Be Bad, But Don't be a Liar

Katie froze. Had she really just accepted a job with no idea what it entailed? She would be paid twice as much as the employee who’d quit, but she had no idea how much they had been getting paid in the first place. And to top it all off, her plan to keep a low profile had just got her thrown into the lion’s den. Katie had known that fraternizing with a news anchor would lead to trouble—but fraternizing with the mayor? She might as well call Teddy with her GPS coordinates.

With a quick glance back at Sam, who avoided her gaze, she followed Zoe outside. “I don’t know if this is the best idea,” she said, struggling to keep up with Zoe’s power walk. “Sam—I mean the mayor—has paid for my hotel through tomorrow, and I’ve been thinking this may be a good time for me to get a bus ticket and continue on my way.” She felt a little sick as she said it, the lie rearing its ugly head. She had promised to visit Bev at the park the next day. Not only that, but the town was growing on her, despite its quaint appearance at first glance.

And then there was Sam. Except he wasn’t just Sam anymore. Katie stopped in her tracks.

Zoe was halfway down the block before she realized Katie wasn’t with her anymore.

“What’s going on?” she asked after she backtracked to where Katie stood. “If it’s about the hotel, don’t worry about it. I have a guest bedroom that just sits there. It’s yours to use as long as you need it.”

It was all too much. Everyone was too nice—too accommodating. They helped people without expecting something in return. And that made her feel guiltier than anything, because she knew she couldn’t return the favor, even if she wanted to. Which she did. Every day here, away from her old life, she realized how much she wanted this. For the first time, she felt like happiness was something she could have.

But it wouldn’t last.

How could it, when she was surviving on a fake identity and always looking over her shoulder?

Be bad, but don’t be a liar, a deceiver. Had Leo Tolstoy been living her life when he wrote that line?

“I think I need to go,” Katie said. She turned on her heel and ran in the opposite direction. Her feet pounded on the sidewalk, each step taking her somewhere, and yet nowhere at the same time. Katie didn’t have a destination. She didn’t even know where the bus station was. She got as far as the coffee shop, but someone opened the door as Katie passed and she plowed straight into a man’s hard chest and bounced back onto the sidewalk.

“Are you all right?” the man asked.

Katie managed to push herself into a sitting position, but pain shot through her elbow. “Ouch,” she said, grimacing. She glanced up and was horrified to see Sam standing before her.

“Here, let me help you,” he said. He held out his hand.

Katie looked at it. It was just a hand, and yet she was terrified to touch it.

“Please.” The way Sam said that one word, so gentle, it ignited something within Katie.

She took his hand, and he helped her to her feet. Katie didn’t let go. Sam’s hand was soft, yet strong. The touch sent sparks of longing spiraling through Katie, and she pulled back. “Thank you,” she said, her voice quiet.

Wait, why was she being nice to this guy? He was a liar. He couldn’t be trusted. Longing shifted into anger. Katie was mostly angry with herself for letting herself get caught up in this place. She wouldn’t make that mistake again.

“Why didn’t you tell me who you are?” she demanded. “Have you been having a good laugh with your buddies over it? Is that what I am—a source of entertainment?”

Sam held up his hands. “I’m sorry. I know I should have told you from the beginning. But it wasn’t for the fun of it. Frankly, it was nice spending time with someone who didn’t know who I was. I’ve never had that luxury before.”

His words stopped Katie’s rant. It was nice spending time with someone who didn’t know who I was. She was doing the same exact thing. Except she wasn’t going to come clean about who she was, if she could help it.

Zoe ran up, panting. “Dang girl, did you run track in high school or something?”

Images of running from the cops as a teenager came to mind. “Something like that.”

“I don’t get it,” Zoe said, her breathing still ragged. “We just offered you a job to help you get on your feet. I offered you a place to stay. What more do you want?”

Sam’s brows shot up. “You offered her your guest room?”

Zoe crossed her arms. “So what if I did?”

“I appreciate it, I do. But what I need right now is space,” Katie said, backing up. “Just—give me some time to think.” She limped down the street, but this time she had a destination in mind.

                                                                                   * * * * *

Self-conscious, Katie walked toward Bev, her steps slow. A few other men and women milled around, but when they saw Katie, they disappeared from view.

“That was quick,” Bev said. “I wasn’t expecting you back so soon.”

“Yeah, well, I needed to get away for a little while,” Katie said, grimacing at the memory of running away from Zoe like a schoolgirl having a tantrum. “Do you mind?”

“Not at all.” Bev offered a crooked smile and sat on a log that served as an outdoor seat. “It’s kind of stuffy in there,” she said, gesturing toward the tent, “and it seems like you have a lot on your mind.”

Katie took a seat on an adjacent log. No use dancing around the truth. “Why didn’t you tell me the man watching us this morning was the mayor?”

Bev cocked an eyebrow. “You seemed like you knew him.” She paused. “I need a moment of honesty from you. Did he send you here to talk to me this morning? Are you here to keep tabs on us?”

Katie looked Bev in the eyes. “I’ve never been real good with honesty, but I promise you that I didn’t know that man was the mayor until about ten minutes ago.” Katie sighed. “I’m a bit embarrassed to admit this, but since I’m trying out this honesty thing—I thought he was a news anchor.”

Instead of laughing at her, like Katie had expected, Bev offered a sympathetic squeeze on her arm. “What made you think that?”

“Everywhere Sam went there seemed to be a camera crew,” Katie said. “He was at the garage when CJ’s nephew towed me in. I just thought…” Her voice trailed off. Now that she’d said it out loud, it sounded stupid.

Katie’s face heated with embarrassment. Daniel had been right. From the first time she’d met him in Colorado, he always told Katie she didn’t belong on the streets—she was too naive.

“Don’t be so hard on yourself,” Bev said. “From the sound of it, the mayor is at fault, not you.”

Katie hesitated. “He offered me a job.”

Bev stayed silent. After an uncomfortable moment she asked, “What did you say?”

“I said yes.” Katie heaved a long sigh. “And then I ran away.”

Bev laughed. “You must not have lived on the street very long. If someone offers you money, girl, you take it.”

“Even if it’s the mayor?”

“Especially the mayor. Think of all you’ll have access to. The people who have power to change the town work in that office. That could be you.”

“But it would only be for a week,” Katie protested. “Something to do with a holiday event that everyone is stressing about.”

Bev frowned. “Right. I forgot about that blasted event. Guess they’ll be by to move our stuff soon.”

“Why would they do that?”

Bev laughed, but bitterness seeped through. “Can’t have the homeless folk ruining the ambiance, right?” She glanced at Katie and must have seen the horror etched across her features, because she quickly said, “Don’t let that stop you from taking this job.”

“How can I, when I know they are kicking you out of the park for an event I’m supposed to help plan?” Katie’s anger toward Sam rekindled. “Politicians are all the same. They act like they have your interests at heart, but really, they’re all in it for themselves. It’s all about broken promises and re-elections.”

Bev shook her head. “The mayor is a good man and has done what he can for us. I might not like a lot of things that have happened since he’s been in office, but there’s a lot of pressure on him and he’s been doing his best to try to please everyone. That’s not an easy task. It’s not him that needs to be fixed, it’s the system.”

Katie balked at Bev’s words. “How can you stand up for him? He tossed you to the side, shoving you into a desolate park corner in hopes that the town would forget you exist.”

“No, the city council did that. They weren’t going to give us any supplies, but Mayor Freedman convinced them that if they did, we wouldn’t have to be on the streets begging. That changed their minds right quick.”

So, Mr. Mayor wasn’t the bad guy. That didn’t make him a good guy, though. A lot of gray area existed between the two. She would know—she’d invented the gray area.

Which gave her an idea—

Katie grinned. Sam wasn’t going to know what hit him.

“Bev, you’re right. A person can do a lot of good when they’re in the position to make changes. I think I’ll take that job after all.”