Page 43 of The Lighthouse at the Cove
“But it’s already spring,” a woman exclaimed. “Why not just have a summer festival?”
“The lighthouse saved the sailors at the beginning of April. The festival should remain in April.” Reid pressed his lips together. “Who’s next?” He pointed to a man in the back with graying black hair. “Yes, sir.”
“How are we going to fix the lighthouse in ten days when it hasn’t been lit in decades?” he asked.
“We’re hoping that someone knows an electrician who can fix it,” Reid explained.
The man threw his arms up. “And who’s going to pay for that if the historical society has no money?”
Kaiah leaned toward the microphone. “We’re hoping someone will donate their time and supplies. Everyone who donates to the festival will be honored as a sponsor. We’ll have a sponsor tent and include their names on banners.”
Reid lifted his eyebrows and grinned at her. “That’s right,” he agreed.
More murmurs of conversations erupted in the audience.
Becca came to stand beside Kaiah. “This can work. We just need to pull together.” She pointed to Kaiah. “Kaiah is a journalist with a popular online magazine. She can get the publicity, and Clint atThe Coral Cove Timeshas agreed to run her stories locally.”
“Hold on!” a woman called. “We only have nine days. Even if we all pull together, how on earth do we get everything together innine days?”
The mayor touched Reid’s back. “Excuse me,” she said. “I’d like to speak again.” Reid and Kaiah moved away from the podium. “We can do this if we organize and volunteer.” She looked at Becca. “Would you like to be the chair of the festival committee?”
“Yes, I would.” Becca beamed at Kaiah. “And Kaiah will help me.”
Kaiah nodded.
Reid grinned at her again, and her heart began to beat in triple time.
“We got this, people,” a woman announced, and people began to clap.
Goodness. Seems like all it takes is one person to sow a little hope around here.
“Let’s turn this meeting around,” the mayor said, “and we’ll start organizing right here and now. We need some volunteers.” She studied the sea of faces. “Who can fix the lighthouse? We need some electricians to pull together.”
“I’m Duke Johnson,” a man said as he stood. “I run Johnson Electric in town. I have some contacts, and I might be able to find a specialist who can work on it and donate his time.”
Reid’s expression filled with relief as he clapped.
“My sister and I will make lighthouse and nautical pastries to sell,” one of the Watson twins announced. “We’ll donate a portion of the profits to the school fund.”
Becca held her hand up. “We’ll have a market at the base of the lighthouse,” she offered. “Vendors can pay a fee for a space, and the fees can go to the school.”
A woman in the center of the crowd jumped up. “I’m Brenda Jones, president of the Coral Cove Business Committee,” she said. “I’ll handle the Light Snack event along with the website and social media for the festival.”
Kaiah and Reid shared a smile. The festival was quickly coming together.
Becca tapped on her iPad. “Who else wants to volunteer?”
By the end of the meeting, Becca had an iPad full of volunteers and their contact information. Only a few naysayers continued to insist that there was no way the festival would be a success in such a short amount of time.
“Thank you for making this happen,” the mayor told Reid, Becca, and Kaiah while they walked out to the parking lot after the meeting. “I think this festival is going to be a great success.”
“We plan to do our best,” Becca promised.
A woman dashed across the parking lot toward them. “Mayor Whittington!” she called. “I want to discuss something with you.”
Becca set her hand on Kaiah’s arm. “That’s Joanna Edwards,” she whispered. “She’s the school superintendent.”
“I wonder what she wants,” Reid added.
