Chapter 10 #2
She scanned her list of events. “We’ll begin Friday night by illuminating the lighthouse to symbolize the transition from winter to spring.
Then we’ll spend the next six days celebrating Coral Cove with live music, a market with vendors, tours of the lighthouse, and other events and activities for visitors of all ages.
” She summarized their ideas for events, including the Shining Light Photo Contest and Light Snack before she covered the mic with her hand and addressed Reid. “I think we can take questions now.”
Reid joined her at the podium, and he rested his hand on her lower back. “Now we’re ready for questions.”
“But it’s already spring,” a woman exclaimed. “Why not just have a summer festival?”
“The lighthouse saved the sailors at the beginning of April. The festival should remain in April.” Reid pressed his lips together.
“Who’s next?” He pointed to a man in the back with graying black hair. “Yes, sir.”
“How are we going to fix the lighthouse in ten days when it hasn’t been lit in decades?” he asked.
“We’re hoping that someone knows an electrician who can fix it,” Reid explained.
The man threw his arms up. “And who’s going to pay for that if the historical society has no money?”
Kaiah leaned toward the microphone. “We’re hoping someone will donate their time and supplies. Everyone who donates to the
festival will be honored as a sponsor. We’ll have a sponsor tent and include their names on banners.”
Reid lifted his eyebrows and grinned at her. “That’s right,” he agreed.
More murmurs of conversations erupted in the audience.
Becca came to stand beside Kaiah. “This can work. We just need to pull together.” She pointed to Kaiah. “Kaiah is a journalist
with a popular online magazine. She can get the publicity, and Clint at The Coral Cove Times has agreed to run her stories locally.”
“Hold on!” a woman called. “We only have nine days. Even if we all pull together, how on earth do we get everything together
in nine days?”
The mayor touched Reid’s back. “Excuse me,” she said. “I’d like to speak again.” Reid and Kaiah moved away from the podium. “We can do this if we organize and volunteer.” She looked at Becca. “Would you like to be the chair of the festival committee?”
“Yes, I would.” Becca beamed at Kaiah. “And Kaiah will help me.”
Kaiah nodded.
Reid grinned at her again, and her heart began to beat in triple time.
“We got this, people,” a woman announced, and people began to clap.
Goodness. Seems like all it takes is one person to sow a little hope around here.
“Let’s turn this meeting around,” the mayor said, “and we’ll start organizing right here and now. We need some volunteers.”
She studied the sea of faces. “Who can fix the lighthouse? We need some electricians to pull together.”
“I’m Duke Johnson,” a man said as he stood. “I run Johnson Electric in town. I have some contacts, and I might be able to
find a specialist who can work on it and donate his time.”
Reid’s expression filled with relief as he clapped.
“My sister and I will make lighthouse and nautical pastries to sell,” one of the Watson twins announced. “We’ll donate a portion
of the profits to the school fund.”
Becca held her hand up. “We’ll have a market at the base of the lighthouse,” she offered. “Vendors can pay a fee for a space,
and the fees can go to the school.”
A woman in the center of the crowd jumped up. “I’m Brenda Jones, president of the Coral Cove Business Committee,” she said.
“I’ll handle the Light Snack event along with the website and social media for the festival.”
Kaiah and Reid shared a smile. The festival was quickly coming together.
Becca tapped on her iPad. “Who else wants to volunteer?”
By the end of the meeting, Becca had an iPad full of volunteers and their contact information. Only a few naysayers continued
to insist that there was no way the festival would be a success in such a short amount of time.
“Thank you for making this happen,” the mayor told Reid, Becca, and Kaiah while they walked out to the parking lot after the
meeting. “I think this festival is going to be a great success.”
“We plan to do our best,” Becca promised.
A woman dashed across the parking lot toward them. “Mayor Whittington!” she called. “I want to discuss something with you.”
Becca set her hand on Kaiah’s arm. “That’s Joanna Edwards,” she whispered. “She’s the school superintendent.”
“I wonder what she wants,” Reid added.
Joanna came to stand with them, and she nodded a greeting before addressing the mayor. “I think the kids would benefit from
being a part of the festival. I’m going to talk to the school board about making the festival part of the curriculum. They
can volunteer their time or even help with fundraising. We can make it a field trip—or, come to think of it, we could schedule
a long weekend to coincide with the festival. It would benefit the community and let the kids learn while having fun.”
“I agree. That’s a fantastic idea,” the mayor said.
Joanna shook her hand. “Great. I’ll talk to the school board.” Then she started across the parking lot again.
“This has turned out even better than I thought it would,” the mayor told Kaiah, Becca, and Reid. “I’ll be in touch.”
“I’ll call Brenda Jones and talk to her about working on the website and social media tonight. We can incorporate the events and have sign-ups for volunteers.” Becca hugged Kaiah. “I’m so glad you’re here. We couldn’t have made this happen without you.”
Kaiah’s heart swelled as she and Reid climbed into his Suburban.
“Tonight was amazing,” Kaiah told Reid while they drove down Main Street. “You’re my hero now.”
Reid sneaked a glance her way. Although he was touched by the compliment, he couldn’t understand how he could be her hero. “And why is that?”
“The way you told the audience to get their act together and to be respectful was just . . . it was amazing, Reid. You said
all the right words and made them realize they were being immature and rude. I’m super proud of you.”
Her words sent a ribbon of warmth through his chest.
“I’m going to stay up all night and finish my article,” she continued. “I’m going to add the details about the festival to
the one I already started and then send it off to my editor. Then I’ll contact Clint and asked him to share it on the local
paper’s website.”
She continued to talk about plans for the festival, but he was still playing back I’m super proud of you over and over in his head. He was sure he felt a connection growing between them. And for a moment he allowed himself to
wonder what would happen if Kaiah decided to stay in Coral Cove. For the first time since he’d lost Brynn, he wondered what
it would like to date again. To fall in love again.
No, no, no. He was being crazy. He didn’t have room in his life for a relationship. And how would Piper feel about it when it all fell
apart?
He already knew the answer to that question.
Piper was growing attached to Kaiah too, and that was a slippery slope.
They would both be heartbroken when Kaiah left.
And okay, hypothetically, why would a sophisticated woman like her want to stay in a small town like Coral Cove?
She told him she dreamed of going to exotic places and writing about them for a huge magazine.
Staying in a small town like Coral Cove?
That would be torture for her. Even if she wanted to stay, he couldn’t imagine asking her to give up her dreams. And he never wanted to leave Coral Cove. His family was too
important to him. So maybe they were just destined to live their lives apa—
A hand on his arm jolted him from his thoughts.
“Reid?” Kaiah asked, worry coloring her features. “You okay?”
He motored through an intersection and turned onto the road leading to his neighborhood. “Yeah.”
“You seem preoccupied,” she said. “Want to talk about it?”
He glanced over at the radiant woman in the seat beside him. How could he begin to express his confusing feelings for her?
He hadn’t even known her a week, and he was already feeling something deep and powerful for her.
“Sorry. I was thinking about the festival and everything we have to do.”
“No worries. We’ll work on it together tomorrow, right?”
“Right.”
Reid parked in the driveway, and they climbed out. His eyes wandered to the clear, dark sky where stars sparkled above them
and the moon sent bright beams cascading through the dark. He turned toward Kaiah, and for a moment he was struck by how beautiful
she was standing haloed by the moonlight with her golden hair falling in waves past her shoulders.
“You said I’m your hero, but you were great tonight too,” he said. “You made the audience understand how special the festival will be.”
She wagged a finger at him. “But you convinced them to listen. I couldn’t have done my part without you.” She touched his
hand. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
She sauntered toward the stairs leading to the apartment, then turned around. The smile lighting up her face was nearly as
warm as the midday sun. “Good night, Reid.”
He couldn’t help but beam back at her. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“Helping to save our town.”
She did a mock curtsy. “My pleasure.”
Kaiah turned and jogged up the stairs. He waited until the apartment lights illuminated before he walked inside the house.