after all, Sunday and I was in church, but I still felt . . . sassy? Sexy? Pretty? Sinful? No, I didn’t feel sinful. For one thing, I hadn’t done anything wrong. I was thirty-six, for goodness’ sake, and if I wanted to roll around on my couch with a consenting adult, that was okay. Then my father cleared his throat, and the whole scene played out in my head again, and I wondered if I should talk to him about this or, per family history, just ignore the entire situation.
“How goes it in the world of politics, Brooke?” Judge Murphy asked me after the service as everyone was strolling out. “Think you’ll be running for governor one day?”
“Not a chance, Judge,” I answered. “But I appreciate you even thinking that was a possibility.”
He dashed away the compliment with his follow-up. “Well, anyone can run.”
I decided to not take that personally.
“Say,” he mentioned a second later, “I had a nice afternoon with that writer friend of yours. Len? Lenny?”
“Leo?”
He snapped his fingers. “That’s the one. Nice guy. Interesting background. Told me he was in Iraq, then he did security, now he’s a bartender and writing a book? Wow. Kid’s got his poker in a lot of fires.”
My father cast a droll glance over his shoulder at the judge. “You have no idea, Brian,” he muttered.
Awesome.
“Excuse me, Judge. I just remembered I need to have a word with my future brother-in-law.” I turned back to find Emily, Ryan, and Chloe stuck by their pew talking to Vera VonMeisterburger. This posed a dilemma. Few people willingly approached the batty librarian, but I did want to avoid my father, and I really did have something I needed to talk to Ryan about. I took a deep breath and shook off my resistance.
“Hey, Aunt Brooke,” Chloe said as she dashed toward me for a hug. Her eyes were wide, and as we embraced she whispered in my ear, “Get me away from the batshit crazy bat lady.”
I chuckled against my better judgment. “Don’t swear in church.”
“Sorry, but that’s what Ryan always calls her. And she is, you know.”
“Yes, I know.” We linked arms and walked toward the others. “So, what do you think about this getting-married business?”
“I’m legit excited. I told Ryan I’d only give him my permission to ask my mom if he promised to get me my own horse.” She giggled and leaned in against me. “I think he thought I was kidding.”
“I’m sure he thought you were kidding, but you could get a job at Colette’s Riding Stable in the summer, and then you could ride for free.”
“That’s not nearly as awesome as having my own horse.”
“Maybe not, but it’s a hell of a lot cheaper.”
“Aunt Brooke!” she gasped with feigned shock. “Don’t swear in church.”
We stopped a few feet from my sister, Ryan, and Vera. “Make a break for it, kid. I’ll cover for you.” She scampered away with a grateful wave.
“Hello, Vera,” I said. “I hate to interrupt, but I have pressing governmental matters that I need to discuss with my sister and her fiancé.”
“What matters?”
“Oh, nothing you need to concern yourself with.”
Her eyes narrowed to even slittier slits. “Democracy will crumble without transparency, Brooke. I should think as the mayor you’d realize that.”
“I understand your point, Vera. I’ll have a report for the council next week. But for now, I need to pull these two away.”
I reached forward to pull Ryan and my sister by the coat sleeves down to the other end of the pew, just to make a full break from the cone of Vera’s presence.
“‘Pressing governmental matters’?” Ryan asked.
“Yeah, not really, but actually, sort of. I was wondering if you’d check out the old community center with me this afternoon. I’m urging the council to approve some renovations, but I want to know what it might cost before I approach them about it. Is that something you think the Taggert companies might be interested in?”
“A bid on a government job? Can I triple all my prices?” He pulled some gloves from the pockets of his wool coat.
“No, but you can give us a ten percent discount if you want. Let’s call it the Callaghan family discount. Emily will make it worth your while.” I winked at my sister.
“What? What do I have to do with this? I’m not the mayor.”
“No, but maybe if you’re helpful, then the city will hire you to do the interior design work.”
She smiled. “Awesome. Can I triple my prices?”
“No, but