Chapter 42
Chapter Forty-Two
Olivia
“She’s alive!” I rush over to Callie’s booth, clipboard in hand. “You are so lucky I’ve been so busy over the last week. Between my parent’s Fourth of July dinner, the annual firework show in the park yesterday, and then planning the fundraiser, I haven’t even had time to breathe. Otherwise, I would’ve been busting yours and Lauren’s doors down to find out what happened the other night.”
The smile on her face is quickly erased. “I’m sorry! I?—”
“It’s okay. I’m disappointed I wasn’t included in things, but I’m glad you helped her take some action. I hated seeing her so unhappy. I’m still a little confused though. How did you go from telling me not to invite her out with us to running off to Amarillo with her in the middle of the night like she’s your best friend?”
“Alcohol?” She offers, flashing a hopeful smile. When I continue frowning, she droops her shoulders. “I had some preconceived notions about her from a long time ago. I realized she was pretty fun, and when I found out that she had some difficult things going on, I wanted to help. I’ve been in a relationship before where I thought we were on the same page, and it turned out we weren’t. If I could’ve found out sooner and saved myself some of the heartbreak, I would have, so I wanted to help give her that chance.”
“I’m sure Lauren appreciated it. I just wish you two would’ve trusted me to come along.”
“Drunk me was convinced you were going to kill the plan.” She chuckles.
I roll my eyes, then focus on my clipboard. “I see you have your booth number hanging up already. Here’s a few maps of all the booths in case anyone asks you for one. I’ll come around every hour, so I can keep a constant count of our total funds raised. I think if we are very transparent with where we are at, it will incentivize people to buy more and help us reach our goals.” I take in the booth and my checklist once again. “I think that’s it. Is Rhett going to help with the booth at some point, or do you need me to step in?”
“I think it’s just me. Rhett said he wanted to be around to support you.” She wiggles her eyebrows. “Speaking of keeping secrets, I think there’s something you need to fill me in on!”
Dodging her comment, I glance around the parking lot. “I haven’t seen Rhett here yet. Have you seen him?”
She softens with sympathy, and I feel oddly inclined to give her some sort of comfort. “He did text me this morning to wish me luck, and he left flowers and a card outside my bedroom door very early this morning. I’m talking before the sun was up because he somehow managed to get them there before I stepped out at 5:30.”
“I knew it! Something happened. Finally!” She shrieks gleefully. “Tell me everything.”
“I would love to, but I can’t right now. I need to go check in with the rest of the booths. Just let me know if you see Rhett.”
“He’ll be here.”
I nod, not feeling comforted. I’m so nervous about this event. I want it to go well, not even for myself, but for the dogs and Carol. The one thing that I think could calm my nerves right now is a hug from Rhett. His touch just makes everything right in the world.
I move along to the next booth, a small business that sells spices and rubs just outside of Dallas.
The man at the booth is dressed in a pearl snap shirt, jeans, boots, and a cowboy hat. I’m impressed he’s not dying in this heat. We set up a bunch of tents throughout the parking lot to keep the sun off everyone, but the intense early-July humidity still makes my forehead bead with sweat.
He reaches out his hand as we exchange greetings.
“Thank you so much for coming out here. I just wanted to do a quick run-through of my checklist.” I hold up my clipboard.
He nods and smiles along as I read off each of the items to him. When we are finished, he grabs my arm before I can dash off to the next booth. The sudden movement causes me to nearly jump out of my skin.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. I just wanted to let you know that the work you’re doing here is really important. You should be proud of yourself. Let me know if there’s anything more I can do to help out.”
“I’m just trying to help the dogs. They’re the real stars here.”
He gives me a nod, loosening his grip.
I move toward the next booth, but I’m once again stopped by the firm grip of a hand. This time it’s wrapped around my waist. The arm swivels me around until I find myself face-to-face with Rhett. He gently brushes a strand of hair from my face, giving me a reassuring smile before he kisses me. I instantly sink into him, relief washing over me. We pull apart and he takes the opportunity to wrap me up in a bear hug. As I inhale his scent and sink into the feeling of his arms wrapped around me, I feel at peace.
“You’re here.”
“Of course. I wouldn’t miss a second of this.” He presses a kiss to my forehead. “So, what can I help with? Have you heard from Carol yet?”
“Carol has been back and forth. My parents are supposed to help her bring some of the dogs over, but maybe you should check in with them. That’s the one part of our plan that was not the most ironed out.”
He nods, leaning in to give me another kiss. “On it!” He salutes me with a cheesy smile and marches off, pulling his phone from his pocket.
I round the tables to find Lauren’s booth, looking pristine. “Hey, Lauren! Just doing my rounds.” I glance down at my clipboard. “It looks like the first item on the list is an explanation of what happened the other night. You and Callie just took off. I was worried.”
She shrugs, and it’s then that I see something different in her eyes. Sadness lingered like a cloud around her from the moment I met her, but that sadness is replaced with betrayal and anger. “Jax came and picked us up, and I got some answers.” She grabs my arm. “I know you’re busy, so I promise I’ll fill you in later.”
“I’m holding you to that.”
“Good. I need to be held accountable.”
She’s smiling, but it’s tightlipped. I’m tempted to just call off all my responsibilities now, so we can ditch this place and catch up over a tub of ice cream, but the dogs need me just as much as Lauren does, if not more. So, I tell her, “I’m here for you,” before I wrap up my checklist and move on.
* * *
The event has gone without many hiccups, although both Rhett and my parents have claimed it’s no surprise considering the amount of time I dedicated to planning this.
While all the vendors take care of their booths, I’m helping manage the many dogs we brought to the parking lot. It’s crucial for everyone to see exactly what they’re supporting. Maybe I also thought it would help a few of these sweet angels find their forever home. Sue me for being optimistic.
A woman with thick, wavy brown locks approaches. She’s dressed in a button-up blouse and striped flowy pants that look like they’re worth more than everything in my closet. She crouches down to pet one of the pit bulls with a radiant smile on her face, not at all worried about creasing her trousers or getting slobber on her fancy outfit.
After giving the dog the attention he rightfully deserves, she glances up at me. “You’re Olivia Parker, right? You’re the one that made this whole event happen?”
“Yes, I am. And the adorable monster you’re petting is Gus. He’s up for adoption if you’re interested.”
“I’m always interested, but my husband will kill me if I bring another rescue home. We already have five.” She leans in closer to me. “But maybe I can convince him we need an even number, right?”
I already like this woman. “I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name.”
“Oh, of course! I’m Morgan Newton. I work with a PR firm outside of Fort Worth that helps non-profits.”
I lean in closer, immediately intrigued. “Wow, that’s so cool! Do you do that full-time?”
“Yup. We have some pretty generous donors that help give the firm the resources it needs. We only started a couple years back, but we are trying to grow so we can keep helping non-profits do good work like you’re doing with this event today.” She reaches into her pocket and pulls out a business card. “You should give me a call sometime. I’d love to take you to lunch and see if we could be a good fit for you… if you’re interested.”
I take the business card, unable to speak. There’s no way this just fell into my lap. This is almost exactly what I’ve been looking for! I glance around to see if anyone else is here to witness this, and I lock eyes with Rhett, who’s watching our exchange intently. I give him a knowing look, and he quickly refocuses his attention on the dog standing in front of him. Busted!
“Thank you so much, Morgan. I will definitely be reaching out soon. I’d love to hear more about the work you do.”
“Great!” She gives me a genuine smile. Even if Rhett helped align our paths, her smile reaffirms she thinks I’d be an asset, and it feels dang good.
The second she leaves, Rhett glides to my side with a sly grin on his face. “What was that all about? Was she offering you a job?”
“Don’t act innocent. I know you put her up to that. I can figure this out on my own, Rhett. I don’t need everyone getting involved. I’m trying not to be a burden.”
“I swear I didn’t put her up to anything. I’ve never seen or heard of that woman in my life.”
“Then why were you giving that look?”
“Because I want you to stay! And I could see on your face how excited you were about that job. Seeing you happy makes me happy.”
“How did I go from really not liking you to turning into mush every time you speak?”
“I’ll never tell my secret.” He smirks.
Before I can lean into him and tease him more, a man approaches one of the German Shepherd mixes I’m holding, crouching down to give her a gentle pat. After stroking her cheeks silently, he looks up at me. “Are you Olivia Parker, the one who planned this event?”
“Yes, I am.”
I glance at Rhett, and the look on his face looks guilty as hell. It’s immediately clear that Morgan might’ve been a fluke, but whoever this man is, he is here because of Rhett.
“My name is Chance Marlowe.” He reaches out his hand, and I shake it firmly. “This event is incredibly impressive. How much have you raised so far?”
I glance at the time on my phone. “I’ll be announcing an updated amount in fifteen minutes. I need to start collecting tallies from the booths again, but as of the last check-in, we had collected over twenty-five hundred dollars.”
He raises his eyebrows. “Like I said, impressive. I hear you work for an accounting firm now? Someone with your talent for marketing should be working for someone like us. I work for a small firm about half an hour from here. We work with a whole bunch of clients, hosting fundraisers and campaigns, but I’ve never seen something like this. You have a gift.”
“Thank you. That means a lot.”
He whips out a business card, thrusting it into my hand. “I know you’re busy today, but give me a call, and we can talk more.”
“Thank you.”
He shakes my hand once more and keeps moving. I swivel around to Rhett. “You’re meddling!”
“Haven’t you learned by now you don’t need to take on the world alone? Let me help.”
Glancing down at the ground, I consider what my counselor and I have been working on for the last several weeks. To be honest, I don’t want to figure all of this out alone. If Rhett wants to help me, is it so bad to accept that help?
“Thank you. I appreciate you.”
“You’re welcome. I just want you to be happy. It’s a total coincidence that it would also make me happy if you stayed here.”
“And me!” My mom calls from several feet away, apparently listening in on the whole conversation. She waltzes over to me and leans into my ear. “I don’t think we are going to be watching movies this week. You have a lot to catch me up on.”
“ Mom, ” I grit out, hip-checking her. She bursts into laughter.
“I need to count up the money in everyone’s jars, so I can announce the updated total. Can you both please behave for fifteen minutes while I’m gone? No more scheming, and no more embarrassing me.”
They laugh in unison. “You two are the worst!” I huff, quickly rushing off to the next booth, but I can’t help the smile playing on my lips and the fluttering in my heart. This could be my life now. Roots could be my home. I keep my eyes on the ground while I gather my composure again, trying to will away the tears of joy that are pooling in the corners of my eyes as I picture it. But there’s still a lot of work to be done.