"Sounds like a lot of work, but if you're willing to do it—"
"And I might possibly know someone who would be willing to give a short piano performance afterwards. A big-name person who would draw in a huge crowd. We could—I don't think that person would want to have the entire thing resting on their shoulders, but they would do something along with Noah's idea."
Grace licked her lips, which were suddenly dry. She couldn't believe she had jumped up and started talking. That wasn't like her at all, and especially not after what had happened. And, considering that she was volunteering to get in front of a crowd and perform, she doubly couldn't believe it.
But Noah stared at her, shock and disbelief and excitement dawning on his face, and she couldn't look away from it.
He knew exactly who she was talking about when she said she knew a person who would perform.
And she knew who he meant when he said he might have someone to help him.
Maybe their talk had gone deeper than what she thought, because they seemed to be communicating without words right now.
"That all sounds great to me. It's better than any other ideas I've heard anyone say."
"Nobody's given any other ideas!"
"Exactly!"
"All right then. I'm gonna open the floor for anyone else who has any thoughts or suggestions, or wants to make any comments on our offerings. But, if this stands, this is what we're going to attempt."
He was quiet, and the whole room held its breath and waited.
Finally, after no one said a word, Noah hit the gavel on the podium and said, "All right. Meeting adjourned. We'll do our best."
Grace sat there, trying to figure out exactly how much time they had. From her calculations, they had less than three weeks to pull it all together. Three weeks. Her throat tightened, and her chest constricted. She took a deep breath and tried to blow it out. They could do this. She and Noah, together.
Chapter 16
In all the excitement after the meeting, Grace had not been able to see Noah. People had swarmed the platform, wanting details about everything, including —she assumed—who he was going to be doing it with.
She and Vivian had slipped out, and she thought maybe Noah would stop by on his way home. But he hadn't.
Or maybe he hadn't gone home yet. She wasn't sure.
She set her knitting down and got up.
"Would you like a cup of coffee?" she asked Aunt Vivian who worked on a gingerbread house at the table.
"Why don't you take a cup over to Noah. I'm betting he could use it right now."
Her eyes widened, but she didn't know why she was surprised. Aunt Vivian knew her better than anyone, other than maybe Noah. And that was odd, since she'd only talked to Noah a handful of times in her entire life.
"Is he home?"
"He walked by when you were in the restroom. He peeked in, but I waved, and he kept walking."
"I didn't know."
"You didn't ask. I would've told you."
"Let me go put some coffee on. Or maybe hot chocolate. It's kind of late for coffee."
"I think that's a good idea."
Aunt Vivian dabbed a little icing on a rectangular piece of gingerbread and gently set it in place. It was too early for her to go to bed. And Grace felt a little guilty leaving her. One of the benefits of having a houseguest was to have company in the evening, so she could chat and not be alone.
Grace put milk on to heat and then glanced out the window.
