She nodded. “Mia brought me up to speed.”
I stood by while the two of them talked. Every now and then, Knight’s eyes would dart to mine, like he wasn’t sure how I was going to take his interaction with Shelly. But Shelly was Shelly and knew how to pretend awkwardness didn’t exist. She was aware of social cues, she just chose not to pay attention to them.
“She’s nice,” Knight said after Shelly excused herself to find a restroom.
“She’s the best,” I said. “We’ve been friends forever. She was there when Grammie died. She’s the only reason I got through it.”
His eyes saddened. “I’m sorry you’ve had to live through so much loss.”
“I—” Emotion blocked my throat. “I need to help Darcy set up.”
I turned away from Knight. I wasn’t prepared for public shows of emotion with him. My heart kicked up in grief when I saw his face fall and then close off.
The lawn was covered with folding tables and volunteers were hauling boxes of donated items from their cars and trucks. Kids ran around, laughing and having fun, and Blue Angels stood in small clusters, talking and watching. I caught Colt’s eye, gave him a quick wave, and then turned my focus to Darcy and the girls who were unpacking used books.
“What can I do to help?” I asked her.
“Sort the books by genre,” Darcy said. “I’m trying to create a semblance of order.”
I bent down and grabbed a handful of old-school paperback romance novels and set them aside.
“Did I see Shelly?” Rachel asked.
“Yeah. She’s here. She went to find a bathroom.”
“Was it my imagination or did I see you introduce her to Knight?” Darcy asked. “Self-help books go on the other end of the table.”
“Yeah, they met. It’s just weird, you know?” I shook my head. “I don’t even know how to deal with it. Oh, I wanted to ask you guys before Shelly gets back…I’m going to throw her a bachelorette party. Something small, and not a strip club situation. Maybe like a boozy brunch. Would you guys be down to attend?”
“I love that idea,” Allison said. “Except I can’t partake which kinda bums me out.”
“Sorry, lady,” Rach said with a grin. “I’m not forgoing alcohol in solidarity.”
“I second that,” Joni said.
“A girl can dream, right?” Allison sighed. “Aside from the no booze thing which really sucks, I have a hard time staying awake past nine now. It’s like the clock strikes nine and I’m supine.”
“Hey, you rhymed!” Rach said with a laugh.
“Enjoy your sleep while you can,” Darcy said. “Lily still wakes me up in the middle of the night if she has a bad dream.”
Shelly found her way to our table. Rachel immediately put her to work as they gabbed. Laura came by, brown eyes surveying our work.
“How’s everything going over here?” She frowned. “You guys aren’t done yet? We’re supposed to be ready to go in twenty minutes!”
“Relax,” Joni said. “We’ll be ready. Your yard sale will go off without a hitch.”
Laura huffed and then turned and walked away, no doubt to berate other volunteers who weren’t finished with their section.
“Why are we stuck with the books?” Rachel asked. “I wanted to man the costumes. I saw at least three boas over there.”
“Ah, speaking of boas…” Darcy began as Cameron chased Lily across the grass. The little girl wore a bright pink boa that streamed behind her.
“They’re cute,” I commented.
“They’re exhausting,” Darcy said. “I’ve been with them nonstop, even though the lockdown is over and we’re back at our house, Lily has become my shadow. And Cam can’t sit still.”
“I’ll take them for a weekend,” I offered. “Or even a couple of days during the week if you need a break. Maybe after all this stuff with the club is sorted.”
“I couldn’t ask you to do that,” Darcy protested. “They’re my children. I’m obligated to love them and therefore entertain them.”
“You’re not asking, I’m offering.”
“You don’t want to clear this with Colt first?” Darcy asked with a grin.
“He’ll be fine with it,” I assured her.
“You know my brother wants babies, right?” Joni stated.
“Yeah,” I sighed. “I know.”
“So you’re hoping to use my children to scare the hell out of him and praying he changes his mind,” Darcy acknowledged. “Good plan.”
“Not a deterrent,” I said. “But I’m not ready for all that—I want to finish my degree and not feel like the rug is always about to be pulled out from under me.”
“I wish I’d brought my flask,” Joni said. “This seems like a good flask conversation.”
Darcy grinned. “One step ahead of you.” Reaching into her back jean pocket, she whipped out a metal flask. “And before you judge me, it’s Amaretto. It’s basically water.”
“I knew I liked you guys for a reason,” Shelly said with a wink. “Drinking in a public park. My kind of ladies.”
Cars started pulling up and parking on the street. People trickled across the grass, looking through the tables of second-hand belongings, discovering items they felt they couldn’t live without.
By one o’clock, we had more foot traffic than we knew what to do with. Laura had “hired” a band, which was just a group of fathers with kids who attended the elementary school. They covered classic rock hits and jammed out, having a blast. There were four different types of food trucks, so there were options. Laura had thought of everything and I marveled at her event organization skills.
“Mama,” Cam whined. “Can I get a hotdog? And a Sno-Cone?”
“Me too?” Lily asked. They both hung off her like little wolf pups. Darcy was in the middle of trying to sell a woman an encyclopedia collection that was missing the letters X and Z.
“I’ll take the kids for a bit,” I volunteered.
Darcy sent me a grateful look and then fished around in her pocket. I waved at her to put her money away, grasped Cam and Lily’s hands, and walked toward the hotdog stand.
“We have to make one stop before we get food, okay?” I asked. “First one to find Laura gets their own cotton candy.”
Cam found Laura, who was sitting at a folding table at the entrance of the park, holding the cash box. Lily nearly pitched a fit until I told her I’d buy her a cotton candy too. Her pout turned into an adorable smile.
I reached into my back pocket and pulled out an envelope to give to Laura. “Here.”
“What’s this?”
“My donation. For the clothes you brought me.”
She adamantly shook her head. “Put that away. You don’t need to donate. The clothes were a gift.”
“Please take the money and save us a lot of time,” I said.
“But Colt—”
“But Colt what?” he asked from behind me.
I turned to him. “I shouldn’t be surprised to find you standing right there, and yet, I kind of am.”