Nick:

A month passes. Sean and I spend every Monday night with Hailey, and I’m not going to lie, those hours quickly become the highlight of my week. The sex is amazing, wicked and naughty. Hailey’s open about her desires, she doesn’t play games, and she never gets clingy. She offered casual sex, and she’s kept her end of the bargain.

Ironically, I’m the one who wants more. The once-a-week constraint seems ridiculous. We enjoy sleeping together, why not more often?

Then there’s her insistence that she doesn’t need our help fixing her cottage, which is insane. I’m a handyman, damn it. I’m happy to give her a hand, but she’s stubborn, and she won’t hear of it. “I can’t afford to pay you,” she keeps telling me. As if I’m going to charge her.

Frustrating woman. I don’t understand why she won’t let us help her.

It’s Sunday afternoon. Petra’s got the flu, so I’m tending bar again. It’s pouring outside, and the weather has kept most of the customers away. We’re screening Four Weddings and a Funeral this week, and I can actually hear the dialog, which almost never happens.

Unfortunately, the rain hasn’t stopped Reva Burris from showing up. She’s taken a seat at the bar, and she seems determined to hit on me. “Nick,” she purrs. “I never see you anymore.”

Her perfume wafts over me in cloying waves, and I take a discreet step back so I can breathe. As annoying as I find Reva, I have no desire to hurt her feelings, but the woman cannot take a hint. No matter how many times I’ve explained that I’m not looking for something serious, Reva refuses to get the message.

“You’re not dating someone, are you?”

I’m sleeping with Hailey Martell every Monday night, does that count as dating? I wish it did, but Hailey has good reasons for wanting to stay away from commitment. Her fiancé cheated on her. Given her history, I’m the worst person she should get involved with. As my parents demonstrated over and over again, the O’Sullivans cheat. That’s who we are.

But if I tell Reva I’m seeing someone, it’ll get her off my back. I smile pleasantly at Reva. “Actually, I am. It’s new, and we’re not talking about it yet, but I really like her, and I can see it going the distance.”

The funny thing is, I’m not lying. I really do like Hailey. I really can see it go the distance.

Don’t fool yourself. It can’t go the distance, asshole.

Reva’s lips tighten. “You are?” She gulps down the glass of wine and throws a ten-dollar bill down on the counter. “Good for you. I hope you’ll be very happy, Nick.”

Sean walks in as Reva flounces out. “What’s with her?” he asks, his eyebrows raised.

“I told her I was dating someone. And before you start making a big deal of it, I just needed a way to get Reva off my back.”

His lips twitch. “Of course. I’m sure Hailey has nothing to do with it.”

“She doesn’t,” I insist. Sean’s home life was pretty rough, yet somehow, he’s avoided becoming as cynical as I have. He still believes in love and happily-ever-afters. “What’s going on with you?”

He sighs. “Ms. Grantham called me an hour ago. The town council has some questions about the fire station finances. They want me at their meeting tomorrow.”

“Hardy going on the offensive again?” I ask him, concerned.

“No, I think she’d have warned me if it was going to be an ambush. I just have to go there and listen to a bunch of idiots tell me how to do my job with less money and fewer resources.”

“I don’t envy you, buddy.”

He sips the scotch I pour him. “I loathe making a scene, and I loathe losing my temper, and tomorrow, at the council meeting, I’m afraid I might do both those things. Fucking politicians, playing games with people’s lives.”

“Elvira had better win,” Nick says grimly. “Because if Hardy manages to beat her…”

He doesn’t finish that thought, and neither do I. Neither of us want to consider the possibility of Ed Hardy becoming the mayor of Goat.

* * *

Sean:

Tempers are running high when I show up at the town hall the next day. “Come in, Sean,” Elvira Grantham says to me, her tone clipped. “Can you take a seat? We’re running a little behind schedule.”

I sit down and watch the circus unfold. Hardy glares at Elvira. “Every day,” he starts, “this town becomes more and more ridiculous. Do you know what I saw on Saturday? I was taking my kids to the park when a woman walked by with three goats trailing after her on leashes.”

“Yes, that’s Constance Baker,” Kim Nieves responds. Kim’s been on the town council for almost twenty years and knows every single person in town. “She doesn’t think her goats get enough exercise in her backyard, so she takes them for a walk every morning and evening.”

“Is she nuts?” Eric Hardy stares at Kim. “You think this is normal behavior? They’re not dogs. They’re goats. They stink.”

“No, they don’t,” Kim interjects. “Constance shampoos them once a week.”

I bite back my laugh. David Barlow, another long-time council member, shrugs his shoulders. “The tourists love Constance and her goats. She’s got quite a following on social media.”

“Is everything in this town about tourist dollars?” he snaps, shooting Ms. Grantham a disgusted look. “Our mayor might worship at the altar of tourism, but I’m not going to tolerate this.”

Elvira’s jaw tightens, and I can tell she’s close to losing her temper. “This isn’t about tourism,” she replies. “The town ordinances allow people to walk their pets as long as they are leashed and as long as the pet owners clean up after their animals. Mrs. Baker does both of those things.”

“They’re goats. She’s making this town a laughing stock.”

David Barlow turns to me. “What do you think, Keefer? Mrs. Baker’s route goes past the fire station. Do you think she should stop walking her goats?”

Damn it. I don’t want to make Hardy an enemy, but I also want no part of bullying an old lady. “No, I don’t. Mrs. Baker isn’t doing any harm.”

“And is she making our town a laughing stock?” Barlow probes.

I take a deep breath and ignore Hardy’s death glare. “I think she’s a part of what makes our town special.”

“Good,” Annie Snider cuts in. “Let’s take a vote. All in favor of altering the ordinance to ban goats?”

Hardy’s the only hand that lifts in the air.

“Denied,” Elvira says, her tone satisfied. “And Eric, since you went behind the town council and exceeded your authority when you wrote to Constance Baker forbidding her from walking her goats, you can craft her a letter of apology on behalf of the town.”

Kim Nieves’ eyes go wide. “You did what?”

“Oh yes,” Elvira says grimly. “Hardy here sent Mrs. Baker an official notice from the town council telling her she couldn’t walk her pets anymore.”

“Is the mayor right?” David Barlow sounds furious. “Did you do this?”

Eric Hardy doesn’t back down. “Yes,” he says defiantly. “I did.”

“Oh, it gets worse,” Elvira continues. “Not only did Hardy here tell her she couldn’t walk her goats, but he threatened to have them put down if Mrs. Baker continues to walk them in town.”

Kim Nieves, who volunteers at the pet shelter, inhales sharply. “Why on Earth would you say something like that to an old woman?” she asks Hardy. “She dotes on her goats. Everyone knows that.”

The other councillors are shaking their heads. I don’t think Hardy realizes he’s gone too far. The three of them might not agree with everything Elvira does, but they trust her to deal with them straightforwardly. By going behind their backs and exceeding his authority, Hardy just revealed his true colors to them.

He gives me a poisonous look. Eric Hardy’s a petty man, and he’s not going to forget that I took Mrs. Baker’s side in this dispute.

I’ve made an enemy today.