Page 96 of The Love Shack

Lark sent Betty a thumbs-up, and that seemed to be the official start of the meeting. With a smack of a gavel, Betty got things underway.

Impressed, Berkley watched as Betty stood at the podium like a queen, chin up, her makeup and outfit perfect to address the crowd. She spoke with authority, pride for the town and ownership of the community.

As it often did, it struck Berkley what an amazing life this one woman had carved out for herself. Memories galore, both good and bad. Friends old and many new. Betty Cemetery was high-handed but dependable, dictatorial but fun. She didn’t mind telling you things others wouldn’t if she thought it was for your own good.

“At my age,” Betty said, “I can’t pussyfoot around.”

A general snickering rose from the crowd, but Berkley’s heart gave an odd little skip.At her age.Why was Betty even bringing that up? Concern flooded her, and just like that, Lawson’s arm came around her shoulders.

He was always so attuned to her moods. Gratefully, her gaze glued to Betty, she leaned against him.

Betty’s gaze softened—then flashed over the crowd, and she gave a stern, “Ahem.”

Everyone quieted. “I’m not fully retiring anytime soon, so you can all settle down.”

Retiring.So she wasn’t talking about... Spine going limp in relief, Berkley huffed a quiet laugh.

“I am now,” Betty continued, “going to share the time with Yardley.”

Yardley, the town’s amazing wedding planner, popped up from her seat beside the podium and put her arms in the air. Edging in next to Betty, she said, “This one is still in charge.”

The loud cheers turned Betty’s cheeks pink.

“But we all agree she’s earned a rest, right?”

More cheers, with the added burst of applause.

“Thank you,” Betty said, standing close to Yardley. She bent down to pat Gladys, who snoozed beside her on the floor, and when she straightened again, she said, “More time to spend with my companion, and I owe that to a special townsperson.”

All eyes shifted to Berkley, putting her on alert. Oh, hey. Warily, she glanced around at all the beaming faces. She knew many of them now, those who helped out at the shelter, some who took cat yoga or had signed up to walk a dog. Others had filled out applications to adopt a pet.

Her heart felt too big for her chest.

Near her ear, Lawson suggested, “Take a bow.”

She swatted at him, then with a laugh, improvised a quick curtsy.

Lark hugged her arm, and Oliver grinned at her.

Calling order again, Betty said, “Going forward, I’ll be working partial hours. We’ll have a formal election in November, but until then, Yardley has agreed to step in.”

Yardley leaned in to the mic again. “Not permanently, though, so anyone who is interested, let me know.”

That got everyone quiet real fast.

“Now,” Betty said. “Back to business.” There was talk of a few town issues, updates to the elementary school flooring in the gymnasium and, lastly, she announced that funding had been approved to add additional security to the shelter.

Berkley’s jaw loosened. She whispered to Lawson, “But you just added some security.” Over the past couple of days, he and Oliver had put up motion-activated lighting and installed alarms to the front and back doors of her house.

“This will be better,” Oliver said.

Lawson agreed.

Smiling out at her, Betty announced, “The Love Shack has turned into a community hub, more so than we’d ever anticipated.”

A murmur of agreement moved through the crowd.

“Our lovely wishing well, built and maintained by Lawson Salder, and situated in front of his print shop, has garnered far more profit than we’d expected.” As everyone waited, Betty let the suspense build and then announced the current amount. Around the whistles and cheers, she said, “That’s more than three times what we were hoping for. Thank you, Mr. Salder.”

---