LITMIR.BIZ

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about was whether the paper would get sued. She would fire them, except that’s what she’d hired them to do, so she was stuck with following their advice.

      “I’ll call him. Maybe he got ahold of a bad copy. Maybe it was passed around too much. What I saw looked great.”

      She hated bad news, but Evie couldn’t shoot the messenger. Especially since Jolie was the best computer graphic designer she’d ever hired. No one else wanted to take a chance on a nineteen-year-old college dropout with hot pink highlights, but something about Jolie reminded Evie of herself at that age. Not the nibbled nails or the crazy punk-inspired clothes, for sure. It was more her obvious desire to prove to the world that she was more than just a girl. And the bucketfuls of attitude might be a little familiar, too.

      “It was great, don’t you doubt it.” She shrugged and crossed one slim leg over the other, wiggling a foot until her polka-dot ballet flat hung by her toes. “Hey, why doesn’t your dad want to place an ad? I was looking at a Colorado Supplements brochure and the graphics were totally old-school. We could do a whole lot better than whoever he hired for that flyer.”

      Evie dropped her gaze to her desktop and pretended to scroll through a few pages. Her father would never hire her. He thought she was just goofing around, playing at running a paper while Jack was the one who did the real work. But anybody who really knew the guy understood that Jack had about as much of an aptitude for business as the proverbial fish on a bicycle. “Yeah, I should ask him about that.”

      “Of course, maybe it’s better to keep business and family separate?” Jolie pursed her lips and tapped a black polished nail against her chin.

      She couldn’t suppress a snort of laughter. “Excellent advice. But since my dad has been grooming Jack to take over the family business since he was five, that boat has already sailed.”

      “Speaking of that luscious brother of yours...” Jolie leaned forward, eyebrows raised.

      “No, not on your life.” Evie shook a finger at her.

      “But why not? He’s so handsome, and those eyes!”

      “Because. He has a hard enough time getting to work as it is with snowboarding season in full swing. Throw in a girlfriend and he’d be MIA most of the time.”

      “Well, I work as hard as I play, so maybe I’d inspire him.” Jolie flashed a grin as she popped out of her chair and left the office.

      Evie waited for the door to close before she dropped her head in her hands. Her paper needed the revenue desperately. They were walking a fine line between solvency and bankruptcy, again. Lord, I’m trying to do the right thing here. I’m not asking for wealth beyond measure. Just enough to pay the bills.

      When she’d first bought the paper, she’d fought hard to get them on solid ground. But things had slowed and The Daily was getting a good cut of their advertising customers. It was human nature that people would rather read gossip than human interest stories or exposés on slave labor. But she’d been there, done that. No going back. Even if they published community hero stories all the way into foreclosure.

      * * *

      “Thanks for distributing these, Lana.” Gavin handed over an armful of posters on pertussis prevention.

      “Anything we can do to help, you know that.” The secretary laid the posters on the desk and cocked her head. “You look exhausted.”

      “No, I’m fine. Just running a little low on sleep.” The low end of empty.

      “Take care of yourself. We wouldn’t want you to miss Christmas.” She gave him a look that meant business and he nodded obediently. He would rest when there was time. If he didn’t keep working, the Mission would have to cancel all public gatherings anyway. It wasn’t something he wanted to say out loud.

      Gavin’s phone buzzed in his pocket and he stepped away from the desk with a wave of apology. Lana smiled, making a shooing motion with her hand.

      He snapped the phone open. “Allison, everything okay?” He hated the note of anxiety in his voice. She was a grown woman, with a son she’d taken care of all by herself, but he would always be her big brother. They weren’t related by blood, but he’d given up the step word a long time ago. She was his sister, end stop.

      “Everything’s fine, Gav.” He could hear her smile and felt the muscles in his neck relax. “Just wanted to let you know we’re headed into Denver tonight. We made good time through Kansas. Nothing there to see but corn.”

      Gavin leaned against the lobby wall and grinned. “Can’t wait to see you. Are you heading straight for my place?” Office workers wandered in and out of the double doors, staring at their smartphones or chatting with colleagues.

      “No other place to go, is there?” Her tone was light, but the words held a lot of sadness.

      Gavin knew what she meant. She’d been on her own for so long. Moving back to Denver was a big step, and hopefully it was one in the right direction. As long as Sean’s father didn’t make trouble, they would probably do just fine.

      “I think it will be a whole new start for you both.”

      “You’re right.” She paused, as if choosing her words. “Because I’m tired of hiding.”

      Gavin straightened up. “What does that mean?”

      “I’m just...ready to be honest about who I am and what happened.”

      He felt his eyes widen.

      “But let’s talk about it when I get there.”

      Gavin took a breath, calming his thoughts. Allison didn’t need to explain everything, especially while driving. “Right. Be careful. See you real soon, sisty ugler.”

      “Watch it. There’s still time for me to turn this rig around.” There was the brief sound of her laughing and she disconnected. Gavin snapped the phone closed. He’d wanted her to move here for years, right after he’d found out about Sean. But she’d been determined to make her own way. Maybe she was stubborn. Maybe it was shame. Whatever it was, he was glad she’d finally given in. His sister needed family around her, and his godson needed his uncle.

      His brows drew down as he thought of her words. She was ready to be honest. How honest? To everyone? To the media? The idea of another bout of newspaper scandal made him ill. He never wanted her to go through something like that again.

      But now wasn’t the time to worry about it. He strode out into the bright winter sunlight and headed for his car. God willing, they would get the whooping cough cases under control and he could really focus on welcoming her to Denver.

      Of course, getting the epidemic under control involved a certain collaboration with a certain newspaper editor. Evie Thorne’s beautiful face passed through his mind. If he could just ignore those flashes of humor, that quick wit, those bright blue eyes, then he wouldn’t mind so much that he had to deal with a journalist. He had an unsettling feeling that his calm, predictable life was veering into completely unknown territory.

      * * *

      Yanking the cord that released the long window shades, Evie pressed the palms of her hands to her eyes and gritted her teeth. Her office had a heart-stopping view of Wolf Mountain, but the bright winter sunlight was making her head throb. Sometimes she wanted to be someone else, anyone else. Getting a call from another advertiser who’d rather pay The Daily than The Chronicle had her feeling like she should just pack her bags and head out of town.

      A soft knock on her door brought her head up with a start. Gavin Sawyer stood in her office doorway, a concerned expression on his face, brows drawn together. His suit was nicely pressed, as if he was just starting his day, instead of heading into the afternoon. He had a badge clipped to his shirt pocket. Warm brown eyes and softly wavy hair made him seem casual despite the business wear. It was as if he always walked into The Chronicle on a Friday morning. Her mind stuttered to a stop.

      “Are you all right?” His low

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