Chapter 7
WEDNESDAY
CHELSEY brUSHED A strand of hair off her face and tucked it behind her ear as she tuned in to the noise around her.
The tuba player and dancers finished practicing an hour ago and left.
The volume of noise had quieted, at least for a little bit.
Out back, the high school cheerleaders were helping a gaggle of little girls practice for the parade on Saturday.
They blasted a popular pop song and took them through a routine.
Speaking of music. Chelsey leaned against the nearest wall by the back door and opened a music app on her phone.
There was no way they’d find a band to perform at such a late date.
Dan asked the Bagpipe Babes to play, but after listening to them in person, he decided they might be too loud for the area.
Heaven knew how loud the Book Worms would’ve been.
She’d never tell Heather she was secretly grateful they pulled out.
The music should be in the background with a little bit of energy to psychologically “help” bidders bid high, not scare them away.
Chelsey wasn’t sure if it was scientific, but her marketing professor believed in it and that was a good enough reason to try.
A playlist didn’t have to take a break like a live band would need to, either.
Sometimes couples danced after the auction, and all she would need to do was adjust the volume.
She scrolled through her favorites, unsure what songs to pick for Saturday night. She still had her mom’s “auction” playlist on her phone. Chelsey pushed the shuffle button and rested her head against the wall.
The first notes started into a quiet melody, sending her down memory lane, to a time when Taylor first confessed he’d fallen for her.
They’d sat on the tailgate of his old truck and were watching a meteor shower under a sky of stars the summer before their sophomore year.
They’d talked and talked and hadn’t noticed the clouds rolling in until a rainstorm suddenly passed over them.
Taylor had grabbed Chelsey and pulled her under the aspens.
They’d been laughing at how wet they were when suddenly, the air changed between them, charged with electricity just like the summer storm.
Taylor placed a hand on the tree and quietly asked if he could kiss her.
Chelsey lost herself in his deep blue eyes and wondered if she ever wanted to be found again.
She rose on her tiptoes and pressed her lips softly to his.
Goosebumps ran up her arms when he sighed against her mouth.
He pulled her close with one arm and deepened their kiss.
That moment went down in her diary as the most romantic she ever had.
Even now, the memory of that kiss sent goosebumps up her arms.
Chelsey rubbed her arms with a sigh. There was too much to do right now to think about the past and broken promises. She closed the app. She had an event to focus on, not her teen love life back in the day. The music wasn’t important anyway. She’d use her mom’s list and call it a win.
She found Wendy and for the next thirty minutes they sat at a table in a quiet corner of the ballroom and went over everything that still needed to happen over the next three days.
Today was Wednesday. Her stomach clenched at the thought of two more nights until the biggest night of the Strawberry Festival happened.
“Are you okay, hon?”
She’d placed several chocolate kisses in the center of the table and Chelsey had almost eaten everyone without thinking about it. “Just the last-minute nerves.”
“Do you want to eat anything—aside from chocolate? A burger? Another protein shake? Oh. How did I forget?” Wendy rummaged through her ever-present floral bag and pulled out a canned drink. “Heather sent this over with Janice this morning.”
“Bless her.” Chelsey opened it and took a couple of big gulps. Her stomach growled loudly, as it always did.
“Girl, you need to get some food in that stomach of yours before you get called in for disturbing the peace.” Wendy handed her a granola bar too.
“I’m thinking of surprising everyone with lunch today.”
“That’s a great idea.” Wendy patted Chelsey’s hand. “That’s why you’re the boss. You know how to get good work out of people and it’s usually through their stomachs.”
There was a lot more activity today in the building.
Interior design students from the high school were making grapevine wreaths with strawberry-printed ribbons to hang on all the doors while another group hung twinkle lights along the staircase and windows.
They were going to set up the tables, but the tablecloths were MIA for now.
Rich had rounded up some extra help to make the outside presentable. They were raking and sweeping. A couple of them were putting Christmas lights on the gazebo, which surprised Chelsey. She hadn’t planned on using it, but it was a great idea.
Taylor waved at her when he came in then said he’d finished up the OSHA list and would report back to her soon.
She was grateful he’d taken that job on so she could focus on other things.
But his presence distracted Chelsey, and she had to ask Wendy twice what she’d said about the tablecloths.
For some reason, they still hadn’t been able to confirm a time for the drop-off.
Wendy said she’d sic Janice on the company.
“She can be scary,” Wendy said. “I’ve seen her in action.”
“Did you decide on music?” Wendy asked.
“I’m going to use Mom’s playlist.”
Wendy patted her hand. “She’d really like that, hon. No scream-o music for us.”
Chelsey chuckled. “Between you and me, I’m glad.”
Wendy caught Chelsey glancing at Taylor. “That boy sure is helpful, isn’t he? No wonder he’s successful. He’s a natural leader and good with people. And he isn’t afraid to work hard and literally get his hands dirty.”
“You’re singing to the choir, sista.”
“And that’s so nice of him to take over that stupid OSHA list for you.” Wendy nudged Chelsey with her shoulder. “Why don’t you go talk to him, see what he’s finding? While I go take a phone call I don’t have.” Wendy winked at her and walked away.
All the things Wendy said about Taylor were true, but she forgot to add that he was charismatic and kind and when he smiled, really smiled, the cutest dimple showed on his left cheek.
Chelsey’s face heated as she remembered the first time Taylor flashed his dimple at her.
She wanted to kiss it in that moment, which shocked her because she and Taylor had just met.
She didn’t get a chance to act on that impulse until a few weeks later.
They were laying side-by-side on their stomachs on the floor in her living room, studying for a chemistry test. She was on his left side and when she said something that made him laugh, that dimple appeared. She leaned over and kissed it.
“I’ve wanted to see what it was like to kiss a dimple since I first met you,” she whispered.
He offered his cheek, and she kissed it again. “How was it?”
“Sweet. But I think I like your lips better.” Which, of course, distracted them from studying textbook chemistry.
Chelsey fanned her face. She couldn’t talk to Taylor right now.
She was busy; he was busy. Maybe Sunday after the auction would be better.
Just the thought of Taylor seemed to draw him to her, because, suddenly, he stood right in front of her.
She schooled her features so that he hopefully couldn’t read any of the emotions on her face that his nearness stirred up.
“Hey, Chels.” Taylor’s gaze focused on her, making it hard for her to remember what she should do or say.
He gave her a lopsided grin and that treacherous dimple appeared, as if mocking her. “I just wanted to update you on the OSHA stuff.”
Right. OSHA. She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. “How’s that going?” Chelsey hated the way her words came out all breathy.
He took that as an invitation to sit by her at the table. “It’s ridiculous, but it would take longer to fight it than to fix the items.”
“Did you ask your dad who he thought it would be?”
“I asked him this morning before I came over and the only people he could think of were the ones upset about ‘selling men’ for profit,” he said using air quotes.
Unfortunately, this wasn’t a surprise. The same complaints came through off and on over the years, though, ironically, more people seemed upset about the men being “sold” over the women.
“I’ll give Dan a heads-up so he can nip it in the bud before anything major goes down. Anything else?” Chelsey asked.
“I need to get a new outlet cover—”
“What? Seriously?”
Taylor set a paper on the table in front of her. He’d marked off most of the items. Sure enough, there it was: broken outlet cover. That shouldn’t be on her to fix it, but she agreed with Taylor that it’s easier to take care of things now. Time was of the essence.
“Are you going to send the bill to the mayor?”
“Of course.” His smile warmed her insides. She stared at the paper without seeing it. “While I’m out, do you want me to do a food run? I haven’t seen you eat anything except chocolate today.”
Her head jerked up. How had he noticed that?
She glanced at her watch then twisted it.
She’d had a granola bar and a protein drink, but that was almost five hours ago now.
Taylor studied Chelsey’s face long enough that her neck started to heat.
She tucked the strand of hair behind her ear again.
She should find a bobby pin before she found a pair of scissors and hacked the thing off.
Taylor smiled at her as if he knew he caused the heat to creep over her face.
“I’m fine.” Right on cue, her stomach grumbled.
Taylor grinned and Chelsey couldn’t help rolling her eyes. “That’s how I knew you were hungry. I could hear your stomach clear upstairs where I was checking smoke detectors.”
She swatted at him. “I’m ordering pizza for everyone.”