Page 27 of Secrets of the Dragon's Heart

Kennedy could see that Stella recognized her as soon as she walked into the room and knew that she was going to have to make another apology, even though she really hadn’t lied to the other woman. “You must be Kennedy,” the man with her said. “I’m Keith. I understand you and my wife have already met.”

“Yes, we met the night of the crab boil. It’s nice to meet you,” she said, then looked over at Stella. “Hello again.”

“Hi, Kennedy. I see that your little problem worked out just fine,” she said, smiling at her and instantly putting her at ease. “We need to put aside some time for some girl talk. I’m starved for female company, it’s a kind of thin around here.”

“I would like that,” she said. “But first, I think we needyour help with something, well…it’s my mess we’re trying to clean up, but it affects everyone…”

“Of course we’ll help,” Stella said without hesitation. “This island is our home. As crazy and unpredictable as it is, we love this place and wouldn’t want to see anything spoil it.”

“But first, we need to talk about how we’re going to protect the island,” Keith said. “The boats have all left for the night, but you know they’ll all be back in the morning. I don’t know how long we can keep this up.”

“Kennedy has an idea how we can put a stop to the whole thing, but it’s going to take some doing,” Cameron said. “I don’t know about you all, but I’m starving. Let’s put together some dinner while we talk about it.”

An hour later, after many discussions, Stella spending some time jotting ideas down on paper and then running the numbers, as she called it, they sat down to a meal on the patio overlooking the ocean. No one spoke as they filled their plates. The weight of what they were trying to accomplish had exhausted them all, but when their plates had been filled, Stella looked at them all, a smile on her face.

“It’s got to be a hot air balloon, and I think I figured out how we can do it, and we’ve got everything we need right here on the island,” she said. “The only trick is going to be getting Marie to part with some of that fabric in her back room, and we all know how attached she is to it.”

“Leave that to me,” Max said. “Marie is one of us. She’ll want to help.”

“We’re going to need more than just the fabric,” Stella said. “We’re going to need her to take over sewing the balloon; it’s going to be a huge job. She won’t be able to do it alone.”

“Don’t let her hear you saying that,” Max said. “She’ll never let you in the shop again.”

“So, this is really happening?” she asked. “We’re going to build a hot air balloon that looks like Cameron?”

“No, we’re going to build a hot air balloon that looks like the picture in the newspaper article,” Stella said, a grin slowly spreading across her face. “Then we’re going to launch it tomorrow afternoon in front of everyone on the island. That should put an end to all the wild stories and bring peace back to the island.”

“Okay, you all dig in. We’ve got a lot of work to do and not much time to do it in,” Max said. “Stella, you and Keith are going to be in charge of building the balloon and the burner, Cameron, you’ve got the science background, so use it where it will help most. Kennedy, I’m putting you in charge of public relations. We need to get something out there right now, get this out to the public so everyone knows by tomorrow morning.”

“Max, I’ve never done anything like this before, I’m a newspaper reporter,” she said. “I don’t know the first thing about putting a press release together or how to get it out there. Don’t you have someone who does this stuff for you?”

“I’ve never needed one. I don’t need to advertise the island to fill it up,” Max said, shrugging his shoulders. “You’re a writer, Kennedy. Just do what you do best, and you’ll be fine.”

“He’s right,” Cameron said. “You’re the perfect person to do this, and it was your idea, sweetheart. There’s no one who can handle the publicity better than you.”

“I feel like I’ve already screwed up so much,” she said. “I don’t want to blow this.”

“You won’t,” Cameron said. “Just think about Walter Brighton. You don’t want to let him win.”

“No, I want to humiliate him,” she said, feeling the old spark coming back. “And I don’t want all of you exposed either. I just need to get over myself and move on.”

“We all make mistakes,” Stella said. “It’s how you handle that mistake afterward that counts.”

“Thank you for reminding me,” she said, smiling at her new friend. “It’s easy to forget that sometimes. I’ll get started as soon as we’re finished eating and everything is cleaned up. I’m going to need my computer. I think I’ve got some software on there that should be helpful.”

“We’ll go get it after dinner,” Cameron said. “I’m sure Max won’t mind if you work in his office.”

“I can get it on my own. You have other things you need to do,” she said. “I’m a big girl; I can walk to my cabin alone.”

“How about I take her to get the computer?” Max interrupted. I need to sweet-talk Marie into helping us, and it might be easier if the brains behind this idea were with me.”

Cameron relaxed. “That’s fine,” he said. “I just don’t want you out there on your own right now.”

She sighed. “I don’t think Walter is going to try to hurt me, Cameron,” she said. “He’s a royal pain, but I don’t think he’s violent.”

“I’m not taking any chances. You mean too much to me,” he said. “Now, be a good girl and go with Max.”

“You’re going to pay for that later,” she leaned up and whispered in his ear. “You’ll never call me a good girl again.”

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