Everywhere She Goes

She asked about those committees, and he tried to give her a sense of city council personalities and how they related to the Infrastructure Advisory Board, the Arts, Beautification and Culture Committee and Economic Development Committee, all of which would demand her involvement.

Cait McAllister remained poised, articulate and knowledgeable. She never faltered. She was so damn cool, he tried to shake her, jumping topics from zoning to budgets, EPA requirements, water reclamation, citizens versus tourists. Nothing. She jumped with him.

She’d driven around town this morning, she told him, and already had some observations.

“I admit,” she commented, “that I was dismayed by the, er, shopping strip that was my first impression of Angel Butte.”

“All that was county until an extensive annexation took place a year ago.”

“I imagine that was good for the tax base.”

“Yes and no.” He ran a hand over his jaw, feeling the scrape of whiskers. “The campaign for the annexation was intelligently run. Unfortunately, nobody did any planning to speak of for handling the newly annexed areas. Your brother may have talked to you about the challenge it provided the police department. Our former mayor and a good part of the city council were opposed to expanding the number of officers in the department. Instead, they were spread so thin, in no time problems arose. I imagine it goes without saying that we’ve had plenty of other similar issues.”

Her eyes had widened. “I can imagine. Sewer, water, fire department... I’ll bet there’s a huge backlog in approving building permits.”

Noah smiled grimly. “Two city council members are major local developers. You’d think they’d have foreseen the problems, but apparently not. Now they’re unhappy.”

A flash of humor on her face almost took his breath away. “I have yet to meet a happy developer,” she murmured.

He chuckled, a rusty sound. “Now that you mention it...”

Her smile lit her face. He stared for too long; the smile died and her gaze became wary.

“What do you see as priorities for new projects?” he asked gruffly to cut short the moment.

“I can only address the obvious,” Cait pointed out. “There may be urgent need for storm-water projects or the like. I see Bend is expanding their water reclamation facility, for example.”

He nodded. “We have some of the same issues. I’ve been looking at possible sites for a new sewer treatment facility. But go with the obvious. What jumps out at you?”

“Some visual mitigation of the less than appealing approach to town,” she said bluntly. “Broader streets, landscaping, at the least. It’s great to have those kinds of businesses, both for the convenience of citizens and visitors alike and from a tax standpoint. But it’s ugly. Not an appealing first impression of what proves to be a charming town. We might even consider a bypass route.”

He nodded. That was on his list, too.

“Second, if Angel Butte is to continue to draw tourists in the numbers I saw this morning, I’d recommend major infrastructure work aimed at improving bicycle and pedestrian traffic. Right now, parking downtown is an exercise in frustration. You’ve got people jaywalking everywhere, and I’d be scared to ride a bike on most of the existing roads. You don’t want people staying at local resorts and inns to have to get into a car to go out for dinner, for example. They may end up irritated, and they may even decide to drive up to Sunriver to eat instead. Looking to the future, I’d argue that this would be an economically intelligent direction.” A wry smile flickered. “You might prevent some traffic fatalities besides.”

“I came close to taking out a tourist myself the other day,” he admitted. “And as it happens, I own Chandler’s Brew Pub on the main street. Parking is grossly inadequate. That’s part of why receipts lag behind my locations in Sisters and Bend.”

He saw no surprise on her face, which meant she’d done her research on him in advance. He had expected no less.

“You must have questions.”

She did. Some he’d anticipated, some not. All of them gave him a good idea of how smart she was.

When she seemed satisfied, he considered her for a minute. She withstood his scrutiny with no more than a slightly raised chin. He was amused to see that her chin was on the square side. When she jutted it out, the effect was pugnacious.

“Would you take the position if I offer it?” he asked abruptly.

Even that didn’t shake her composure. “Assuming compensation is adequate, I believe I would.”

“When would you be able to start?”

A ghost of some emotion showed in her eyes. He wished he had some idea what she was thinking. Not knowing worried him.

“Immediately,” she said after a moment. “I plan to stay with Colin for a few days, at least. I can continue work on my dissertation without being in Seattle. I’ll need to make a few trips back, of course, but...I find myself at loose ends right now. This job would suit me very well.”

Right now? “I’m looking for someone who will be making a long-term commitment, not taking the job as a brief fill-in.”

“I didn’t mean to suggest I was thinking short-term.”

Noah nodded. “I’ll need to follow up on your references. I can promise to get back to you within a matter of days.”

She rose gracefully to her feet. “Thank you for your time. You have my phone number.”

He stood, too, aware that he physically intimidated many people but also sure that, for some reason, she wasn’t among them. “I do,” he agreed.

They shook hands again. Hers was a little warmer this time. He squeezed gently and let her go sooner than he would have liked. He walked her to the outer office and watched as she strode away toward the elevator or stairs, the swing of her hips subtle but sexy as hell.

Not until he turned did he realize that his PA had been watching him. He saw curiosity in her eyes.

“How did the interview go?” she asked, just as she had after all the previous ones.

He grunted. “Good. If her references pan out, I think she’s the one.”

She cleared her throat. “You do know—”

“That her brother is Captain McAllister? I know.” He frowned. “How do you know?”

Ruth smiled. “We chatted.”

“Did you chat about anything else I ought to know?”

She tilted her head while she thought. “No, I don’t think so,” she said after a moment. “She seems like a lovely young woman.”

Lovely was definitely one word for Cait McAllister, Noah reflected as he returned to his office. Sexy was another. The fact that he was thinking that way about her had the potential to be a huge problem. Did he really want to hire a woman likely to distract him the way she had today?

Muttering under his breath, he went to the window and stared out. Not, he told himself, because he might be able to see her walk out to her car—although there she was, and he couldn’t have taken his eyes off her if the most aggravating of city councilmen was tapping on his shoulder. Looking toward the cinder cone usually clarified his thinking.

Somehow that didn’t happen with him focused on Cait McAllister’s long-legged stride, the sway of her hips, the gleam of spring sunlight on her hair.

Not until she got into a little blue car that, a moment later, joined the traffic on the road and passed out of his limited line of sight could he look away.

“Damn,” he said aloud, but quietly.

There were other words he could use as descriptors for the woman who had just left his office. Brilliant, he suspected, was one. Definitely highly qualified.

Which made him blessed that, for whatever reason, she wanted a job in Angel Butte, Oregon.

What he’d really like to know was why she was willing to take it. His gut said she was desperate for a change. He wondered if her brother would know what she was trying to leave behind.