Rose fidgeted as she sat in her chair, scanning the room with her eyes. The Council meeting was just getting underway, and there was no sign of Decker or his buddies, but that didn't stop her heart from racing every time someone slipped in through the chamber doors. She'd alerted security to the possibility of Decker's presence, but since Town Hall security wasn't much more than the bylaw officer, Gordon, posted outside, she didn't feel particularly reassured.

Fortunately, Jackson and the twins were stationed by the chamber doors. On one side, Jackson was dressed in black with his muscular arms folded across his chest, looking pensive. On the other, Denman and Dalton looked equally moody as they lounged against the wall. She met Jackson's gaze, and he nodded to her slightly. She suppressed a sigh of relief. She hadn't realized how much she needed him to be there.

"Mayor Whitfield?"

Rose blinked and looked at her colleague, Percy, one of the town councillors. He was looking at her expectantly, as though he'd just asked her a question. Rose ducked her head and shuffled her papers, wracking her brain.

"Yes, thank you, Councillor," she muttered as the subject at hand came back to her.

As she rattled on about permits, hoping she was at least in the periphery of answering his question, her eyes flitted over the small crowd of townspeople seated on the benches in front of the arc of council chairs. Herman Huang was there, nodding along, while Lily sat at the back sandwiched awkwardly between Mom and Dad. That had been a strange reunion, and Rose was glad to be needed elsewhere.

She finished her spiel and set her papers down with little recollection of what she'd said.

"Thank you, Mayor." Percy nodded his greying head to her.

Rose swallowed and smiled at him tightly. Her throat was dry. As she reached for her glass of water, the chamber doors opened, and she looked up to see who had entered the room. She suppressed a groan. Doris Danforth picked her way over the floor to take a seat on one of the back benches. She wore a floral, floor-length dress and her customary pinch-faced look, as though she'd been biting lemons all the way to Town Hall. Rose grimaced. She should have told Jackson and the twins, and security, about Mrs. Danforth, though she was hardly a threat to Rose's safety. More of a nuisance, really.

Rose redirected her attention to the meeting. The hour wore on. She started to jiggle her foot, anxious for the part of the meeting where she could raise the issue of Decker's theft. She glanced at Mrs. Danforth again and found the woman staring at her with menace in her eyes. Rose bit her lip and looked away, listening half-heartedly as the last motion was passed, then she stood up from her seat.

"Thank you, Council," she said, forcing her voice to sound bright and not screechy with nerves. "And now, an announcement, if I may. It has come to the Town's attention that the former mayor, Alex Decker, has been arrested for the alleged theft of Town resources."

There were audible gasps in the crowd as a few of the townspeople's heads snapped up. Rose avoided looking at Mrs. Danforth and mustered as much height as she could, squaring her shoulders and strengthening her voice. Lily gave her a none-too-subtle thumbs up.

"An investigation is underway," Rose went on, "and he is no longer welcome on Town Hall property. I have informed security of as much." She took a deep breath. "Let me be clear to whomever may have aided Mr. Decker—"

"You bitch."

Rose halted in mid-speech and gazed out at the crowd. Mrs. Danforth stood in the aisle with a sneer on her face. Her epithet hung in the air.

Rose sputtered. "Excuse me?"

Mrs. Danforth pointed a bony finger at Rose. "You're not fit to be mayor, you witch." She turned and surveyed the aghast audience. "She conspired with those McBride boys! Mayor Decker's been framed."

Rose couldn't help the disbelieving laugh that came out of her mouth. "Actually, Mr. Decker is no longer mayor."

"He still would be if it weren't for you," Mrs. Danforth spat. "But you're in bed with the McBrides."

The way she emphasized bed left no question in Rose's mind what she meant. Rose narrowed her eyes.

Mrs. Danforth's mouth twisted as she looked Rose up and down. "We all know who owns this town. Who pays for the airline. And who pays for you. It seems no accident you got into office just before they came back to town. You're one of them. You always were."

Rose drew herself up, but it was her father who spoke as he stood up from his seat.

"My daughter won the race on her own merit. The McBrides had nothing to do with it."

Mrs. Danforth glanced sharply at him, then hissed at Rose, "You're nothing without that family's charity. The only reason you got anywhere was because you were sleeping with him."

She flung her hand out at Jackson.

Rose lowered her brows as her blood began to boil. "Doris, I think it's time for you to leave."

Mrs. Danforth simply sniffed and folded her arms. Jackson wore a look of confusion, his palms raised as though wondering how the hell he was supposed to forcibly remove a seventy-year-old woman from the room. Rose huffed and rolled her eyes, coming around the councillors' desk and striding down the aisle.

Mrs. Danforth's mouth was cruel. "It's a pity, you know. He asked about you."

Rose stopped short. "Who did?"

The elderly woman wore a sly look. "He came sniffing around. But I wouldn't let him have my Alex. I told him it was you."

Rose blinked as realization dawned on her. "Jonah?"

Mrs. Danforth lifted her chin. "Yes. He said he wouldn't go after Alex if I implicated you. But then you put your nose in where it didn't belong. You ruined everything. The money was ours."

Rose's mouth dropped open. "You were going to frame me?"

Jackson finally pushed away from the wall and strode toward Mrs. Danforth. She turned to him with her eyes narrowed beadily.

"You," she spat. "You should never have come back to Dogwood."

Jackson smirked. "Well, I did." He leaned forward. "And you've just implicated yourself in the theft." He raised his phone. "The police are on their way."

Mrs. Danforth shook as she clenched her fists. "You—you no-good scoundrel! This is our town! You don't belong here."

Jackson folded his arms. "Actually, Doris, Dogwood belongs to the people who love it. The people who shepherd it forward, who build things up instead of tearing people down." He looked at Rose. "People like Rose. And she's not a McBride, actually. She's a Whitfield."

Rose met Jackson's gaze. The skin around his eyes crinkled as he smiled at her.

"For now," he added softly.

A blush heated Rose's face at his words. She suppressed a pleased smile, turning instead to Mrs. Danforth.

"Do you have anything else to say for yourself?" Rose raised a brow.

Mrs. Danforth scowled but said nothing.

Rose nodded once, firmly. "That's what I thought. I'm assuming it was you or one of Decker's other lackeys who slashed my tires, but I'll let you talk to the police about that."

Denman opened the door, peeking out into the hall, then ducked back inside. "The cops are here."

Rose smiled coldly. "Just in time. Now, if you don't mind, I have a statement to make." She swept out her arm. "And so does everyone else here."

Mrs. Danforth scanned the room, and the life seemed to go out of her body. Suddenly, she looked small and frail as she shrunk in on herself.

"I wanted my Alex to succeed," she said, voice thin and reedy.

Rose rolled her eyes. "Yeah, well. He's a successful asshole, so you've got that going for you."

Jackson coughed into his hand as his shoulders shook with laughter. In her seat, Lily actually snorted.

Denman grinned as he came to stand at the end of the aisle. "Let's step outside," he said, offering his arm. "Mrs. Danforth, is it?"

She pinched her lips and scurried past him toward the door. "I don't need help from the likes of you."

Denman straightened, a laugh tugging at his lips. "I mean, I offered."

Dalton shepherded Mrs. Danforth out the door to the sound of crackling police radios in the hall. Rose took a deep breath and shook her head. She glanced at Jackson, who was looking at her warmly.

He leaned in and whispered in her ear. "I'm proud of you, Rose. I would kiss you, but I understand you're acting in some sort of official capacity right now."

He leaned back, grinning. His copper-penny hair gleamed in the fluorescent overhead lights, and there was a twinkle in his eyes. Rose threw her head back and laughed. With a smile on her face, she grasped the neck of his shirt and tugged.

"Mayor shmayor," she said. "And don't call me Rose."

Jackson's amused grin sublimated into something softer. He lifted his hand and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, then cupped her face with his hand.

"Yes, Rosie," he said in a voice like silk and chock-full of memories. "I'll call you whatever you want. I'm yours."

Rose smiled and pressed her lips to his.

***

Later, when it had all quieted down, Jackson stood outside Town Hall and picked at his lower lip pensively. The police had taken Mrs. Danforth into the station. She'd implicated someone called the Fontaine brothers in the slashing of Rose's tires, and the cops had gone to speak with them, too. Jackson should have been relieved. It seemed Rose's detractors were on their way to a lengthy legal battle. Instead, he was troubled. There was still the not-so-small matter of his father's opposition to Rose.

He dug his phone out of his pocket and found his father's number. He lifted the phone to his ear and waited.

"Hello," Dad barked.

Jackson grimaced. "Hi, Dad."

There was silence on the other end of the line.

Jackson clucked his tongue in irritation. "Are you busy?"

Dad huffed. "Why?"

"We need to talk."

"About what?"

Jackson took a deep breath. "About Rose."

His father's pause was like a yawning pit. It would be easy to fall into it and never come out again. Jackson squeezed his eyes shut and forced himself to speak.

"I'm going to marry her, Dad."

Dad was silent.

Jackson grated out the words. "With or without your approval."

Dad inhaled audibly before speaking. "This is your choice?"

"Yes, it is."

"She's not one of ours, son."

"Well, she is now," Jackson said. "Because I'm making her my wife, and there's not a goddamn thing you can do about it. I know you tried."

Dad exhaled sharply. There was a long pause. "Everything I did, I did for you." Anger seeped through the phone. "You lacked for nothing, Jackson. Nothing. And you're throwing it all away. For what?"

Jackson lifted his chin. "For the love of my life, Dad." His breath hitched. "I thought you would understand. You were in love once, too."

Dad's voice came out low, rough-edged. "Yes, son, I was."

The sound of a door opening broke Jackson's concentration. He looked over as Rose stepped out of Town Hall. He motioned her over. She came to stand beside him, rubbing her upper arms through her blouse.

"Dad, I have to go," he said.

Rose raised her brows. Jackson squeezed her arm.

Dad's voice was gruff. "What will you do without money? Without a job?"

Jackson looked at Rose and smiled. "Well, I guess I'll figure that out along the way. Here in Dogwood."

A smile curved Rose's mouth, and she rested her head on his shoulder. Jackson inhaled slowly, smelling the sweet scent of the dogwood trees at night. With Rose in his arms, anything seemed possible. Like love, and marriage—and a home.

"Son, I don't want you to regret this," Dad said, his voice softening. "I want you to be sure."

"I am. I've never been more sure of anything."

"Then you've made your choice."

Jackson closed his eyes. His voice came out soft but certain. "Yes. I choose Rose."

He let his hand fall. If his father said anything else, he didn't hear it. He swiped the call away, then stared down at his phone, his breathing shallow, his heart racing.

Rose's hand on his cheek roused him.

"Are you okay?" she whispered.

The light from Town Hall was reflected in her beautiful, dark eyes. Jackson drank her in. The way the light haloed her hair. The soft curve of her lips. Her delicate nose.

"I'm okay," he said, covering her hands with his.

"I wish I could make this better for you," she said.

"You can." He brought her hands to his chest and held them tight against his heart, which beat like an overture. The words came out easily. "Marry me."