Men who look like him don’t exactly fall all over me. I should have been suspicious! Paul used his looks and charm to bowl me over, and it worked because I’m not used to that kind of male attention.
She was tall, her figure too round, and her long blonde hair was usually scraped back into a ponytail. The old pair of glasses perched on her nose didn’t help improve on her blandness, and she wore very little makeup because most of it irritated her skin. She had a tendency to just blend into the woodwork, and men usually made her a buddy rather than a girlfriend.
“Don’t cry over Paul. So what if he was attractive? He’s a thief and he’s definitely not worth it. I’d castrate the bastard if I could find him,” Randi said vehemently. “You obviously weren’t his first victim, but I’d certainly like to make sure you were his last.”
Lifting her head, Emily swiped at the tears on her face. “I’m not upset about him. We only dated for a few weeks, and I obviously didn’t even know him. But the kids—”
“The kids will survive, and we’ll think of something.”
The Youth Center was the heart of the town of Amesport. Not only was the sprawling old brick building a refuge for kids of all ages who needed some support and attention, but it was the place where everything important happened, from wedding receptions to weekly events for the senior citizens in the community. Everything good that took place in town happened here, and Emily would be damned if she’d let the community down by letting the Center go under. The people in this town, from the very young to the elderly, needed this gathering place and the activities and services it offered. She hadn’t returned to Amesport only to end up destroying the very Center that she herself had used when she was younger.
Amesport had always been home to Emily. The only time she had been away was to attend college in California. She’d stayed there for a while after graduation, trying to climb the corporate ladder, before finally realizing that she really didn’t give a damn whether or not she reached the top.
As the finance manager of a large charitable corporation, Emily had thought she’d feel good about her job, enjoy working in an environment where helping people came first. Unfortunately, helping people hadn’t really been the first thing on the management’s agenda, and she hadn’t felt good about working for the corporation at all. It had ended up being no different from working for a profitable corporation, the dynamics exactly the same. Sadly, the management had been more interested in politics and kissing up to the right people to get their next promotion than helping anyone.
When her mom had told her the previous director of the Center had retired, Emily had come back home to stay. It had been comforting that very little had changed during her absence, except for the fact that the Sinclair siblings had all decided to finally claim the peninsula outside of town, land that had been in their family for generations. Grady had been the first to build his home there, with all of the other members of the family putting up their own houses after his was completed. As far as she knew, Grady Sinclair was the only full-time resident on the peninsula, but all five of them had houses there, homes that usually sat empty.
“I have to do something,” Emily whispered to herself desperately, standing and pulling on her bright red jacket.
“I hear he eats women and small children as snacks,” Randi warned her ominously, her lips curving into a small smirk.
Emily smoothed the jacket over her generous hips and retorted, “I think I’d make a decent lunch.” Unlike her petite friend, Emily was far from small, and she’d probably make an adequate meal, even for a beast.
She had been back in Amesport and running the YCOA for over a year, but hadn’t once encountered a single member of the Sinclair family. Apparently, most of the family was either constantly traveling or lived elsewhere, using their houses here in Maine strictly as vacation homes. Grady Sinclair was rarely spotted in town, but his few not-so-friendly interactions with the locals had labeled him as a complete jerk. Residents here in Amesport weren’t accustomed to people being less than polite and friendly; almost anyone in town was more than willing to yack and gossip with a new arrival. Apparently, Grady Sinclair wasn’t exactly the amiable type, and Emily wondered why he had ever moved here to Amesport. The Sinclairs were from Boston. Sure, they had land here. But then, they owned real estate just about everywhere.
Randi stood, her smirk replaced by a look of concern as she asked, “Are you sure you want to do this?”
“I’m doing it,” Emily answered confidently as she scooped up her purse. “How bad can he be?”
Randi shrugged. “I’ve actually never met him either. But from what I’ve heard, he’s like the devil incarnate.”
Emily rolled her eyes. “Thanks. That’s comforting.”
Randi grabbed Emily’s arm as she made her way to the door and hugged her. “Be careful. Do you want me to go with you?”
Emily was touched that Randi was willing to go confront the beast with her, and she gratefully hugged her friend back. As she released her, she replied, “No. But can you watch over the Center for me? Most of the kids are gone for the evening because there’s a storm coming in, but there’s a bingo game going on in the recreation hall.”
Randi nodded and smiled. “I’ll wander over there and lock up when everyone is gone. They usually have good snacks.”
Emily gave Randi a mock frown, wishing she had her friend’s metabolism and fondness for physical activities. Randi could eat like a horse and never gain an ounce. “Watch yourself. Those ladies get dangerous if you try to swipe too many of their chicken wings,” Emily replied with a laugh.
Amused, Randi quipped, “They’ll never see me coming or going. I’m an expert at stealing food.”
Emily knew Randi meant the comment as a joke, but she knew her friend’s background, and didn’t doubt there was some real truth in Randi’s statement.
“Thanks,” Emily told her friend quietly.
Randi gave her a mock salute and a grin as she walked off toward the recreation room.
Emily sighed heavily as she made her way to the exit door, trying not to cringe at the thought of approaching Grady Sinclair. She’d gone up against some intimidating men during her time in California. Sure, he was a billionaire, but he was just a man, right? No different from any other rich guy she’d encountered in her corporate job.
It was dark and snowing as she drove her ancient truck toward the peninsula, knowing it was way past time for new tires, but they weren’t really in her budget. Honestly, she bought very little unless it was a necessity. With the cost of paying back student loans, and the low salary she was receiving for her current job, almost everything was beyond her means. She could make more money with her business degree somewhere else, but she’d rather do without than go back into corporate business. She just didn’t have the killer instinct to move up the corporate ladder while she was taking someone else down to get there. All she really wanted was to be in a job where she could do something good. And she’d found that at the Center. Unfortunately, she’d made the mistake of dating the wrong guy, which was the story of her life. Granted, the money he’d made off with hadn’t been a fortune, but it was a lot to her, money she just didn’t have to replace. It was the funds for the expenses of the Center for December, and all the money that had been raised throughout the year for the Christmas festivities. And the sum was way more than she could afford, or hope to get in donations.