A Reborn Bride Pearl Emerging from Dust by Sally Garcia

Calliope knew that if she just walked away, the folks from Ivory Town would probably keep making trouble for Oxcreek Town. So, she made sure to say what she needed to, right there in front of everyone from Ivory Town.

"Oh, by the way," she said, flashing a sly smile, "some of the big shots who work with Oxcreek? Yeah, I know them personally. If you ever need help, you could just ask them. It'd be the same as asking me, really."

She said it so casually, but everyone from Ivory Town just stared at her, wide- eyed.

Nobody could quite figure out who this Calliope really was, or why she was so confident. But one thing was clear: the people from Ivory Town were suddenly a lot more cautious.

They could tell that Calliope and Silas, standing quietly at her side, weren't the kind of people you wanted to mess with. If they pushed too far, things probably wouldn't go well for them.

Then, Calliope turned sharply to face the mayor of Ivory Town.

"Isaiah, right?"

He nodded, swallowing hard.

"If you've still got any complaints about Oxcreek, why don't you say them now? I'd

be happy to pass them along to the folks up the chain, see if you're still the best fit to run this town."

icy, "after what happened today, you all ought to apologize to us, right here

like how Oxcreek responds.

was done playing

muttered, "She's bluffing. There's no way she knows people higher up.

I have friends in high

glinting with confidence. "Oxcreek's growing fast. That means good things for everyone around here. But if you want to play hardball, I can make sure Ivory Town never sees a

as for me not

She pulled out her phone. "Let's see what

think about how

lot for Oxcreek lately, and just so happened to have the county commissioner on

for a moment in an easy, familiar

Isaiah. Go ahead-listen. You might be in for

like it might bite him, but he took it. A few minutes later, after a barrage of ster words from the other end, he

I'm sorry. I was wrong!" He sputtered, nodding rapidly. "We

We'll never do it

on the line, desperate to

on as mayor. Can you help me out,

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