“Go away, Brian!” Nub shouted through the locked door of his houseboat. He’d been barricaded in there since last night, ever since Brian showed up, insisting that the young man tell him what the count on the vote had been. The mayor had done everything from demand to beg, all the while standing right outside the door, which Nub had shut in his face when he saw him coming. Nub had responded to Brian by burying his head under his pillows and singing to himself. The mayor had finally given up after about half an hour, but came right back again this morning for another round.
“Come on, Nub. The rest of the island is going to know within a couple of hours. What harm would there be in telling me a little bit ahead of time?” the mayor reasoned.
“No! I promised Alex that I wouldn’t say what the vote was until after it was made official, and I’m not going to!”
“She’ll never know you told me, Nub. I won’t breathe a word to anyone. I swear.”
Brian kept droning on and on. With a sound halfway between a sob and a groan, Nub slapped his hands over his ears and started humming loudly. Searching desperately, he at last found what he’d been looking for. With a shout of triumph, Nub pulled out the radio and turned it on, turning up the volume full blast. The sound of Brian’s voice became an indecipherable mumble. Nub gave a sigh of relief and relaxed in a chair.
Brian listened to the earsplitting noise coming from the radio, realizing that there was no way Nub would be able to hear him over that. Grumbling to himself, he stomped down the steps and headed over to the Widow’s Walk. He knew that there was no way he’d be able to get Alex to tell him the results of the vote, but he might be able to trick Boris into letting something slip. He just had to figure out how to get the Russian alone.
“Good morning, Alex,” Brian greeted amiably as he came up to the counter.
“Morning, Brian. I’m not going to tell you the results,” the redhead responded bluntly.
The mayor adopted an offended expression. “Now, Alex, would I ever ask you to do such a thing?”
“No, but only because you know it wouldn’t do you any good. How many hours did you pester poor Nub this morning?”
“I’ll have you know that I haven’t seen Nub this morning,” Brian said in an offended tone. He told himself that he wasn’t lying. He hadn’t seen Nub this morning. The young man had refused to even stick his head out the door.
“Uh huh. Right,” Alex responded, not convinced.
“Well, I don’t have to stand here and be insulted,” Brian huffed. “I’ll just go on back to my office and await the posting of the results.”
The mayor strode out of the Widow’s Walk, but instead of going to his office, he circled around to the back door, which was off the kitchen. Peeking in through the window, he saw that Boris was alone. He opened the door a crack.
“Psst!”
The Russian stopped what he was doing, looking around in puzzlement.
“Psst!”
“There must be leak in pipe somewhere,” Boris muttered. “Must tell Alex about this.”
“Boris!” Brian whispered fiercely.
The Russian spun around and smiled upon seeing the mayor. “Ah, Mayor Brewster!” he boomed. “Why you stand there and make hissing sound?”
“Shhh. Quiet, Boris. I don’t want anyone to know I’m here. It’s a secret.”
“Oh, a secret. Okay, Boris will keep Mayor Brewster’s secret.”
“Good, good. Now, come closer.”
Boris came up to Brian.
“I need your help with something,” the mayor told him.
“Boris will be happy to help.”
“Good. Now, you see, I’m planning something special for everyone, but to do it, I have to know what the results were of the ballot.”
“Alex says that Callie will post results at nine o’clock.”
“Yes, yes, I know. But I have to know before then or I can’t make the surprise. You’re the only one who can help me out here.”
“Boris swear last night not to tell anyone what count of votes was,” the Russian said firmly.
“But I’m the mayor, Boris. It’s all right to tell me,” Brian said cajolingly.
Boris shook his head. “Alex say tell no one. She not say it okay to tell mayor.”
“Well, I’m sure she just forgot to tell you.”
“Why you not ask Alex for what vote was?”
Brian thought frantically for a moment. “Uhhhh, I didn’t want her to know about the surprise.”
The Russian’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Boris is thinking that there is no surprise. You are just wanting to know what vote is before rest of island.” He pointed the carving knife in his hand at Brian. “Boris is no dumb Cossack that you can trick to say what you want. You go now. Boris’s mouth is sealed shut.”
Brian lifted his hands in the air, getting a little nervous about the knife. “Okay, okay. I get the message. I’ll just have to forget about the surprise.”
Nodding shortly, the Russian turned his back on Brian and resumed what he had been doing. The mayor headed toward his office, then paused, wondering if he could talk Ruby or Callie into telling him. The thought was in his mind for all of three seconds before the reply “Fat chance” echoed through his head.
With a defeated sigh, Brian continued to the office, resigned to the fact that he was going to have to wait for the results like the rest of the populace.
Daniel steered his wheelchair closer to the window, craning his neck to look up at the clear sky overhead. What he wouldn’t give to be able to spend a few hours outside in the sunshine. He always hated being cooped up, and it was even worse on a beautiful day like today. He was starting to go stir crazy.
His thoughts were interrupted by the telephone. Happy for the interruption, Daniel picked up the receiver. “Hello?”
“Hey, Daniel.”
“Alex! Hi. So, how did it go last night?”
“Fine. Nub and Boris did a great job counting the votes. Callie’s going to be posting the results in about fifteen minutes.” There was a moment of silence. “I, um, wanted to call you before then. I’ll probably be pretty busy afterwards, what with everyone wanting to talk about things.”
“Alex, if you’re planning on telling me what the results were, I can wait until you get here.”
“I don’t think I can wait that long to talk about it.” She gave a sigh. “The island voted for Hope Gardens.”
Daniel paused before speaking. “I see. Are you upset about that?”
“I don’t know. In the end, I wound up voting for it, though I did with a lot of reservations. But, now that I know it’s going to be built, I can’t help but wonder if we’ve made a mistake. What if it turns out to be a catastrophe?”
“Alex, sooner or later, the people of Hope were going to have to take a chance on something. We all know that things can’t keep going the way they are. The situation is not going to get better unless we take steps to make it better.”
“You’re right, Daniel. I know we need help to pull ourselves out of this economic slump. I’m just so afraid of losing what we do have, the wonderful home that Hope Island is.”
“We won’t lose it, Alex,” Daniel told her. “No matter what, the heart of Hope Island will always stay as it is. You know why? Because its heart is in its people. As long as we have the people who make Hope Island the terrific place that it is, it will never disappear.”
Alex smiled. “I guess you just got lucky again.”
“Excuse me?”
“You knew exactly the right thing to say to make me feel better.”
Daniel laughed softly, remembering another time he made Alex feel better with his words. “Well, I’m glad I got lucky again.”
“Me too.”
A comfortable silence fell between them. “So, when will I be seeing you again? Are you going to stay on the island?” the minister asked, trying to sound casual, though a big part of him really hoped that Alex would tell him she’d be seeing him this afternoon.
“I talked to Dylan, and he told me that he wanted me to be with you. He doesn’t want you to be alone, Daniel.”
The minister smiled softly, swallowing the sudden tightness in his throat. “He’s a very fine, boy, Alex. You should be proud of him.”
“I am, more than I can say.” Alex paused. “I have you to thank in part for that,” she added quietly.
“Me? I had nothing to do with it.”
“Yes, you did, Daniel. You have been such a help to him, such a good influence. He is so much happier now than he was before you arrived on Hope. Dylan was so angry and bitter over his father, and my decision to move back to Hope Island made things even worse. Before you came, he had no friends. He isolated himself from everyone, positive that Steve would come one day and take us both back home to Miami to live happily ever after. Every month, every year that passed with no sign of Steve just made things worse. Then you came along and gave him purpose, a sense of belonging. And, more important than that, you gave him a friend. He needed you, Daniel. He needed someone to be . . . to be the father to him that Steve never was.” She fell silent for a long moment. “I wish. . . .”
“What, Alex? What do you wish?” Daniel asked gently.
“I wish that you had been Dylan’s father instead of Steve,” Alex whispered.
Stunned, Daniel didn’t know what to say. Alex’s words had rocked him to the core. He wished that she was there right now so that he could look into her eyes. But then, maybe it was best that she wasn’t. If she was, he doubted that he could have stopped himself from kissing her breathless.
“I . . . I don’t know what to say, Alex,” he finally murmured. “I am . . . so deeply honored that you feel that way. I want you to know that there is no one I’d be prouder to have as a son than Dylan.”
Another silence descended. “Thank you,” Alex said at last.
“Thank you, Alex.”
The redhead cleared her throat. “I, uh, guess I’d better get going. Callie’s about due to post the results on the vote, and I want to witness the show.”
“The show?”
“Yeah, when Brian starts dancing all over the place, whooping and hollering like an idiot.”
Daniel laughed. “I wish I could see that too.”
An evil smile curved Alex’s lips. “Hmm. Maybe I can do something about that. I think Boris still has that old movie camera. Perhaps we could make a little home movie.”
The minister laughed again. “Okay, Alex. I’ll see you this afternoon.”
Daniel hung up and turned back to the window. So, Hope Gardens was going to be a reality. The news pleased him. He hadn’t told anyone that, for several days now, he’d had this strong feeling that the retirement community needed to be built, that it was going to be even more important to the community than most people believed it would be. He didn’t know why he had this feeling. He had nothing to base it on. But it was there all the same. Only time would tell if the feeling was correct.
With a smile, Daniel settled more comfortably in the wheelchair, awaiting the moment he’d see Alex again.
Alex strode toward the newspaper office, guessing that was where she’d find Brian. The mayor would probably snatch a copy of the notice from Callie’s hand the moment she stepped out the door. Boris was a few steps behind her, his movie camera held firmly in his hand.
Just as Alex suspected, Brian was outside the building that was both Callie’s office and home. He was pacing back and forth impatiently, frequently glancing at his watch. Alex stopped and hid behind a parked truck. If Brian knew she was there, he would be careful to maintain his outward composure. Boris stepped up behind her and positioned the camera on his shoulder.
“This is good place to see ‘big show’,” he commented. “I will get good pictures on film.”
“Yeah. Just be sure Brian doesn’t see you, or there won’t be a show.”
“Boris will keep head down.”
Alex looked up at the man towering over her, thinking that would be a daunting task for the big Russian. She glanced at her watch. “Okay, Boris, you’d better start filming.”
The man quickly lifted the camera to his eye and began recording. No sooner had he done so, then the door to the newspaper office opened, and Callie stepped out. Just as Alex had predicted, Brian grabbed a sheet off the top of the pile she was carrying.
“A little anxious, are we, Brian?” the journalist remarked.
“No, not at all,” the mayor replied calmly. “I’m just a very busy man, and I want to know the results as soon as possible so that I can go onto other business.”
Callie laughed. “Yeah, right, Brian.” Shaking her head, she walked off to begin posting the notices around town. The mayor waited until she was far enough away, then he looked down at the piece of paper in his hand. An enormous smile split his face, which he very quickly wiped off. Glancing about, he went around behind Callie’s place, out of sight of the people on the street.
“Wahoo!” he abruptly shouted. He began dancing around, waving the notice like it was a victory flag. That went on for about six or seven seconds, then he stopped, straightened his suit, smoothed down his hair, and walked with the upmost decorum back to his office.
The second he was out of earshot, Alex and Boris burst into laughter.
“Was very good show!” Boris said between laughs.
“It sure was, even better than I had hoped,” Alex agreed. “Would you mind if I took the film and projector with me to Seattle this afternoon? I really want Daniel to see it. I can give it to Captain Grundy to bring back on the evening ferry.”
“Boris would be happy to give you film and projector. This will give Daniel much laughter. People in hospital should have things to make them laugh.”
“Well, I’d better go find Mister Mann and Mister Tate. They’ll no doubt want to discuss some things.”
Alex found the Bostonians just outside the Widow’s Walk amidst a group of people, who were all inundating them with questions.
“Ms. Stone! I guess we don’t have to tell you how pleased we are by the results of the ballot,” Joseph said with a smile.
“No, you don’t.”
“We are a little disappointed, though, that only sixty-two percent voted yes. We had hoped that the win would be by a larger majority.”
“Well, there are a lot of people who still aren’t convinced that Hope Gardens is the best thing for the island.”
“We hope that we will manage to change those people’s minds in time,” Frank remarked.
Alex knew that the two men wanted to know how she voted, but she had decided that she wasn’t going to tell them, at least not yet. Not knowing might make them a little more cautious about going overboard with their plans.
“There are a great many things that we will need to discuss with you,” Joseph told her.
“Yeah, that’s what I figured. I’ve set aside the rest of the morning for you. I’ll be heading back over to Seattle this afternoon, so anything we don’t have time to discuss this morning will have to wait for another day.”
“That will be fine. We’re scheduled to meet Mayor Brewster for lunch to discuss things as well,” Frank informed her.
“All right, let’s go over to my office.”
Alex and the Bostonians talked for the next hour and a half, discussing in detail what the next months would bring. Groundbreaking would begin in June, provided that the water covering the land was gone by then. At the present time, they could not estimate how long the project would take, though they guessed that it would be at least a year.
Joseph and Frank told Alex to have anyone on the island with experience in construction or operating heavy machinery submit a resumé to them through her. They wanted to employ as many of the locals as possible.
After the two men had left for their meeting with Brian, Alex sat alone in her office, thinking about how her life was going to be changing in a few months.
There was a knock on the door, and Molly stuck her head in. “Hey, how are you doing?” she asked.
“Feeling kind of numb, I think,” the redhead replied.
Her friend came in and sat in one of the other chairs. “Dad’s out there, strutting like a peacock, saying he knew all along that the vote would go for Hope Gardens.”
Alex grinned. “You should have seen him earlier when he first got the news. I think he was trying to dance an Irish jig.” Her grin widened. “Boris got him on film.”
Molly’s eyes widened. “He didn’t!”
“Oh, yes, he did. I’m going to take it with me to show to Daniel.”
“Alex, I have just got to see that!”
“I’m sure that Boris would be happy to give you a screening tomorrow. He’ll have the film back by then.”
“I’ll need to bring Kevin along.” Molly studied her friend closely. “So, how are you handling all of this?”
“I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed right now. There is going to be so much to do. Once construction begins, things will be crazy around here. With all the workers that’ll be here from the mainland, we are going to be so busy. And this isn’t something that’s only going to be for a few days. We’re talking at least a year. I’ve been thinking that I might have to hire someone to help us out.”
“That might be a good idea. Hey, I bet Melissa would like to have a part-time job. Michael and Moses are old enough now that she could get a babysitter for them, and I know she could use the money. She and Mark are still struggling with finances.”
“That’s a good idea, Mol. I’ll have to talk to her about it.” Alex looked at the clock. “Well, I’d better get myself some lunch, then head on over to the mainland.”
“Does Daniel know the results of the vote yet?”
“Yeah, I told him earlier.”
“How does he feel about it?”
“I think he’s glad that the vote went in favor of Hope Gardens. He basically told me that I shouldn’t worry so much, that nothing would take our Hope Island away from us.”
Molly nodded. “He’s right. No one on this island is going to let Hope be ruined.”
“No, we won’t.”
Arm in arm, the two friends left the office, both of them thinking about the changes that were in store for them.