Page 4 of Love in the Details

“Of course not! But I need your help finding a new planner. Preferably someone local so he or she can make sure to get all the details right and in order before the big night.”

“I know nothing about event planners, Grandma. I can always ask Sandra back in the office to find someone.” He closed his eyes a moment, enjoying the feeling of not being in a car anymore.

His grandmother waved her hand and shook her head. “No, this won’t take long. Can’t you post an ad to the local paper or on some of those social media platforms? And then I’ll need your help choosing one of them.”

“I have so much to do already, Grandma. Can’t Margritte help you with it?” Dustin leaned his head back against the recliner, staring at the chandelier hanging from the vaulted ceiling.

“I won’t be around forever, Dusty. You used to love watching the house come to life with Christmas decorations. I think this would be a fun activity for both of us and would only take a couple of hours in the next few days to accomplish. You could use a set break in your workload and give me the opportunity to find out how you’re really doing.” She smiled, oozing guilt into him.

“Fine. I’ll help when I can. But no major promises.”

She drained the rest of her cup of tea and set it back on the table next to her. “Dusty, I think you can use a nap. Those always help me when I’m feeling overwhelmed.”

Laughing, Dustin said, “I never said I was overwhelmed.”

“You didn’t have to. Your face tells me everything I need to know.” She grinned and stared at him for a bit. She’d always been able to read him like a book.

“I’ll work on that this week. We’ve still got a few weeks until the gala.” He stood, knowing he needed to unpack his car and get settled. It was the afternoon of Black Friday, but he still had a lot of work ahead of him for the weekend.

“We have less than four weeks until the gala, Dusty. Time is going to go fast if you don’t have someone hired in the next week.”

“I’ll put it on my to-do list,” he said, not excited to be in charge of finding a person to plan the party. He spent enough time interviewing people for positions in the business aspect of the company or making sure they were all trained to manage the various factories throughout the states. Interviewing party planners was low on his list of things to get accomplished before the new year.

He had a lot of people underneath him who could give him an answer within a few minutes for who would be best to organize the traditional gala. But even he would admit his grandmother was right. She didn’t have much time left, and if this was one of the things she’d wanted him to come home for, he’d find the time to do it.

Chapter 3

Kassidy did her best to smile and laugh, pushing off the panic of no longer being employed that threatened to undo her. No, she’d never liked her job at the bank, but being unemployed in a town as small as Coldwater Creek meant she might have to live with her parents forever. The thought made her want to cry.

Okay, that was a bit dramatic, but her brain was making it hard to be positive right now. The one thing that distracted her was getting things ready for the baby shower her sister-in-law, Natalie, had asked her to throw.

She and Easton had gotten married after only being engaged for two months, and a few weeks after the honeymoon, they’d revealed she was already expecting. Kassidy’s twin brothers would not let it go that Natalie and Easton were having a honeymoon baby. But their mother was ecstatic to finally become a grandma.

Natalie had asked Kassidy to plan the baby shower three months ago, allowing her free rein with theme and decorations. It had been the thing Kassidy looked forward to every day after work, checking her ClipBoard app to get ideas for the perfect party.

She’d gone with a woodland theme since the couple had decided not to find out whether they were having a boy or a girl. That in itself irked Kassidy. How were people supposed to know what gifts to bring for the shower if nobody knew what they were having?

Neutral was her best bet, and she’d spent much of the night before frosting the cupcakes to look like red-topped mushrooms and sewing together the rest of the bunting that hung between the two large trees out back. She wouldn’t have been able to sleep much anyway. The replay of the scene at the bank kept cycling through her brain, making it hard to focus on anything else.

It was the perfect fall day for a shower, and Kassidy hoped the snow would stay at bay for another couple of weeks.The holiday weekend had made it impossible for some of the guests to make it, but it was the only time Natalie’s mother could come from Utah. Overall, it was a decent turnout for the favorite English teacher at Coldwater Creek High.

Arms wrapped around her shoulders, and Kassidy turned to see Natalie smiling at her.

“You are amazing at this,” she said, motioning to the decorations. “Maybe this is your calling.” She winked at Kassidy, waddling away to talk to some woman calling her over.

For a split second, Kassidy contemplated that thought again. And then she shook it off. There was no way she could make a living doing this for the small town. If Patty had tried to do it her whole life and finally retired early at fifty-five last year, unable to make it, how could she? Then again, no one had really been a fan of Patty’s ideas and visions.

Once the presents had all been opened, a bunch of the ladies sat around chatting. Kassidy took a seat next to her mother and aunt, taking a sip of the lemonade and finally eating one of the mini sandwiches she’d made early that morning.

“You’ve done an outstanding job with this, Kass,” Aunt Wendy said, grinning at her. “Much better than any I’ve ever been to. Did you learn all this when you were in the city?”

Kassidy tried not to laugh. The members of her family who’d lived in the valley since birth always looked at those who went away to the city as the smartest and most talented people in the world. Being there for about four months wasn’t enough time to learn much of anything.

“Come on, Wendy,” Kassidy’s mom said, slapping her sister lightly on the leg. “She’s always been like this. Do you remember when Taylor had a painting birthday? Kassidy missed out on the rest of the activities because she was trying to finish her creation.”

Kassidy smiled shyly at the thought. It had been a long time since her cousin’s birthday party, but the small canvas she’d painted that day still hung in her bedroom.

“I think you should at least look into it,” Aunt Wendy said, swiping crumbs off the front of her blouse. “This valley could use someone good in the party-planning department. Do you remember Uncle Alan’s sixtieth birthday party? Someone bought a giant cake and a couple of streamers and called it good.”

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