Elinor stepped forward, feeling the need to stiffen her backbone in the face of danger.
Mayor Stephens laid a hand on Cole's shoulder. "This is Cole Whittier, Elly. He grew up in Bayville and went off to make his fortune."
"And succeeded very well from what I hear," Elinor murmured before she could stop herself.
A lazy, satisfied smile dawned on Cole's face, his eyes fastened on her once again as the mayor went on with the introduction. "And this here is Elinor Prescott. Elly's one of the Oakleigh Prescotts. You remember Oakleigh, don't you, Cole? Big old antebellum house out near 65? Must be almost a hundred and fifty years old."
"I remember the house." Cole's remarkable eyes darkened. "But I don't seem to recall Elinor." The hesitation before her name was infinitesimal and heavy with inference.
His eyes never appeared to stray from her face, but Elinor had the impression that he could have described her in the fullest detail, from her apparel to her measurements. The thought irritated her.
"Oh, Elly's like you, Cole. A lost sheep returned to the fold." The mayor laughed heartily. "Only she didn't grow up here. Her papa, Jeffrey Prescott, left right after Elly was born. She just moved back here a few years ago."
The older man hugged Elinor affectionately with one arm. "But even though she didn't grow up here, our Elly's all Prescott. Why, she fits in as if she'd lived here her whole life."
"Thank you, Mayor," Elinor said, his compliment warming her even as she struggled with embarrassment. Cole Whittier couldn't be interested in the comings and goings of the Prescott family.
Cole reached out to take her hand. "It's very nice to meet you, Elinor." Her name rolled off his tongue as if he enjoyed the syllables.
She shook his hand, schooling her features into a pleasant, meaningless smile. "Lovely to meet you, too, Mr. Whittier."
A flash of amused comprehension lit his face. Elinor suppressed the urge to bite her lip. Darn him. He'd picked up on her prickliness and apparently wasn't holding it against her.
Retaining possession of her hand, Cole shook his head with mock mournfulness. "How cruel of your father to deprive us Bayville boys of your charming presence all those years ago."
"I'm sure you wouldn't have found me charming, Mr. Whittier. I was a very ordinary child," Elinor retorted.
"Now, that," he said with raised eyebrows, "I cannot believe."
Elinor did bite her lip then. Something about this man made her want to laugh even when she knew she shouldn't. His smile invited her to laugh with him, which was pretty ridiculous when she could see that he was laughing at her.
The mayor stood watching their interchange, his astute gaze flying back and forth between them. "I must agree with Cole," he joined in, bantering. "Such a remarkable woman as Elly must have been a lovely child. Did you know, Cole, that our Elly runs an accounting business?"
Cole shook his head, still smiling at her as she tugged her hand free.
"Yes, yes. She keeps half the town's books straight," the mayor joshed.
"That must be quite a job," Cole said.
"Not really," Elinor denied, longing for a bolt hole to avoid the intensity of his scrutiny.
"Well, why don't we all sit down," the mayor suggested to her relief. "Cole, you sit here at this end. The rest of you find your places."
The other council members hurried to their seats, their faces excited and hopeful. Elinor slid into her seat, puzzled. What reason did Cole Whittier have to sit in on the council meeting? She'd assumed the mayor had merely invited him by to show off. Millionaires weren't common in northeast Louisiana, and Mayor Stephens's political aspirations were well known. Bagging a local millionaire as a supporter would be quite a coup.
"Okay, everyone," the mayor began. "Let's deal with our regular agenda so we can get to some very exciting news." He beamed, his smile growing wider as it stopped on Cole.
In the next half hour, the mayor, acting with unusual efficiency, raced the council members through the items on their agenda. When the last item had been addressed, he cleared his throat impressively.
"Because Cole here is a loyal Bayville son, and because our little town has a lot going for it..." The mayor paused before continuing. "... we have the possibility of a new Whittier Incorporated factory being built in Bayville."
An excited babble erupted around the long table. Elinor frowned. She vaguely remembered hearing of Whittier Incorporated, but she couldn't remember what the company produced.
The mayor launched in. "Cole's looking at a piece of land, the old Lanier property, down by the river. And if he decides on that land, he'd like the town council to consider some zoning changes. But before we do that, we'll need to see what kind of tax incentives we can offer Whit- tier, Inc. I think with the kind of revenue a project of this size would bring to Bayville that a sizable property tax reduction is reasonable—"
"Mayor?" Elinor broke in as the older man took a breath. "Before we get down to tax reductions, don't you think Mr. Whittier should give us some more information? Like how large a factory? How many workers he'll be employing? Exactly what the factory will produce?"
Several other council members around the table nodded their agreement as she spoke.
"Of course, of course, Elly," Mayor Stephens agreed testily. "We'll get to all of that. But I think we could make some tentative offers in good faith. After all, Cole grew up here. He's not likely to do a dirty deal on his own hometown."
Elinor straightened the papers in front of her. "I wasn't suggesting that Mr. Whittier was attempting anything underhanded. I'm simply interested in looking at the impact on the town before we commit ourselves to anything. Bayville isn't exactly impoverished. We have a very rich agricultural base here. And with that in mind, it's important to look at any possible environmental concerns."
"You're perfectly right, Elly," the older man replied, his tone of voice much less affectionate than earlier.
"If I may intervene?" Cole spoke up. "My company is compiling a complete prospectus for the council members. I believe we will be able to answer all your questions and more."
He paused, smiling easily at Elinor. "In the meantime, I can tell you that we're talking about a sizable plastics factory which would employ from two hundred to four hundred workers from this area."