I invited my potential investor to today’s event so he could see firsthand how the center is beneficial to those in the community. He’s down from New York with his business partner who is visiting family in our neighboring town of Hartfield.
Putting my phone away after reading the message saying he arrived, I go to meet him at the front doors.
The lobby is bustling with people. The plants by the doors undulate each time the wind is let in accompanied by a wave of mid-August heat. Jeanie sits behind a white fold-out table with her tablet, checking people in alongside a parent volunteer. A man who looks to be in his thirties and is wearing a suit, sticking out like a sore thumb among all the adults in shorts and t-shirts, casually leans against the white brick walls by the water fountain.
“Mr. Welch.” I wave my hand and offer a smile as his attention lands on me. He smiles and waves back before meeting me in thecenter of the room under fluorescent lights. I stretch out my hand. “Glad you could make it.”
“This looks to be quite the facility you have here.” He shakes my hand.
“How about a tour before things kick off?”
He gestures outward with one hand while shoving the other in his pant pocket. “Lead the way.”
I take Mr. Welch through the office rooms, telling him about the seven full-time staff members I have on board. Next, we head toward the open gym where volunteers are setting up for various games and activities. We pause in the middle of the court. “Volunteers pull most of the weight around here. This place wouldn’t continue to exist without the many volunteers that come through. Parents, siblings, grandparents, college kids, you name it… We have a variety of people in this community ready and willing to help. It’s one of the many reasons I love the area.”
“Juniper Grove is a nice little town. Seems to be full of people who look after one another, so it does make me wonder where the need for a center like this came from if everyone is so kind and helpful.” Mr. Welch stares off in the distance, and I follow his gaze.
Lucy is holding her tablet and writing something down in the far corner by a “toss the bean bag into the trash can” carnival-type game. She pauses for a moment and taps the pen against her temple while she examines the game. Her hair is in a curled ponytail, her bangs straightened, and I can’t get over how doll-like she looks today.
I shift my eyes back to Mr. Welch. Apparently he can’t either…
Something churns inside me, and I clench my jaw. Guess I’ll be walking him over there next so he can meetmygirlfriend.
“Walk with me,” I start. “As you already know, the Juniper Grove Community Center is a product of my capstone class in college. It was a little risky to choose such a project, but where is the fun in choosing the safe option?”
He laughs and nods in agreement.
I continue as we walk toward Lucy. “While we do have many supportive people here, it’s not like they can take in kids who aren’t thriving in a functional family. Believe me, there are many kids who fly under the radar. Kids you would never know experience abuse and are bullied and neglected. The center gives those kids a place to escape to, and it also gives people who wish to be of more assistance a place to gather and, well, assist the kids.”
Mr. Welch hums in thought as we approach Lucy. I sneak a glance at him, and his eyes are locked and loaded on my woman.
“Mr. Welch, I’d like you to meet my assistant director,” I slip an arm around Lucy’s waist as she locks her tablet and sets it on the table next to her, “and girlfriend, Lucy Spence. She was with me last month when I met with some local investors, so I wanted to make sure you got a chance to meet my lovely woman as well.”
Am I going overboard on laying my claim? Probably. But she’s mine.
His dark brown eyes flit between us, but his smile never falters. He offers his hand, and Lucy grabs it as she says it’s nice to meet him. Does anyone else hear the slight tremble in her voice? After a light shake, he brings her hand up to his—
I clear my throat and clench my fist at my side to keep from doing something I’d regret like bloodying those lips he’s placing on my woman’s knuckles.
Lucy nudges me, and I slowly drag my eyes from staring daggers into Keaton Welch’s skull to Lucy, who looks up at me with a pained expression. It’s then I realize my hand is molded around her hip, squeezing a little too hard.
I relax my grip but don’t dare drop my hand.
“You have a beautiful girlfriend, Mr. Harper,” he says, dropping her hand.Finally.
Flashing my teeth as I smile, I cock my head and answer in a low-pitched tone, “Don’t I know it. I sure am one lucky guy.”
I soften my smile and direct it at Lucy, but she’s locked in wide-eyed with the man in front of us.
“Why don’t we continue our tour, Mr. Welch?” I suggest, wanting to get him and his leering eyes away from her. I’m not too sure I want his investment money now, but I have to think of the needs of the center and not my own personal vendettas.
“I’ll see you later, Miss Spence,” he says with a slight bow and a faux tip of an invisible hat. Who even is this man? Acting like a remade regency side character in a Jane Austen novel or something… Jeez.
“Please, call me Lucy,” she says through a tight grin and a nervous laugh. Is he mistaking her nervous energy for cuteness?
“Lucy,” he says in what sounds like a seductive whisper. At least to my ears.
Enough of this. I stand straight and square my shoulders. “With all due respect, Mr. Welch, but would you please refrain from flirting with my girlfriend?”
