No Ordinary Romance Read Free Page A

had attended more
meetings than she would like. What could she do? Every time the
Cabbage Patch Foundation tried to renovate a property, it was
plagued with permit problems and city ordinances.
    This time the foundation was immersed in a
zoning altercation. She was trying to build a youth home in an
affluent area of Omaha when all hell broke loose with the zoning
committee. Now here she was attempting to obtain the approval of
the city council chairperson Thomas Galvin and his nasty band of
council members.
    This was the first time
Connie had seen Thomas since the day Samantha was kidnapped. She
was so busy preparing year-end statements
and helping Samantha with her New Year's Eve party preparations
that she hadn't given Thomas a second thought. Well that wasn't
entirely true; Thomas had a starring role in her dreams every
night.
    The city council had a lot of business on the
books today. An owner of a nightclub was trying to renew his liquor
license. His establishment seemed to be a magnet for rowdy behavior
and violence. The owner tried to appeal his case to the city
council who voted against him 8-0. Thomas practically ripped the
man to shreds for being irresponsible and for the sake of the
neighborhood; the city council could not allow him to run a
business any longer.
    Connie studied Thomas, in a different era he
would have been in charge of his tribe’s war party. He had the
appearance of a warrior, everything about him said lethal,
dangerous, sexy, and undeniably a hunter. If it weren't for his
green eyes, she would have taken him for a full blood Native
American. His beard and mustache were neatly trimmed, but she often
wondered what he would look like clean shaven.
    Years ago, he was an up and coming lawyer
married to a powerful judge's daughter. Connie could still remember
his picture plastered over billboards all over Omaha. Call Thomas
Greywolf Galvin, contract lawyer, he will never leave you in a
bind.
    Then the scandal broke out. Thomas Galvin and
his wife were accused of running a financial swindle on their
clientele. The media relentlessly hounded the couple looking for an
exclusive. Once the dust settled Mrs. Galvin went to jail, and
Thomas Galvin went underground.
    He didn't stay out of the limelight for long.
He became a city councilman and started another law practice, now
he was simply known as Thomas Galvin. Fresh from his divorce he
became the most sought after bachelor in the state of Nebraska.
Connie spotted him at several fundraisers, he had even given her
the once over a time or two.
    One thing was certain when
Thomas was on duty as a city council member he was focused on
business. The carefree man who’d wanted an invitation to her bed was missing today .
She didn’t kid herself into thinking that he would be lenient on
her just because he wanted to get into her bed.
    It was Connie’s turn to plead her case for
expanding the work of the Cabbage Patch Foundation. She took her
place at the podium; she had everyone’s rapt attention except for
Thomas Galvin. He had his head buried in some folders as she
expounded on the need for youth homes in the Omaha community.
    “I would like to thank the Omaha City Council
for allowing me this opportunity to plead our case for a new group
home location in Midtown Omaha. The group homes we’ve established
in South Omaha, North Omaha, and Lincoln had been successful…” At
that moment, Thomas seemed to come to life, and his gaze rest
briefly on her for a moment before he cut her off.
    “Ms. Jacobs we appreciate the work that the
Cabbage Patch Foundation has done in our illustrious city. The
question is why would you rezone a property for a structure that is
so ill suited for that neighborhood?"
    "If you let me explain Councilman Galvin,
you'll understand why the location is perfect for a youth
home..."
    "Ms. Jacobs both residents and business
owners in this neighborhood are concerned about the element of the
proposed youth home. There is no way we can