LITMIR.BIZ

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      “What changed you?” she asked.

      “Someone I care about had expectations and I let him down.”

      “Your dad?”

      “Better than my dad. It’s impossible to have nothing to lose when someone loves you.”

      She blinked. “That was profound.”

      “Don’t tell anyone.”

      “You saw the light and let go of your bad-boy ways?”

      “Pretty much.”

      After the workout, Hawk had taken Raoul to the poor side of Dallas, driving past people living out of shopping carts.

      “Get over yourself,” was all his former coach had said.

      Raoul had gone home feeling like the biggest jerk in the world. The next day he’d moved out of the hotel, bought a house in a normal neighborhood and had started volunteering.

      Two years later he’d met Caro at a charity ball, which had proved life wasn’t perfect.

      “So you believe people can change,” she said.

      “Don’t you?”

      “I’m not sure. Does the meanness go away or does it just get covered up?”

      “Who was mean to you?”

      She sighed. “And here I was supposed to gather up my tattered dignity and just go. You’ve been great. I’ll be in touch, Raoul. Thanks for everything.”

      She walked out of the office.

      Not sure if he should go after her, he hesitated. Then Dakota stepped in from the back and stared at him.

      “Did I hear that right?”

      Raoul shifted uneasily. “It depends on what you heard.”

      “You knew Keith Westland?”

      He nodded.

      She crossed toward him and sank onto the chair Pia had used. “I won’t say anything, of course. About you knowing him or the babies. This is a lot to take in. Talk about responsibility. I guess I knew that Crystal would have to leave her embryos to someone, but I never really thought about it. Did Pia know before?”

      He remembered his first meeting with her. “I don’t think so. She thought she was getting the cat.”

      “Right. She was taking care of Crystal’s cat.” Dakota looked stunned. “What’s with Crystal not warning her? You can’t just leave someone potential children and not even give them a hint. Or maybe she knew Pia would freak and didn’t want to be talked out of it.” Dakota glanced at him. “Is she okay?”

      “She’s dealing. She’s surprised Crystal picked her.”

      “Really? I’m not. Pia might not be the obvious choice, but she makes sense. She would do the right thing.” Dakota laughed. “After some serious kicking and screaming. Wow—Pia’s going to have Crystal’s babies.”

      “She hasn’t decided that yet.”

      Dakota glanced at him. “Do you really think she’ll walk away from those babies?”

      He shook his head. He couldn’t see it, but then he’d been wrong before.

      He took the chair behind the desk. “You and Crystal and Pia all grew up in town together?”

      “Oh, yeah. Crystal was a few years older, but she was one of those really nice people who wanted to take care of the world. She worked at the library after school. She was always there to help with school projects.” Dakota wrinkled her nose. “I can’t believe I’m old enough to remember when there wasn’t an Internet.”

      “You’re twenty-seven.”

      “Practically ancient.” She laughed. “Pia was a grade ahead of me and my sisters, but we knew her. Or at least of her.” Her eyes brightened with humor. “Pia was one of the popular girls. Pretty, great clothes. She had the boyfriends everyone else wanted.”

      The humor faded. “Then her dad died and her mom went away. Everything changed for her. Back in high school I would have sworn Pia was taking off for New York or L.A. Instead she stayed here.”

      Which meant something had happened to her.

      “I guess it’s where she belongs,” Dakota murmured.

      “You came back, as well,” he said. “There must be something about this place.”

      “You’re right.” She laughed. “Be careful, Raoul. If you stay too long, you’ll never escape.”

      “I’ll keep that in mind.”

      But the truth was, he wanted a place to call home. Somewhere that felt right.

      There had been a time when he’d wanted it all—a wife and a family. Now he was less sure. Back when he’d married her, he would have sworn he knew everything about Caro. That nothing she did would ever surprise him.

      He’d been wrong, and in finding out the truth about what she’d done, a part of him had been destroyed. Pia had asked if he thought people could change. He did, because he’d seen it over and over again. But broken trust was different. Even if it was repaired, it was never the same again. There would always be cracks.

      Chapter Four

      ONE OF THE PERKS of her job was that although Pia was a part of city government, she didn’t have to participate in any of the really boring stuff. Sure, once a year she had to present a budget, and she was accountable for every penny. But that was easily done on a good spreadsheet program. When it came to the city council meetings, she was strictly a visitor, not a regular.

      So when the mayor called Pia and asked her to attend an emergency session, she found herself feeling a little nervous as she took her seat at the long conference table.

      “What’s up?” she asked Charity, the city planner. “Marsha sounded less than calm, which is unusual for her.”

      “I’m not sure,” Charity admitted. “I know she wanted to talk about the school fire.”

      Which made sense, but why would Pia have to be there for that?

      “How are you feeling?” she asked her friend.

      Charity was about four months along. “Great. A little puffy, although no one seems to notice but me.” She grinned. “Or they’re lying. I’m good with either option.”

      Charity had moved to town in early spring. In a matter of a few weeks, she’d fallen for professional cyclist Josh Golden, gotten pregnant and discovered she was the mayor’s long-lost granddaughter.

      Josh and Charity had slipped away for a quiet wedding and were now awaiting the birth of their first child. Marsha was thrilled at the thought of a great-grandchild.

      Just another day in Fool’s Gold, Pia thought cheerfully. There was always something going on.

      Pia glanced around at the other women at the meeting. There were the usual suspects, along with a few surprises including Police Chief Alice Barns. Why would the police chief need to attend a city council meeting? Nancy East sat close to the front. No doubt the superintendent of schools would have information they all needed.

      Before Pia could ask Charity, Marsha hurried in and took her seat at the head of the table.

      The mayor was as well-dressed as always. She favored tailored suits and wore her white hair pulled back in a tidy bun.

      “Sorry I’m late,” Marsha said. “I was on the phone. Thank you all for coming on such short notice.”

      There was a murmur of people saying it was fine.

      “We have a preliminary

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