“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 somethingyouneed to fillmein 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. “Hedidtext me this morning to wish me luck, and he left flowers and a card outside my bedroom doorveryearly 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.”
“Iknewit! 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.
