Free When We Met by Susan Mallery Page B

the only one in town who’s qualified. Look, Sam, I don’t know what your deal is with her, but she does good work. We have to support the local businesses so we can fit in.”
    â€œSince when do you care about fitting in?”
    â€œSince always. PR is our business. Town support is a big deal. Bringing in someone from outside would be a mistake and you know it.” She put her hands on her hips. “She’s capable—parties like this are exactly what she does. What is your problem with her?”
    â€œIt’s complicated.”
    â€œThen uncomplicate it. If you won’t tell me what’s wrong, I can’t help. Which means this is now your problem and you need to solve it.”
    His jaw tightened. “This isn’t you at your most supportive.”
    â€œDo I look like I care?”
    He surprised her by smiling. “That’s the thing, Taryn. You always care. Unfortunately right now you’re being a pain in my ass.”
    â€œThen my work here is done.”
    * * *
    A NGEL ARRIVED AT City Hall five minutes before the Grove Keepers’ meeting. He’d meant to do a little research online beforehand—find out about the organization and who was in charge. But a last-minute redo of an obstacle course had kept him busy for the past couple of days. Still, he knew he would pick up what he needed in plenty of time for his first grove meeting.
    For a second he hesitated, thinking about what it would be like to work with the boys. Would they remind him of Marcus? Despite the time that had passed, he thought about his son every day. Missed him every day. Sometimes the memories were easy and sometimes they were hard, but they were always there.
    Marcus would approve of this, he reminded himself. He’d liked hanging out with his friends.
    Angel took the stairs two at a time and headed for the conference room on the second floor. He walked in and found most of the chairs around the long table were already full. Of women.
    Angel paused in the doorway as he worked the problem. It made sense that moms would want to get involved with their sons, he thought. They were the traditional caretakers of the family. But shouldn’t there be a few dads in the mix, too?
    It wasn’t that he didn’t like women. They were great. His wife had been a woman. But this was different. Teenaged boys needed a male role model.
    A woman in her fifties walked up to him and smiled. “Hello, Angel.”
    It took him a second to recognize Denise Hendrix—Ford’s mother. He’d had dinner at her house a few times since moving to town last year. She was friendly and well loved by her six children.
    â€œMrs. Hendrix,” he said. “Nice to see you.”
    She shook her head. “Please, don’t call me Mrs. Hendrix. That makes me sound older than I already am. I’m Denise.”
    â€œSure.” He glanced around the room. “You have an FWM grove?”
    â€œNot exactly. I’m the head of the Grove Council. Thank you so much for volunteering. We’re all very excited to have you aboard. Fresh blood and all that. We were afraid we’d lose you to the Boy Scouts, but we didn’t and we’re thrilled.”
    She guided him over to one of the empty chairs and started introducing him to everyone. He nodded and put names with faces, then took his seat.
    Even as he settled in his chair, he felt a prickling sensation on the back of his neck. Something was wrong. Denise’s mention of the Boy Scouts had confused him. Why would there be the FWM to help young men grow up when they could join the Boy Scouts instead? Was Fool’s Gold really big enough to support both organizations? Or had he misunderstood what the mayor had been telling him?
    Denise took her place at the head of the table and started passing out thick notebooks. As she placed one in front of him, Angel was painfully aware of the fact that not only was it pink but the lettering