Page 24 of Governor

The only reason I remember our governor’s name is because I didn’t vote for the asshole, and it was my first ever election. His administration was embroiled in scandals even before he was sworn in, and it’s ground our state legislature to a halt in terms of getting anything passed. Everyone’s too busy covering their asses or caught up in committee investigations.

Even a bi-partisan gun safety bill to revise how concealed carry applications and background checks are handled got hijacked by NRA lobbyists and ended up dying before it ever left committee.

These two people before me sound…passionatein terms of politics.

I kind of wish I was, too. I want to help people. I want to do good things.

Theseare the kinds of things I wish I knew.

“Can you teach me all of this?” I ask during a break in the conversation.

She smiles, revealing a cute dimple in her left cheek. “Sure. A lot of it’s history. Some of it’s insider knowledge. Right place, right time. Like Daddy says, time is never on your side.”

“Doesn’t feel like it, does it?” I note.

She shrugs, and it’s such a Carter-like gesture I think maybe they’re perfect for each other despite the ache that settles inside my soul over that thought.

She tips her head at us. “But Nana used to say that you should always take time to make time, or else you’ll regret it.”

“Which one’s right?” I ask.

“Both,” Carter quietly says, his gaze resting heavy and sad on me. “I can tell you from experience that it’s both.”

Chapter Eight

I have no idea what we’re cooking. As the preparations continue, it’s obvious Susa and Carter know what the hell they’re doing. She’s not referring to a cookbook, or to a recipe on her phone, as far as I can tell, and neither is he. They teach me how to brown meat, how to make sauce, how to stuff the…whatever it is we’re stuffing.

More than the cooking, they’re discussing Florida politics. I’m doing my desperate best to listen and follow along and not get lost. Carter is picking Susa’s brain about everything from lawmakers to laws to lobbyists.

She’s a virtual encyclopedia of information. I mean,literally, she’s a political savant, and not only regarding Florida politics. She’s quite knowledgeable about national-level issues, too. Beyond the actual facts, she also knows invaluable context and backstory.

Once everything’s in the oven and I volunteer to scrub pots while they talk—because, in all honesty, I’m enjoying listening to their discussion and how intense they are about it—it allows me a few minutes to actually focus all my attention on the subject matter.

During a brief lull in the conversation I find my voice. “Did you mean what you said in class earlier?” I ask her.

She turns to me. I see the flecks of sapphire in her light blue eyes and know I’m in love with her, even if I can’t say anything. Getting shot down by her would not only be expected, it would likely draw pity from her, and Carter, that might be too much for me to emotionally deal with right now.

“Which part?” she asks.

“About making your own name?”

“Absolutely.” She leans against the counter, crossing her arms over her chest before she tips her chin up and firmly meets my gaze. “I’m not just Daddy’s DNA. I think he wanted a boy, but he got me. He wants me to take over his position in the state party one day. I have no desire to spend the rest of my life introduced to everyone as Benchley Evans’ daughter, Susannah.”

It flashes through my mind that I’m seeing therealher, the strong, no-bullshit Susannah Evans, a woman the whole world is going to know one day.

Thisis where it starts. Right here, tonight, in her kitchen. It’s big—huge. I’m sure of it.

I’ve never been more certain of anything in my life.

She’s a force of nature, and we’re witnessing the emergence of the butterfly whose wings create the hurricane.

I want to be swept away by the force of her winds, sucked into her vortex and held captive in the eye of her storm.

When I shift position, my gaze meets Carter’s and…for a moment, there’ssomethingthere, but it’s like he’s dropped into inscrutable mode again. Before I can even ask him about it, he’s back to smiling Carter.

“What about tutoring me?” I ask. “I’m going to need it.”

She nods. “I’d be happy to.” A playful smile quirks her lips. “I’ll take it in trade.”