Free Wishing Lake by Regina Hart

opposite Jackson’s polished oak desk. It was Monday morning, the day before the mayoral election. He had enough on his mind without puzzling the reason for this assignment.
    In the almost four months since Jackson had resumed his responsibilities as publisher and editor-in-chief of The Trinity Falls Monitor , he’d settled into his office and routine as though he’d never left. That was thanks in large part to Audra. During the five months the couple had been together, she’d worked miracles on the former recluse who’d retreated from life after his young daughter’s death. Darius was glad to have his friend and boss back at work. At least he had been—until Jackson sprang this morning’s assignment on him.
    Darius lowered his eyes while he tried to figure out his pal’s plan. His gaze settled on Jackson’s overloaded desk. On one corner was a stack of newspapers from neighboring towns as well as the nearby metropolitan paper, Cleveland’s The Plain Dealer . Sitting on the opposite corner, closer to his computer, was a photo of Audra, laughing as she displayed the bass she’d caught during one of their many fishing trips. Next to that image was a framed picture of Jackson’s daughter, Zoey, who’d died just before her ninth birthday, almost twenty months ago. The pain of her loss had overwhelmed Jackson. If it weren’t for Audra’s love and support, he wouldn’t have been able to keep Zoey’s photo on his desk. That would have been a shame.
    Darius caught Jackson’s dark eyes. “Why me?”
    “You were at the town council meeting last week.” Jackson propped his elbows on the arms of his black executive chair. “Before she leaves office, Ramona wants to establish a committee to raise funds for the community center’s renovation. It needs a lot of upgrades.”
    Jackson’s answer was evasive.
    Darius tried again. “Why do you want me to cochair the committee? I cover the news. I’ll write articles about the campaign and what the committee’s doing. But I can’t do a balanced job covering the news if I’m part of the story.”
    “You won’t cover this story. Opal will.”
    Darius rubbed his eyes with his left thumb and two fingers. Opal Gutierrez was the Monitor ’s rookie reporter. Darius questioned her training. He’d once accused her of being more like a Dictaphone than a newspaper reporter. Now she was assigned to cover a story in which he was involved. How would she approach it?
    Darius gave a mental shrug. He didn’t need to worry. He wasn’t going to be part of the story. “I’ve never chaired a fundraiser.”
    “But you can convince people to do things you think are right, whether they want to do it or not.” Jackson smiled. “You convinced Stan to get sober.”
    Darius shook his head. “That’s not the same as talking them into giving me their money.”
    “Close enough.”
    “Come on, Jack.” Darius gave his boss a skeptical look. “What’s this really about?”
    “The community center is very important to the town.” Jackson crossed his arms. “I want the Monitor to be represented on the committee.”
    Jackson’s words were sincere, but Darius didn’t buy them. “Then why don’t you chair it?”
    “It would be overkill to have the publisher on the committee.”
    Darius wasn’t buying that one, either. “Then Opal can sit on the committee and I’ll cover the story.”
    Jackson shook his head. “I want you to represent the paper.”
    Is it possible he’d misjudged his friend’s intention? “I’m flattered, Jack. But I’m not qualified for this assignment.”
    Jackson held up his hands, palms out. “You wouldn’t be leading the committee by yourself. You’d be working with a cochair.”
    The muscles at the back of his neck tensed with suspicion. “Who?”
    “Someone you know.” Jackson didn’t hesitate. “Dr. Peyton Harris.”
    Darius shook his head in disbelief. “So this is another attempt at matchmaking. Don’t you have anything better to