Just One Kiss (The Town of Pearl 8)

“I understand, Wyatt. We’ll be in touch.”

Wyatt disconnected the call. That little twinge of concern filled his belly. He was always concerned when a group of men were about to request to be guardians to a single woman. None ever failed to turn into full, committed relationships, but there was always that risk. His curiosity and concern for Lucia were instinctual. There was something in her eyes, her demeanor that made him feel she was hiding something or possibly fearful. Knowing how a lot of women with troubled pasts wound up in Pearl, he wasn’t

going to take this instinct lightly, instead he would make a point of talking to her. Perhaps she would even confide in him so there weren’t any new surprises heading into town.

He couldn’t help but chuckle.

Nothing ever fell into to place so easily. He immediately thought about Anna and what she had been running from and hiding. Yep, something was up with Lucia, and hopefully the Walters brothers could figure it out.

* * * *

Lucia was sitting at the table in the town hall along with Anna, Diane, Sage, Abigail, and Doc Jones. They were all so friendly, immediately welcoming her to town and introducing her to other residents in the community. She sat right next to Lisa Burgos from the hardware store. She was twenty-four. A year older than Lucia.

“I’m so glad that you’re here. Your ideas about blocking off the main roads in town and having hayrides to the O’Brians’ are awesome. Look what you started? They’re all talking about setting the vendor tables up right on the streets. That will make more room for people to walk the sidewalks and in between the vendor tables. Amazing,” Lisa told her as she smiled wide.

Her bright-blue eyes reminded Lucia of blue-eyed grass indigenous to where she lived in South Carolina.

“This means we’ll have room for a few more merchants. With all the events, the decorating, and everything we have to offer, we’re going to need more tractors and wagons to take people to and from O’Brians’,” Anna stated next.

“We can call around and get a few more people involved. My concern might be the wait for some people,” Doc said next.

“You could just organize a schedule. Have the tractor rides leave every half hour or twenty minutes,” Lucia suggested.

“People don’t like to wait too long. That could cause some upset,” Diane said next. They were all quiet a moment.

“What if you spread the vendors out? I noticed when I was at O’Brians’ last night that they have a lot of room near the front entrance of their place. Since there won’t be any vehicles parking there, what if you set up some tables with vendors, people selling hot apple cider, popcorn, candy apples, all those things people like to have in the fall? Of course there’ll be some of those here in town, plus the regular businesses want to make some money too. Then, as people wait for the next tractor ride back into town, they can have a drink, some snacks, and truly enjoy the day and the night,” Lucia told them.

“I like that idea. In previous years this event went into the evening because of the jack-o’-lantern display. This year we have blow-up bouncy houses, blow-up slides, and other events that could easily be lit up for nighttime. The revenue would be such a plus for the town. Just think about it,” Doc said, and they all started adding their thoughts and jotting down information. Pretty soon they were talking about organizing what vendors would be where, who needed to be contacted for the tractor-ride operators, and a list of volunteers to help out.

“You may want to create a shifting schedule so that your volunteers don’t get bored of their spots,” Lucia suggested.

“What do you mean?” Abigail asked her.

“Well, every hour there should be a shift change. The person moves to the next position and the event or the location they are watching doesn’t start until the next volunteer arrives. That way there aren’t extra safety concerns and your volunteers won’t get bored stuck in the same place the entire day. They also get a chance to see all the events.”

“That’s a wonderful idea, Lucia. Last year we had a lot of complaints about volunteers missing certain activities,” Anna told her.

“Well, if you can get enough volunteers, people could work half the day. You can have morning volunteers, afternoon volunteers, and evening volunteers. Plus, if certain aspects of the festival only last for part of the time, then you might need fewer volunteers in the evening.”

They were all making comments and complimenting Lucia.

“I think I found my assistant committee director,” Abigail said and winked. Everyone chuckled.

“What do you mean?” Lucia asked.

“I pick you, dear. You and I are going to make this the best event Pearl has ever had,” Abigail stated, and everyone cheered Lucia on and welcomed her to her new position, and she had no idea how it happened, but by the end of the meeting her head was spinning and she found herself submerged in their excitement.

It was another indicator of how amazing this town and its citizens were. She wished she felt this comfortable and at home back in South Carolina. But instead, thoughts of home brought on fear and pain.

She wished she could stay in Pearl forever, and that her past, her life in South Carolina, could be a distant memory. But that really wasn’t a reality. She was using a fake name. She couldn’t use her real license or credit cards for anything or Derek would track her down. In fact, she wondered how he hadn’t found her yet. She was certain he would use all his resources, including his cousins’ law firm and their private investigators. But as stuck-up and high on their law firm Frank and William McMillian were, they liked her. They respected her and many times witnessed her stating her disinterest in their cousin Derek’s advances. Perhaps they wouldn’t help him at all?

“Lucia?” She heard her name and turned to see Abigail and Doc Jones.

“Yes.”

“Are you okay? You looked so upset for a moment and you didn’t hear us at all,” Doc asked her.

She swallowed hard.