When I enter the arena, I’m…shocked.
What the hell?
Literally, twenty minutes ago, there was a ring, chutes, corral, and bleachers. Now, half of it is broken down and being taken out by the massive amount of workers there.
There, in the middle of what was the rodeo, is Tessa. She’s pointing and directing everything. “You, right there—hi, how are you? Thank-you so much, can you please move that fence thereso the machine can get in here?” she asks, her beautiful smile causing the young man to nod quickly. “Thank-you.”
He grabs the section of fence that was sitting on the ground and brings it to the side. She continues to give orders, and I watch her in amazement.
She looks as though she’s done this her whole life.
Tessa’s eyes meet mine, and she graces me with that smile. Only this one is warmer. She waves. I wave back and then she ducks her head.
“Killian? Can you help me with some of this?” Hazel asks, appearing at my side and pulling me away from staring at Tessa.
“Of course.”
Hazel and I work on her booth, taking everything down, packing it away in a very specific order—one that I wasn’t aware of, but apparently should’ve known.
She huffs.
I laugh.
We then get it done.
“Anything else?” I ask.
“Do you want some coffee? I have a feeling you’re going to be out here for the night.”
I chuckle. “I’m sure. I’d love some.”
Hazel goes into her car, grabs a thermos, and pours me a cup.
Seriously, she makes the best coffee I’ve ever had. I don’t know what it is, but she truly has a gift. “This is perfect,” I say.
“I’m glad you like it. Hey, would you mind grabbing my purse and laptop that I left in the main house? I’m so sorry. I just need to finish loading the car and it’s a bit like Tetris, so…it’s better if I do it.”
“Sure thing.”
I walk across the property, and if I thought Tessa was brilliant before, now it’s confirmed. The entire arena is almostcleared out. The rodeo is broken down, all that’s left are a few of the vendors who clearly don’t have Tessa orchestrating things.
Once I find the purse and laptop, I make my way back so I can give them to Hazel. By the time I come within earshot, she’s talking to someone new.
“Seriously, Tessa, this has been absolutely amazing. You are truly amazing. To have put all this on, to have brought the town together, just…wow,” Hazel says, and I stop before I get close enough that they can see me.
It makes me happy that Tessa is going to hear about how great this was from someone else.
Too few people let this woman know just how incredible she is.
“Thanks, but truly I didn’t do anything.”
Hazel scoffs. “Please! You did all of this. Everyone here was so impressed. None more than me, though, I have to tell you. Which, leads me to my next question for you.”
“Oh?” Tessa asks with a hint of confusion.
“I was wondering… are you taking on new clients? I think Prose & Perk could really expand a bit if I had the right person to help me with this stuff. I didn’t even think about doing any kind of event like this, but I made so much money today. Not to mention all the people who said they will come by now because of the coffee. It was a great way to get some exposure.”
I watch as Tessa’s eyes brighten. “Are you serious?”
