Chapter 21
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Alexis couldn’t help smiling as she gazed around her mother’s living room. Her whole family was there, busily planning the fundraiser to save The Lighthouse Grill. There was a sense of excitement in the air that she found invigorating, and she felt grateful to have something to focus on other than her rocky marriage.
It was a beautiful, sunny Saturday morning, and the windows of the living room were open, letting in a fragrant breeze. Outside, birds chirped in the branches of the trees and the sound of someone singing in their backyard could be heard.
The Owens had worked together to make their planning meeting as enjoyable as possible. Dean had put on a playlist of soothing folk music, and Hazel had brought a plate of chocolate chip peanut butter cookies for them to munch on as they worked. Each of them was planning the booth that they were going to run at the fundraiser, or planning out the details of a contribution they could make.
She looked down at the notes she’d been making and smiled. She’d volunteered to run a free “make-over” booth where she would do people’s makeup and hair. She’d written up a list of all the supplies she would need, including a couple of mirrors, a comfortable chair, and plenty of beauty products. She felt excited about the prospect of making lots of people feel more beautiful and confident in themselves.
“What can I do at my booth?” Dean asked. He was leaning back in an armchair, staring at the ceiling. “I can’t offer to fix people’s cars from inside my booth at the pub.”
“True, but you could teach them how to fix things themselves.” Hazel smiled at her twin from where she was sitting on the rug in front of the coffee table. “And besides, you donating that car you restored for the auction is such a huge contribution already.”
“Thanks, but I want to be part of the excitement on the day of.” Dean sighed and tapped his chin with his pencil.
“You’ll think of something.” Alexis smiled at him. “We’ll all keep helping you brainstorm too.”
The doorbell rang, and Julia hurried forward to get it.
“Who’s that?” Hazel asked, cocking her head to one side in confusion. “Aren’t we all here already?”
“We needed a second person to run the water games with you, Hazel.” Julia’s eyes were twinkling mischievously. “So I asked Jacob.”
“Oh!” Hazel’s cheeks flushed a bright pink. “Oh—um, okay.”
Julia grinned and opened the front door. “Hey, Jacob! Come on in. Thanks so much for agreeing to this.”
“Happy to help.” Jacob stepped inside, smiling, and his eyes lighted on Hazel right away. He waved at her, and she waved back.
“I’ll let Hazel explain our ideas to you,” Julia said, looking impish. “I’m sure the two of you will come up with some great ideas together.”
Jacob crossed the room to where Hazel was and sat down on the rug next to her without hesitation.
The work was fun, and it helped keep Alexis’s mind occupied. She’d been doing her best to not think about Grayson and her worries about her marriage, but occasionally thoughts of her husband snuck in despite her best efforts.
As she was sketching a plan of her booth, making sure that all of the products she wanted to have on hand would fit in her allotted space outside the pub, she started to think about her early days in L.A., when she worked part-time for a makeup company. She paused in her sketching, suddenly flooded with memories about her journey to L.A. and her modeling career, which at first had blossomed magnificently and then had steadily tampered off into an almost nonexistent hobby. She remembered the first night she’d met Grayson. He’d seemed so captivated by her, and she’d felt as though she was on top of the world.
Her stomach twisted as she remembered it. She tried to shake herself out of her reminiscing, telling herself to focus on the task at hand. The past was in the past, and there was no point in her thinking about it now.
She heard Hazel giggle, and she glanced over at Hazel and Jacob, who were laughing over something as they planned the water games together. Her heart ached as she watched them, recognizing the way her sister looked at Jacob. It was clear from her shining eyes that she had a major crush on him, and her smile made it clear that she was hopeful things might work out between them.
Alexis took a deep breath, trying not to feel jealous and out of sorts. She’d seen yet another charge on her and Grayson’s joint credit card for an elegant restaurant, with a tab that was too expensive to have been for only one person. She had done her best to not think about it, but the uncertainty had been torturing her. She didn’t know if she should bring it up with Grayson or not. Part of her felt strongly that she should voice her concerns to her husband, but the idea made her squirm with worry. She didn’t know if Grayson would get upset with her for thinking something so despicable of him if it wasn’t true—and if it was true, wouldn’t he just lie to her anyway?
“Hey, Alexis, how’s it going?”
She looked up, startled out of her reverie, and saw Julia standing beside her. Her sister reached over and gave her a hug, and Alexis wondered if Julia had sensed the way her spirits were crumbling.
“Good. I’m making sure that everything I want to have on hand will fit in my booth.” Alexis laughed breathlessly. Her heart felt as though it was beating faster than usual, and she wondered if she was flushed from worry.
“I know it will be amazing.” Julia’s voice was full of conviction. “I really think this is going to be the ticket to saving the pub and restoring Mom’s strength. I think after this, she’s going to know that she can go on in spite of Dad’s lies and debts.”
Alexis nodded. “I think you’re right. I’m excited to see what this fundraiser does.”
“And I think it will show our friend, Judd McCormick, and his sons, too, how much the people of this town love The Lighthouse Grill. Maybe they’ll think twice about what they’re trying to do after this.”
Julia looked feisty as she spoke, and Alexis couldn’t help smiling at her affectionately.
The doorbell rang, and everyone turned toward the door in surprise.
“Who is it this time?” Hazel asked, looking up.
“Pizza delivery?” Dean suggested hopefully.
Julia scampered over to the door and opened it.
“Cooper!” she cried eagerly and gave him a hug.
Cooper stood on the front step grinning, holding the hand of his adorable little daughter and hugging Julia back with his free arm.
“I wanted to stop by with some good news.” He stepped inside, followed by Macey, who looked around curiously and noticed the cookies on the coffee table with an exclamation of eagerness.
“We love good news!” Hazel grinned at him. “Come on in. And help yourselves to some cookies—I see Macey eyeing the plate.” She laughed.
“Thanks, we will.” He stepped over to the cookie plate and picked up a couple of cookies, handing one to Macey.
“Come on, spill the good news,” Dean said. “Somebody bought my car already?”
Cooper laughed. “Not yet. But things are looking great. More items came in for the auction, and there’s some pretty awesome stuff. And I added one myself—I’m offering to do a free landscaping of a backyard.”
“Hey, that’s awesome!”
“Great idea.”
“Wow, thanks, Cooper.”
Cooper grinned and Julia leaned over to him and kissed his cheek. “Thank you. That’s huge. We really appreciate it.”
“Yay!” Macey cried, clearly catching onto the idea that something great was happening. Julia laughed and reached down to tickle the little girl’s tummy, which made her giggle.
After a few minutes, Cooper went to talk to Dean, and Alexis turned to Julia with a smile. “You three all seem to be getting along well.”
“We are.” Julia glanced at Cooper with what could only be described as a starry-eyed smile. “He’s such a great guy. He’s working hard to be the best father he possibly can be, but it’s like he doesn’t know how great he is. He’s so good about taking care of Macey. He really looks out for everyone—I mean, look at the way he’s jumped into helping us with the fundraiser even though he’s so busy.”
Alexis nodded, smiling at her sister. “That is really sweet.”
“I want to do something for him.” Julia played with the end of her long, dark ponytail, twirling the strands between her fingers as she watched Cooper talk and laugh with Dean. “But I don’t know what.”
“You’ll think of something.” Alexis felt happy for her sister, but her heart still ached over Grayson.
But at least I have this fundraiser to focus on, she thought, trying to bolster her spirits. It gives me something to do instead of just feel sorry for myself.
She looked around the room, at her family and friends talking and laughing excitedly about their plans, and she felt a faint glow of happiness fill her chest. She didn’t know what was going to happen to her, but at least for the moment, she was there with people she loved.