He has a plan to save his town. She has the power to decide if it survives. Falling for each other was not in the funding proposal.
Theo Scavo came home to Brinewick to protect it from becoming the kind of pretty coastal town where locals can no longer afford to stay. As the community development director, he has fought for every piece of the Station Renewal: the freight shed, the platform, the public green, the diner that smells like coffee and griddle onions, and the year-round people who make the town more than a postcard.
Arden Quist, the state transit liaison, oversees the final funding review. She believes public projects survive on clear budgets, durable plans, and hard choices — not sentiment, no matter how charming the town or how persuasive the man arguing across the table.
Theo thinks Arden’s caution could sand the heart out of Brinewick’s future. Arden thinks Theo’s vision could collapse under the weight of its own idealism. They are both smart. They are both stubborn. And every late-night planning session in the Salt Ledger Room makes it harder to remember why wanting each other is a terrible idea.
With the final hearing approaching, the station’s future depends on compromise neither of them wants to make. But love, like infrastructure, only lasts when it is built honestly.
Titles in the Brinewick Station After Dark series include: Last Train to You ~ Delayed by Desire ~ Platform Rules ~ Hot Under the Station Lights ~ Stranded with the Local ~ Home on the 5:42 ~
This story may contain language, violence, and/or sexual situations intended for an adult 18+ audience.
