The on-air lights over the door snapped off, and two seconds later Mabel opened it and gestured them inside. The booth was a tight fit for five people, but they made it work. Mabel sat across the board from her cohost Dave, and the rest of them crowded along the cluttered desktop between the two radio people. Faith ended up sandwiched between William and Leo. Grumpy on the right, golden on the left.
Dave’s lean face twisted in concentration as he fiddled with a knob. “All right, children, who’s been on the radio before? Other than Faith. She’s a repeat offender.”
She dramatically tossed her hair. “I shill for BUILD.”
“We’ve both done a lot of press,” William said. “CBS News Sunday Morningactually did a segment on us once.”
Faith looked at Leo in surprise. “For real?”
Predictably, his brows snapped together. “It was a few years ago.”
“Wow!” Faith nudged his shoulder. “You’re, like, famous!”
Mabel clapped excitedly. “I had no idea we were interviewing celebrities today!”
Faith joined Mabel in an excited squeal as William struck a triumphant pose and Leo rolled his eyes.
“Two minutes.” Dave had his eyes on the screen in front of him that counted down the time left in the Mountain Goats song currently playing. “I’ll introduce you all, and then one of you needs to take the lead on answering questions.”
William snapped to attention. It’s one of the things Faith liked the most about him. He could joke around and be the biggest goof in the room, but the instant it was time to work, he was nothing but focused.
“I will. Faith can jump in whenever, and Leo can talk about the Digham Foundation.”
Dave nodded absently as he swung a microphone in their direction. “Go Team Save-the-Planet!”
William leaned an elbow on the desktop, casual and ready to chat. Leo scrubbed his palms down the sides of his pants and exhaled hard.
“You good?” she asked quietly.
He grimaced. “It’s part of the job.”
“Just talk to them like you talked to me that day in the office. Explain why it’s important to you.”
He shifted uncomfortably, and she bumped him with her shoulder. “Come on, I’mmuchscarier to talk to than the entire Beaucoeur community.”
He snorted softly. “Dutch, you areterrifying.”
“So then this’ll be a piece of cake.” She grinned and gave his knee a quick squeeze, and as she turned back to the main group, she caught Mabel watching her with a thoughtful expression.
Girl telepathy activated.Be cool. Don’t comment about me touching my ex-boyfriend/current colleague/object of my nighttime vibrator fantasies.
Apparently it worked because Mabel just pasted on a bright smile and adjusted her headphones as Dave took them out of the song and introduced her, William, and Leo.
William jumped right in with his golden retriever energy, introducing Dig Greener with cheerful enthusiasm that the parents of Beaucoeur were going to eat up and concluding with an invitation to an informational meeting a week from Thursday.
When he stopped talking and nudged the mic in her direction, she picked up the ball.
“At Beaucoeur BUILD, we’re thrilled to add Dig Greener to our offerings. There’s so much research out there on the benefits of outdoor education on children’s brains and social development, and William’s definitely the guy you want with you when you’re heading into the forest.”
The group all laughed politely, then Dave asked, “Leo, what made the Digham Foundation decide to get into environmental work?”
Faith nudged the mic in Leo’s direction as all eyes in the room fell on him. Although he looked like he was facing down a firing squad, he leaned forward to speak.
“It’s actually a big reason that I took the job,” he said, his voice low and serious. “I grew up in Beaucoeur, but I spent the first eight years of my career working in South America, and I saw what a difference these programs could make to the communities there.”
Faith melted a little. She couldn’t help it. His commitment to this work was attractive as hell.
“I figured the Digham Foundation would have the resources to build a strong, hands-on program,” he continued. “How could I pass up the chance to make a difference in the town where I grew up?”
