She smiled, feeling better.
“I’ll tell you one thing,” he said, “people are really grateful to you for all you’ve done. I’ve had a lot of people out of the blue mention your name. I guess they assume everyone knows who you are and they’ll just start talking about ‘Stella did this’ or ‘Stella did that.’”
“I’m always happy to help.”
“A lot of people are also talking about Royal needing an acting mayor because it’s obvious now that the mayor can’t return to work anytime soon. And people I talked to are mentioning your name in the same breath they talk about needing an acting mayor.”
“Aaron, I’m an administrative assistant. A lot of us are helping others.”
“You’ve been a big help to lots of people and they appreciate it.”
She shook her head and didn’t answer him as he pulled to a stop at the front door of the Cozy Inn.
“I’m letting you out here and heading back to the club. I’ll see you at seven.”
“Let’s just meet in the lobby in case I get delayed.”
“Sure,” he said as a doorman opened her door and she stepped out. She walked into the inn without looking back.
In her room she went straight to her mirror to study her figure. She didn’t look one bit different from when she had checked earlier, but she felt different. For one minute she gave herself over to thinking if only—if she were married to Aaron this would be one of the most joyous occasions for her.
With a long sigh, she stopped thinking about being married to Aaron and faced the reality that Aaron was in his thirties and still single. She thought back to the night she had met him after the storm. She had been comforting Paige Richardson whose husband, Craig, had died in the tornado. Others had come to call on Paige and someone introduced Stella to Aaron. He was staying in a motel on the edge of Royal, but he offered to take Stella back to the Cozy Inn. They had talked and one thing had led to another until they were in bed together—a rare event to her.
The next morning, when she told Aaron the night was totally uncharacteristic of her and she wanted to avoid further contact, he had agreed to do whatever she wanted and also told her he wasn’t in for long-term relationships. She really didn’t know much about him. That night they had had fun and lots of laughter, lots of talking, but she was beginning to realize that none of their conversation was about anything serious or important. Last night with him could be described the same way. She knew almost nothing about him and he hadn’t questioned her very much about her background. Aaron Nichols would be the father of her child, and it was time she found out more about him. Whether he hated or loved becoming a dad, that was what had happened and they both would have to adjust to the reality of parenthood.
She went to her laptop to read her emails, answering what she needed to, and then left for Royal Memorial Hospital.
The west side of town had taken the brunt of the F4 tornado. Town hall where she had worked was mostly reduced to debris. Almost all three stories of the building had been leveled. The only thing left standing was part of the clock tower—the clock stuck at 4:14 p.m., a permanent reminder of the storm. She couldn’t pass it without shivering and getting goose bumps as she recalled the first terrifying moments.
Approaching the hospital, she saw the ripped and shattered west wing. As far as she could tell, rebuilding had not yet begun.
As soon as she went inside the building, outside sounds of traffic and people were shut out. She stepped into an elevator. A nurse had already boarded and Stella realized it was Lark Taylor. They had known each other since childhood, but had become closer in the weeks after the storm. Some accused the ICU nurse of being unfriendly, but Stella couldn’t imagine how anyone could feel that way.