virtue was overrated.”
“So I lied. If we’re going to do this I want you sober.”
She draped herself over him. “You are a wonderful man. You know that?”
“That’s what I hear. Come on.”
He drove her home with the top down on his convertible, and the brisk ocean air helped her sober up.
“I did have a good time tonight,” she said once the car had stopped. “I always have a good time with you, Brody.”
“We’ll have a lot of good times in the future,” he predicted.
Good times in the future. She liked the sound of that. She’d had enough crummy times in the past to last her a lifetime.
He opened the car door for her, then escorted her back to the house and up the stairs. She was weaving only slightly. He gave her a soft, sweet kiss, then said, “Okay, in you go.”
“You truly are an amazing man,” she informed him.
“Yes, I am,” he agreed. “I hope you’ll remember what you said once you’re sober.”
“I’m sober enough.”
That remark obviously deserved a thank you kiss. And the thank you kiss deserved a thank you for the thank you kiss.
“Don’t make me wait too much longer,” he whispered before she went in the house.
She shouldn’t. She wouldn’t.
Everyone was in bed when she stumbled up the stairs. She tried to be quiet brushing her teeth, tried not to literally fall in bed and wake up her mother, who was staying for a few days to house hunt and sharing her room with her since there were no vacancies at the Driftwood.
The last thing she heard before oblivion was her mother saying, “He’s a very nice man, Jenna. Hurry up and marry him.”
Hurry up and marry him. What was she waiting for, anyway? She wished she knew.
The following afternoon she had other things to think about, like the looming city council meeting. She got busy at her computer, finishing up her research on the deer issue.
Most of the websites she visited warned against making the wildlife dependent on humans for their food, even in winter. It only took an hour for her to gather enough information to make even the most determined deer feeder reconsider. Feeding the deer was bad for their digestive systems and could sicken them and even cause death. It also made them lose their fear of humans, turning them into a potentially dangerous species thanks to those hooves and antlers. Also, as Bob Wilson had said, it messed with their reproductive systems, increasing the population—something the town’s gardeners would certainly not want. Stopping people from feeding the deer would help slow down the out-of-control population and, in the long run, be a kindness to the deer already wandering around town.
If the goal was to keep everyone happy, then making it illegal to feed Bambi was the way to go, and she said as much when the mayor called on her to give her report and recommendation at the May council meeting.
“According to one wildlife biologist’s post, feeding wildlife threatens humans, pets and our wildlife,” she concluded, trying hard not to blink.
The council voted and the decision was unanimous. It would no longer be legal for residents of Moonlight Harbor to feed the deer anywhere within the town limits. An ordinance would be drafted and signed.
“That was the right decision,” Tyrella said to Jenna after the meeting finally broke up. “I think we can all live with it.”
Mildred Morrison wanted to talk with Jenna, too, and not to thank her. “The deer were one of the reasons I moved here. I love feeding them and you’ve taken that away from me.”
“I’m very sorry, Mrs. Morrison.” Blink, blink. “But we want to do what’s best for everyone, don’t we? Even the deer.”
“They’ll starve next winter and it will be your fault.”
Whoa, wait a minute. She’d signed up to serve, not to be abused.
“Mrs. Morrison, I recommend you go online and do some research yourself. If you do, then you’ll realize that if you break the law and feed the deer, they’ll get sick and die and it will be your fault,” Jenna said without so much as one eye twitch.
“Well, I never,” Mildred huffed as Jenna turned her back and started for the door.
“I hope you never,” Jenna muttered.
If Mildred decided to break the law, Jenna sincerely hoped she’d get caught. There would be a fine and Mildred would be a very deserving recipient.
When Jenna got home, Aunt Edie and Sabrina were both waiting to hear what had happened, watching an episode Sabrina