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."

tone turning icy, "after what happened today, you all ought to

how Oxcreek responds. And it won't just be payback. It'll

was done

in and muttered, "She's bluffing. There's no way she knows people higher up. She can't be here forever. She's

out a soft, amused chuckle. "You don't know whether I have friends in high places? Well, you're welcome

"Oxcreek's growing fast. That means good things for everyone around here. But if you want to play hardball, I

for me not

"Let's

think about how

through her contacts. She'd done a lot for Oxcreek lately, and just

called, chatted for a moment in an easy, familiar tone, and then handed the phone

You might be in for a

him, but he took it. A few minutes later,

was wrong!"

We'll never

pleaded with whoever was on the line,

as mayor. Can you

handed the phone back