease.”

Smiling at them all, Shelby said, “Instead of talking about how they lost their special assortment of Christmas ornaments that they collected for almost thirty years or how they can’t find their granddaughter’s favorite doll or how their rocking chair was found in their neighbor’s evergreen tree, they’re going to be talking about all of you—how the guys have stayed to help