the front of her apron and headed out of the kitchen, her mouth in a tight line. The last important people who sought her out had been of the law enforcement variety, but they rarely wore fancy watches.
She peeked through the door and saw a massive man in his late fifties in a gleaming white Stetson standing near the front picture window. He was scrolling on his phone, seemingly unaware that he was blocking the server station. Hannah quickly assessed him and realized that there was no way he had anything to do with the law. He was too polished, in Sunday go-to-meeting clothing and spotless boots, but his comfort in the garb made it clear he was always dressed to impress.
“You’re looking for me?” Hannah said as she approached him. She didn’t say her name on purpose, to see how he’d address her.
“Well, there you are! Miss Hannah Smith!” he boomed and thrust out a beefy mitt to her. “I’m Harlan Oakes. Pleasure to meet you.”
She reached out her hand and he shook it so hard that she felt like her teeth rattled.
“How can I help you, Harlan?”
“Can we sit for a moment? Is that alright?” he asked.
Hannah turned to check in with Noelle, who was going over paperwork behind the counter. Noelle nodded and gestured to a corner table.
“I’ve got five minutes, sure.”
They settled in and Harlan continued to beam at her.
“I’ve heard about you, Miss Smith,” he said with a gleam in his eye.
Her heart sped up. “Is that so?”
Harlan nodded. “You ran a winning campaign for Chad Radford. I watched the whole thing from Rosemont. Every little thing you did was masterful, young lady. You ran that campaign like he was up for President of the United States. I like your spirit. In fact, I like it so much that I want to steal you away from him!”
She felt her pulse slow a measure even as she blushed at the compliment. “Oh, thank you so much. I really enjoyed working with—I mean, working for Chad. But my commitment to him is over now that he won. So, what exactly do you have in mind?”
Hannah had a feeling she knew what he was after, and it filled her with helium. Harlan sounded like he was about to make her a job offer. Rosemont was two towns over from Kingsley, and a little bigger, but still far from a true city. It was just far enough away from Kingsley to potentially give her the fresh start that she and Aria needed. But she wanted to hear him out before she got too excited.
“Well, that’s even better for me, seeing as I’d hate to have a Radford for an enemy.” Harlan beamed at her. “Let me give it to you plain. I’m getting ready to run for mayor of Rosemont and I need someone like you by my side. Doing exactly what you did for Chad, but on a much larger scale—and dealing with the news outlets along with social media. Think you’re capable of that?”
Hannah hid a grin. Was she capable of running a small-town mayoral campaign? She’d handled interviews with every media outlet from the Today Show to The New York Times. There was no question she could manage whatever the Rosemont Daily might throw at her.
“You could say I’ve had experience with that sort of thing, yes.”
“Fantastic! I’d like to make you an official offer, then. I’d like to hire you, Miss Smith. Come to Rosemont as the communications director for my campaign.”
It was as if she’d conjured Harlan Oakes up on a vision board. This cheerful hulk of a man was willing to take her away from the drama that was brewing all around her in Kingsley and help her get a start fresh in a new town. Exactly what she wanted. What she and Aria needed. Hannah was about to say yes when she saw Tripp’s unmistakable truck drive by outside the picture window.
No matter where she went, her past would follow. She couldn’t keep running from it and living in fear. Doing so would almost guarantee that she’d never be able to truly rest.
There was only one option. She needed to come clean before Harlan got too excited about hiring her. Hell, if he did any sort of a deep dive background check on her, there was a chance he’d uncover her past on his own, and it would look far worse to hide it from him.
Besides, she wanted to stop hiding—not for