Sean:

My dreams are filled with images of Hailey. Hailey in Portland, on her knees, sucking on my cock. Hailey spread out on the pool table at the Randy Goat, her nipples pebbled in the cool air. Hailey, screaming with pleasure as I bury my head between her legs and make her come.

If I’m being honest, I’m a little nervous about tonight. Not about the ménage—Nick and I go back a long way, this isn’t our first time sharing, and I’m reasonably certain we can work through any issues that come up—but about the casual nature of our arrangement. I know every guy is supposed to want a no-strings-attached, sex-only relationship, but I don’t.

I don’t know Hailey, but I like what I’ve seen so far. I’ll never admit it to anyone, but I’ve read her columns. She’s a good writer, honest, funny, empathetic. When I’d read her article about our threesome and discovered why she was at the Oarhouse that night, I’d wondered what kind of man could walk away from a woman so lively, so beautiful, so full of life.

Even her clothes are bright. Yesterday, she’d been wearing a blue and yellow sundress, and when she’d walked into the Randy Goat, it was as if she’d brought a little bit of sunshine into the room.

She’s not looking for anything serious, I remind myself. Keep things light. Don’t get sucked in.

My cock is still painfully hard, and it isn’t until I jerk off in the shower that my brain starts working again. Shit. If I don’t hurry up, I won't have enough time to meet with the mayor before I head to work.

Elvira Grantham has been the mayor of Goat for two terms. I don’t think she wanted to seek another four years in office, but then Eric Hardy had announced his candidacy, forcing her hand. Unlike Hardy, Ms. Grantham is deeply invested in everything that happens in Goat.

I’ve worked closely with her for many years, and consider her a friend, so I have no compunctions about dropping by her mansion unannounced. She opens the door herself, her smile widening when she sees me. “Sean, you’re just in time for breakfast. Come on in.”

I follow her into the kitchen. “Both Betty Beaumont and Marla Guthrie have brought me loaves of their banana bread to sample,” she tells me.

“Are they hoping you’ll endorse one of them?”

She cuts me a slice. “If they did press me, I’d have to confess that I can’t take sides. It seems easier not to bring up the subject.” Her eyes twinkle. “I’m a terrible baker.”

Laughing out loud, I pour myself a cup of coffee and take a seat at the kitchen table. “So, what brings you here this morning?” she asks me.

“You know why I’m here. I need to hire firefighters, Ms. Grantham. I thought the budget increase was already approved.”

She heaves a sigh. “This is between you and me,” she warns. “I don’t want to read about this in the Weekly Goat.”

As if Connor Perkins will print anything that Elvira doesn’t want him to. The man has been madly in love with her for decades. “Of course.”

“In the council meeting two weeks ago, Hardy introduced a motion to disband the fire department. He argued that it was too expensive for Goat to have its own fire station when we could be serviced just as well by the one in Bend.”

I sit up, my hands clenching into fists. “Is he insane?” I demand. “What the hell does he mean, too expensive? I operate on a shoestring budget. My crew is all-volunteer. None of them draw a salary.”

“I pointed that out,” Elvira replies patiently. “And he countered by reminding me that I’d just approved a budget increase for the fire station.”

I take a deep breath. “What’s going on here? Hardy’s been a town councillor for four years, and he’s never expressed an interest in the fire station. What’s his real motive?”

Elvira places another slice of banana bread on my plate. “I was curious as well, so I asked Lana to do a little digging for me. She used to be an investigative journalist, you know. Hardy’s running quite a campaign. He’s erected a billboard in the middle of downtown, he’s got lawn signs everywhere, he’s even bought a TV spot.”

“With what money?” I stare at the mayor, banana bread forgotten. “Hardy’s pizza franchise got shut down by the health department. The man’s broke, everyone knows that.”

“That’s where it gets interesting.” Her expression turns steely. “Hardy’s campaign is being funded by McDuff’s Dollar Stores. I can only assume that if Hardy becomes mayor, he plans to shut down the fire station and lease the space to McDuff. They’ve been sniffing around for years, searching for downtown store locations.”

I stare at her. “He’s not going to win,” I say flatly. “Your track record speaks for itself. Business is up for everyone. People aren’t fools. No one is going to think that Hardy’s attempt to normalize Goat is a good idea.”

Elvira shakes her head. “That’s where you’re wrong, Sean. People will believe what they hear, and if they hear over and over again that Hardy’s the right man to be mayor, they’ll start to believe it.”

“This is crazy,” I say, my throat dry. “Hardy can’t shut down my department.”

“He came into the meeting with a fancy presentation,” she replies tiredly. “You know the council. David Barlow was impressed with the bells-and-whistles of his pitch. So was Kim Nieves, particularly when Eric Hardy hinted that we could expand the animal shelter with some of the savings from closing the fire station.”

Fucking Hardy. Anyone who’s ever asked the town council for money knows that the way to get Barlow on board is with pretty graphics and flashy animation. And Kim Nieves volunteers at the local animal shelter. If she had her way, she’d funnel every spare dollar its way.

“It was too risky to call for a vote right then and there,” Ms. Grantham continues. “So I told Hardy we’d put the hires on hold and I asked David Barlow to do a cost-benefit analysis on the fire department. Basically, I bought us time. If I win the election, this goes away.”

And if she doesn’t?

My jaw tightens. It’s one thing to disagree on the way we market Goat to tourists. It’s another thing entirely for Hardy to contemplate shutting down the fire station.

I won’t let him play fast and loose with people’s lives.

I have to find a way to stop him.