The Mountain Between Us. Cindy Myers

your company that we couldn’t do just as well buying stocks or municipal bonds on our own?” Doug asked.

      “Do you have years of investment experience?” Gerald asked. “Do you have contacts with emerging firms who are hungry for investment capital? Are you familiar with the markets in Europe and Asia? Can you find out about new opportunities before they reach the market?” He pointed a finger at Doug. “And most important of all, how well have you done investing on your own so far?”

      “And you’ve got references for these other towns you’ve helped?” Junior asked.

      “Absolutely. I’d be happy for you to contact any of them. But I must ask when you talk to them you don’t mention the opportunity I’m about to offer you. It’s something that’s just opened up this week and it’s only available for limited participation.”

      “Can you put that in English?” Junior asked, garnering laughter from the audience.

      Gerald smiled. “I have a Swedish technological firm. They specialize in the development of medical equipment. They have a new line of hardware to be used in corrective surgery: appliances for use on children who are born with birth defects, for instance, or soldiers injured in war. It’s absolutely cutting-edge stuff, but they need investors to bring it to market. The returns on this kind of investment stand to be enormous. When word gets out about this opportunity, it will be closed to new investors in a matter of hours.”

      “What if we need more time to consider this?” Paul asked.

      “Not to worry,” Gerald said. “I’m sure something else just as good will come along.”

      “But would something else give us the chance to help children—and soldiers?” Cassie spoke from the audience, and several around her nodded.

      “I’ll be happy to answer any questions you may have.” Gerald surveyed them all, waiting.

      When no one spoke up, Lucille rose. “Thank you, Mr. Pershing. We’ll discuss your generous offer and get back to you.”

      He smiled warmly and strode from the café. As soon as the door closed behind him the room erupted in the clamor of a dozen voices speaking at once. “How can we pass up such a great opportunity?” “If something’s too good to be true, it’s too good to be true.” “Is what he’s proposing even legal?”

      “Quiet, everyone.” Lucille banged her gavel. “I’d like to poll the council.”

      The vote was two and two. Katya and Junior thought the town should invest at least part of their funds with Gerald.

      “Lucille is a good judge of character, and if she trusts Mr. Pershing, I think we can trust him,” Katya said.

      “If we’ve got the opportunity to make some real money to help out the town, I don’t see how we can pass it up,” Junior added.

      “It sounds too risky to me,” Doug said.

      “I agree,” Paul said. “If this scheme of his is so great, how come I’ve never heard of anything like it before?”

      “So you keep up with the financial news now, do you?” Junior asked.

      “I think we should table a final vote until we can do more thorough research,” Doug said.

      “I think we should give the guy a chance and see what he can do for us,” Junior said.

      “Madam Mayor, what do you say?” Katya asked.

      “I only vote to break a tie,” Lucille protested.

      “Looks like a tie to me,” Bob said. “You know this guy better than anybody. . . . Do you think we can trust him?”

      She felt the eyes of everyone in the room focused on her. What could she say? That she’d had one dinner and a lunch with the man? That he’d kissed her and felt her up and left her breathless? That she was drawn to him in a way she hadn’t been drawn to a man in years? “I don’t know him that much better than any of you,” she said. “He’s only been in town a little over a month. But I have no reason not to believe what he says. And the truth is, we need to find some way to put more money in the town budget, or this time next year we could very well be broke.”

      This last statement caused a new eruption of voices. Lucille banged her gavel. “Are we ready to take an official vote?”

      This time the vote was three to one, with Doug joining those in favor of investing the city’s savings with Gerald. As treasurer, Doug would make the arrangements for a trial sum, to be followed by additional money if the first returns were promising.

      She was pleased, and not too surprised, to find Gerald’s car parked in front of her house when she arrived home after the meeting. He stepped out to meet her on the front walk. “From the smile on your face, I’d say the meeting went well,” he said, taking her arm and walking with her to the door.

      “Oh, you think that, do you?”

      “Lucille, dear, you have such an expressive face. And I’ve made a life’s work of reading people’s thoughts in their eyes.”

      “Is that a necessary skill for an investment counselor?”

      “And for a poker player,” he said. “The difference between the two disciplines is not as much as you might imagine. So I take it the town council voted to let me handle Eureka’s investments?”

      “Yes, Doug Rayburn, our treasurer, will be contacting you to make the arrangements.”

      “You’ll be surprised what I can do for you,” he murmured. Not waiting for an answer, he pulled her close for a kiss filled with more passion than she’d expected.

      “Gerald,” she said, somewhat flustered when he finally broke away.

      He grinned, teeth glinting in the glow of the porch light. “Have I mentioned I find women in power incredibly sexy? Watching you tonight, presiding over the meeting, was an incredible turn-on.”

      She hoped the darkness hid her blush. “Honestly, Gerald. I can’t think of anything less sexy than a town council meeting.”

      “It’s all in how you look at it, I suppose.” He stepped back, though his hands lingered on her arms. “You are an incredibly sexy woman, Lucille Theriot. And one day you’re going to give me a chance to prove it to you.”

      He turned and walked back to his car, his posture so confidant, almost cocky, as if he’d already gotten what he wanted from her. She fumbled with her key in the lock, trembling from both the force of his embrace and his words. For so many years she’d pushed aside her sensuality, like the fancy dresses that collected dust in the back of her closet. It was something nice to have, but not necessary for her happiness.

      Now Gerald made her think differently. Maybe in denying the sexual part of herself she’d been ignoring something essential, something that was as important to being a woman as her ability to multitask or her skill at balancing a budget. Something she now had a chance to rediscover, a better gift than all the money he might make for the town, and certainly a lot more enjoyable.

      CHAPTER FIVE

      Something about sitting practically naked on a paper-covered table in a doctor’s office made Maggie feel like a five-year old—vulnerable and at the mercy of everyone who was bigger than her. She had to fight the urge to curl into a ball and suck her thumb. “You appear to be in good health, Maggie, so I don’t anticipate you’ll have any problems with the pregnancy,” Dr. Racine, an obstetrician Maggie had selected from the phone book, tapped away at her computer keyboard. “Of course, being a first-time mother at your age does put you in the category of high risk. I want to order an ultrasound and some blood work. I’m going to write you a prescription for prenatal vitamins and I’ll give you some instructions on diet. You want to eat healthy, but I don’t want you to gain too much weight. And you’ll need a nuchal translucency scan after twelve weeks, a maternal protein measurement,