Page 68 of Moonshine and Magnolias
Her footsteps retreated, and a few seconds later, Wendy’s screen lit up.Hey, call me. Where are you?
She put the phone face-down on the nightstand and aligned it with the corner. “I really should get ready. We have the librarian’s retirement party today.”
Rob kissed her bare shoulder. “If you have to.”
Oh, what the hell. “I don’t think a few more minutes will matter all that much.”
And that definitely felt good.
Chapter 14
Bare feet were unprofessional. And Wendy didn’t care.
Besides, the newly retired librarian and her guests that booked rooms were upstairs after the afternoon of partying. No one was in the parlor except her friends, and they wouldn’t care if her feet were dipped in chocolate and used as a slate. She padded across the smooth hardwood floor to pour whiskey for everyone, then settled into a chair by the fireplace, stretching her feet on the ottoman.
“Hell of a time.” Sebastien had taken over the cushy chair with his sketchpad on his lap, his arm moving in wide strokes across the page. His shirt already had several smudges on it. “I never expected librarians to party like that. How much did they drink, anyway?”
“How would you know?” Jordan sat on the sofa next to Brandi and set up Connect Four. “You spent most of it hiding in your room.”
He wiped his forehead with his sleeve, leaving behind another streak. “Several guests kept looking at me. I figured I better leave before their cell phones came out and chaos ensued.”
“The party was perfect. Even the weather cooperated.” Wendy wiggled her toes. Cloud cover kept the day from being too hot, and with none of the humiditythat surrounds afternoons in the south. The only thing that would have made it more perfect was having Rob by her side, but he and Hal had scheduled interviews today. A craving spiraled through her body when she thought of him, hitting her most in her heart. She glanced at her friends to see if anyone noticed her glowing. They were all involved with their own things.
Their aunt should be with them. She was missing out on celebrating their first successful event since Grandma had passed away. The thought brought a moment of sadness to Wendy and she embraced it instead of shoving it away. She inhaled a deep breath, thankful that Grandma had seen beyond Wendy’s façade and gave her the opportunity to grow with Fountenoy Hall. “Where’s Aunt Eulalee?”
“I saw her fixin’ to head outside with the produce guy.” Brandi waggled her eyebrows and placed a checker in the game. “Oh, I didn’t get a chance to tell you before. I got a phone call today from Katie Wilkes from Leadership Claremont, wanting to know if Fountenoy Hall could host its awards breakfast here on Thursday. Seems the woman in charge forgot to reserve a place.”
“We’re going to have to work on being the first place people call, not the backup.” Wendy took out her phone. Now that she had decided to stay, her to-do list for Fountenoy Hall restructuring had multiplied. “Check the—”
“I told Katie to bring it on.” Brandi held up her hand as if she knew Wendy would protest. “I’m running this show. The whole shebang. You don’t have to do a thing. So even though I know you’re going to worry, don’t worry.”
The words should have brought some reassurance that Brandi was willing to be proactive with her responsibilities, but her cousin’s cavalier attitude toward organization brought a wave of fear instead. Wendy’s chest tightened, but she ignored the impulse to rub at it. “Well, hold on. We should see what else is going on.” She took a sip of her whiskey to complete the picture of casual agreement.
“Wendy, I’ve got this.”
Her fingers tingled with readiness, and she tightened her grip on her mason jar to keep them from visibly shaking. “We may need extra kitchen help. Should we ask Anthon?”
“Don’t need him.” The soft clack of Brandi’s checker hitting the plastic beneath echoed around the small room.
Wendy pressed her lips together to prevent herself from arguing.
It didn’t work. “Won’t they overrun the guests that are here? What are we talking, like sixty people?”
“We have two guests that morning,” her cousin recited. “No events the day of, before, or after. Traditionally the next year’s class cooks and serves for the one graduating, so we don’t need anyone else. I already told Katie the dress code for the kitchen.” Brandi raised a fist, then dipped her splayed-out fingers. “Boom. If I had a mic, I’d drop it.”
Hearing her cousin answer Wendy’s concerns with proficiency and ease loosened the muscles contracting in her body. “Wow, Brandi. I’m really impressed. You learned fast.”
“I had a good act to follow.”
An odd ache filled her chest and she took in the scene in the cozy room. Jordan and Brandi sat on the sofa, studying the game with a cutthroat intensity. Sebastien’s attention was on his sketchpad. It was the perfect time to tell them of her decision to quit Steward’s. Rob had coaxed her into sharing some of her desires that morning. At first, the thought of exposing that much of herself had shut her down flat. But she listened to her heart instead of being logical, and the morning had been magical.
She tugged on her hair and cleared her throat. If she couldn’t make herself vulnerable in front of three people she loved most in the world, she might as well live the existence of a hermit.
When the phone rang, she reached for it in a grateful reprieve for being given a few more minutes before exposing herself.
“What are you doing?” asked Brandi. “I’m lead tonight.”
Wendy waved her hand and gave the Fountenoy Hall greeting.
