Mike just giggled, and the sound was not one that should've come out of his mouth. "He's with all of them. Like some perpetual gang-bang. Luke's living the fucking life, man."
"Yeah, you are," Clay agreed. "Good for you, Luke."
"And we're coming to the meeting," Dusty said. "Everyone at Curry Quarter Horses is. Dad's got the whole Ratcliff Ranch heading up there as well."
"My construction crew is all voting yes," Clay added. "Pretty sure the owner is going to show up as well. Told him I had a friend up at Southwind."
"Thanks, guys," I said. "This is my girl's dream. She promised Vera that she'd keep that place going, and I really want to help make sure that happens."
"What are friends for?" Clay asked, patting my arm again. "And don't let those fuckers make you feel bad, Luke. Besides, I like to think that you were crushing on me back then."
Yep, I felt like my face was getting warmer and I had no idea how to deal with this. "I..."
Clay just laughed and walked away, calling back, "I think I've finally figured out how to knock Luke Barrett off his stride. You're kinda cute too, man. Just kinda."
I honestly had no clue how to respond to that, but I'd take it. The help, the knowledge that we weren't doing as bad as I'd feared, and the cutest guy in high school being cool with me. Too bad for him - Ash and Cy were both much more my type. Granted, that I even had a type was a little shocking too, so I was going to chalk this one up to being a good thing and leave it at that.
Chapter Fifty-Nine
Luke came back and told us that we had more support in town than we realized. Then, when we picked Faith up at church on Sunday, David once again reminded everyone about the meeting on Thursday. I saw a lot of heads nod. It looked like most people were in support of Southwind, but that wasn't necessarily the same as the city council members voting yes.
So, I spent most of the week preparing my statement. I would have the chance to address the assembly before the vote, in the hopes that I could convince the council members that our business would be a benefit to Cats Peak. The downside was that others could do the same, and some of those people would not be in support of my business license.
While the rest of the house continued on, I wrote my speech. The kids kept up their afternoon self-defense lessons with Billy and Darnell. Cessily would stop everything to help me get a phrase right, and the days blew past. Before I was ready for it, Thursday had arrived. It took me nearly four hours to decide what to wear to make the right impression. I wanted to look nice, but not too nice. I needed to be professional and yet casual. Most of all, I had to have on just enough beauty to make me feel like I was covered in armor.
Naturally, the city council meeting was held at City Hall. It wasn't a large place, because this was a small town. When we arrived, the parking lot was nearly full, and vehicles spilled over into the empty spaces in front of the police department next door. Inside, the room was pretty typical. The walls were paneled with wood, and at the front of the room was a large, curved desk that stood well above everybody else. A podium had been set before it, and there was a microphone sticking out of the top.
The rest of the room was filled with chairs. There was a small collection of permanent seats that had been built in, but most of the available seating was made up of metal folding chairs. With my speech saved on my tablet, I clutched the purple case in my hands and chose a seat next to the aisle. Ash sat next to me, then Cy beside him, and Luke was at the end of our row.
We were early, but we sure weren't the first in the room. While we waited, more and more people filed in. Eventually, the room was full and the meeting started. First up came the things I didn't really care about. There was a discussion about resurfacing the roads on one side of town. That was approved. Next, the group discussed an ordinance for limiting the use of city water for lawns. It seemed the town was short enough on water that keeping the lawns green was putting them over their limit.
The whole time, more people kept showing up. Now all of the chairs were full, and people were starting to line the walls just so they could see what was going on. Glancing back, I recognized most of the faces, so I hoped this was a good thing - but I just wasn't sure. What if we failed? What if the one thing I had promised Gran was the one thing I couldn't manage to make happen?
My fingers felt numb and my guts were so tense that I was glad I hadn't eaten today. Of all the things I'd done in my life, none of them felt more important than this. In all honesty, I was scared to death, but I didn't want to say anything. That felt too much like daring the world to make it a reality. So, I just tried to pretend like this was exactly what I expected. Fake it until I make it, right?
Then the mayor, Don Campbell, brought up our petition. "Next up, we have a request to grant a business license to Southwind Teen Rehabilitation Center. Cats Peak prides itself on being a community and not a business center. Because of this, any businesses who want to operate within the city limits need to prove that they offer a benefit to the people who live here." Then he gestured to the podium. "Violet Dawson has requested the chance to state her case."
Ash slid his hand down my back as I stood and made my way over to the podium. Opening the purple cover, I quickly woke up my tablet, and my speech was on the screen waiting. A murmur of conversation flowed across the room, but died quickly. This was just like being on stage, I tried to tell myself, so I lifted my chin and did my best to make the best impression I could.
"For decades, my grandmother, Vera Dawson, dedicated her life to helping children who needed a good influence. That was what Southwind was founded on. She chose a small community made up of good people, so that kids who had never known anything good in their life would be able to see that there really was a better option. The program is limited to young people convicted of selfless crimes. Only those kids who are recommended by someone involved in the case - from police officers to attorneys and judges - can give a recommendation. At Southwind, we know that sometimes life hands out lemons. Our goal is to teach these young, impressionable children that they really can make lemonade."
The room was completely silent. I couldn't tell if my words were having an effect, and the five people sitting at the desk before me all looked bored. Well, if being professional wouldn't work, then I would go straight for the heart.
"Cats Peak is actually my hometown. I grew up here under the name Dawn Higgs. My mother was a complete mess who didn't want me, but my grandmother didn't feel the same. Vera Dawson took a confused and suicidal teenager and put her on the path to becoming a world-renowned lingerie model. Surprisingly, I wasn't an outlier. She taught us the most basic ideas and said that this town had taught them to her. Things we all take for granted, like stopping to help someone change a tire when they have a flat, bringing over a scrub brush and cleaning supplies when they have spray paint on their front door, or even standing up beside someone when they're being threatened by someone else. That is what a community is about, and while we may take that for granted here, it is not true everywhere else.
"Which is why Southwind wants to operate in Cats Peak. In this case, it's not about what these troubled teenagers can give to the community - it's about what the community can teachthem. This is a good place, filled with good people, and these kids need that example. What we're trying to do is show them that the whole world is not out to get them. That there are places like this, where your neighbor is someone you can rely on. Where someone will step up when you need help. It is our goal that we can use all of you to help inspire the children who have slipped between the cracks and are on the wrong path. I honestly believe that Cats Peak is the one place in the world that can save the children that nobody else cares about. Thank you, and I hope you agree."
Closing my tablet, I stepped back from the podium and braced myself to hear the Council deny my petition. Instead, someone started clapping. Before I made it even a step, more joined in. By the time I made it to my chair, the entire room was offering calm and sedate applause. Unfortunately, that didn't make my anxiety lessen any.
Then someone else moved up to the podium. I didn't recognize the guy, but he had a bit of a limp and a whole lot of swagger. He also had a very impressive black hat on his head. Dropping his arms on either side of the small section of wood in front of him, the man grinned around the room like he was basking in the attention.
"Okay, y'all, I'm hoping you know who the hell I am. My name is JD Adkins, and I'm currently a top-ranking rider on the PBR circuit. So, yeah, that means I ride bulls for a living. Now, I don't live here. In all honesty, I ain't never been to Cats Peak before in my life. But see, here's the thing. I used to be one of those kids that lady was talking about. Man, I was screwed up. Now, I earn me a couple million touring as a professional bull rider, but there ain't a lot of kids that ever get the chance to do that. Naw, most of the ones stuck in those inner-city slums are going to juvie for doing something wrong, then won’t be able to get a job, then grow up and end up in jail because they couldn't get out of the cycle. The world needs a hell of a lot more places like Southwind, and when we heard about this, we decided to come make sure that all y'all know that this is the kind of thing you need to be bragging about."
He turned and gestured to his friends, who were standing a bit behind him. "Over here, I got the best bull riders from the United States, Brazil, and even Canada. Now, Ty's real nice because he's Canadian like that, but the rest of us are into this because it's just the right thing to do. When we talk about being good country folk, this is the sort of thing we mean. So, all of us want to sponsor Southwind, in the hopes that this can be the start of something great. I guess this is like my celebrity endorsement or something."
The darker-skinned guy in the group just shook his head and stepped forward, gesturing for JD to get out of his way. "My name is Renato Vieria, the top rider from Brazil, and my fiancé actually grew up at Southwind. Because of that, she wants to move close to home, so when Southwind opens, I'm gonna be looking for a piece of property in the area. A place where I can keep my ranch running, and that means I'm going to need to hire a lot of help. Now, just to be honest, our interest in moving to Cats Peak has to do with Southwind. So, if Southwind isn't approved, then I'll just wait and see where they go. My fiancé wants to live by her family, and that is what they make at Southwind: a family."
That group stepped back, pausing halfway up the aisle when one of the bull riders stopped to shake hands with the next man making his way to the podium. A few words were exchanged, but without the microphone, I couldn't hear them. I also didn't care, because I was too busy looking at Renato. So that was Hannah's new boyfriend? For a woman who had notoriously bad taste in men, it looked like she had finally gotten things right. I hope he honestly cared about her as much as he had implied in that speech.
