“Thank you. The whole town has pulled together. Support for Royal has poured in—it amazes me and the donations to the Royal storm recovery fund grow steadily.”
“That’s so good to hear. It doesn’t seem possible the tornado happened more than two months ago. It’s almost mid-December and here I am still in the hospital.”
“At least you’re getting better,” she said, smiling at him and his wife.
“I’ve talked with members of the town council. We need an acting mayor and I hope you’ll be willing to do it.”
“Mayor Vance, thank you for the vote of confidence, but I think there are more qualified people. I’m sure the town council has others in mind.”
“I’ve heard all the things you’ve been doing and what you did the first twenty-four hours after the storm hit. You’re the one, Stella. I’m pushing for you so don’t let me down. From the sound of it, you’re already doing the job.”
“Well, I’ll think about it,” she said politely, wanting to avoid arguing with him in her first visit with him since the storm. “We’ve had so much help from other places that it’s really wonderful.”
She sat and visited a few more minutes and then left. His wife followed her into the hall.
“Stella, thanks again for coming. You’ve been good to check on him through all this.”
“I’m glad to see he’s getting better steadily.”
“We’re grateful. Come again. Think about what he said about filling in for him. He can’t go back for a long time.”
“I will,” Stella said, maintaining a pleasant expression as she left and promptly dismissing the conversation.
* * *
Tuesday morning she flew to Dallas with Aaron. He picked up his car at an agency near the airport and they headed to his house in a gated suburb north of the city.
“We’ll leave our things at my house. I’ve got the limo for you, and Sid will drive you to Fort Worth for lunch with your mother and next, to your interview at the Fort Worth TV station. After that he’ll drive you back to Dallas to a dress shop while I go to the office. If you’re having a makeover, you should have some new clothes. Get four or five dresses and a couple of suits.”
“Seriously?” she asked, laughing. “Have you lost it, Aaron? I don’t need one new thing, much less a bunch.”
“Yes, you do for the people I’ll introduce you to.”
“When you tell me things like that, I get butterflies again.”
“Ignore them and they’ll vanish. Buy some new duds and shoes—the whole thing. This is an investment in Royal. Get something elegant, Stella.”
She laughed again. “Aaron, you’re talking to me, Stella. I don’t need to look elegant to climb over debris in Royal.”
“You need to look elegant to raise money so we can get rid of the debris in Royal.”
She studied his profile, wondering what he was getting her into and if she could do what he wanted. Would it really help Royal? She thought about the money she had raised in Lubbock and took a deep breath. She would give it a try. “You’re changing me,” she said, thinking about how that was true in every way possible.