Chapter 15 #4
“Sold for nine thousand dollars! That’s the way we do things in the valley folks. I want to remind you that ALL of our proceeds will help our local vets.”
Chelsey jumped up and whistled. Sparklers shot off, thanks to Rich who’d worked tirelessly throughout the morning to have everything ready. He timed them with the fireworks from the last night of the rodeo. It was spectacular. Chelsey was spectacular.
Their gazes caught and held longer than the cheers from the crowd. He stood from the bench and put an arm around her waist, hoping it wasn’t too much for her.
This is what he wanted. To be with the one woman he loved and had loved since their sophomore year of high school. He would stay here in Juniper Valley if it meant a lifetime with Chelsey Hooper.
“I’ve got to go make an announcement,” she said.
He didn’t want to let her go. Was that literally or figuratively?
“I’ll be back soon, promise.” She stepped away from him and walked confidently to the stage.
“Can we turn the music off? Thank you to everyone who came and those who helped make this night such a huge success,” Chelsey said into the mic.
“Getting to this point tonight has been met with every obstacle imaginable. From spilled cream to a broken water main, this wouldn’t have come together without my staff.
They are amazing. Can you all please stand? ”
She led the crowd in a round of applause. Someone handed her a piece of paper.
“The tallies are in.” Chelsey unfolded the paper, and her eyes widened. “Is this real?”
“Yes!” Dan shouted.
“Wow. Thank you everyone.” She waved the paper. “We raised over twenty-five thousand dollars!”
After the whistles and cheers died down, Dan took the mic.
“This festival has grown into something extraordinary. And that doesn’t happen by accident.” He held out a hand to Chelsey. “There is one person who has carried this town’s events on her shoulders for years. Who understands Juniper Valley not as a brand or a budget, but as a community.”
Applause broke out and Chelsey ducked her head. Dan waved his hands to quiet the audience.
“We’ve talked about growth,” her boss continued. “About legacy. And about leadership. So tonight, I’m announcing my retirement at the end of the month.”
Someone in the crowd booed while others cheered or gasped.
“I’m also proud to announce that Chelsey has been named the new CEO of Juniper Valley Event Planners.”
Taylor felt something shifting, settling, rearranging the mental map he’d been carrying around like gospel.
CEO.
His chest tightened, but not in the way it had a few minutes ago.
This wasn’t panic. This was recalculation.
Up until now, Juniper Valley had been a temporary setting in his mind.
A chapter, not the whole book. A place he could step into, orbit for a while, then leave cleanly once life called him back to something bigger, faster.
But Chelsey had just chosen this, chosen here.
And without asking permission, his thoughts shifted from when I leave to something far more inconvenient: What happens if I don’t?
Taylor let out a slow breath, eyes tracking her as she tried to find her footing in the middle of the applause.
She looked overwhelmed. A little stunned.
But underneath that look, Taylor recognized that steady core she had.
The one that didn’t waver even when everything around her did. She fit in here.
His jaw flexed.
He could make remote work possible. He’d already proven that. Flights weren’t a barrier—he could be anywhere he needed to be with enough notice. His life wasn’t as fixed as he liked to pretend.
So what was the real issue?
Control. Predictability. The comfort of knowing exactly where things were headed.
Juniper Valley didn’t offer that.
Chelsey didn’t offer that.
His gaze softened slightly as she laughed, breathless, still shaking her head like she couldn’t quite believe this was real.
Could he risk finding out that maybe the life he’d planned so carefully wasn’t the one he actually wanted?
Taylor huffed out a quiet breath, something almost like a laugh slipping under it.
“Unbelievable,” he murmured, but there was no real bite to it.
Because the truth settled in now, steady and unavoidable: If she was building a life here…he wasn’t as eager to walk away from it as he thought he’d be.
Stay a little longer.
See what happens when you stop treating this like a layover.
The crowd surged again, pulling attention back to the stage, but Taylor barely noticed.
For the first time since he’d arrived in Juniper Valley, the idea of leaving didn’t feel like relief.
It felt like something he might regret.
Chelsey smiled at him, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. Her gaze roamed over his face as if trying to find an answer there. Then with the tiniest nod, she strode confidently to the stage and her future.
But what if staying in Juniper Valley stifled him? What kind of relationship would they have if he stayed put in one place? He could make it work, he was sure he could, but did he want to? Only if it meant he was with Chelsey Hooper for the rest of his life.