Page 19 of Talk About… History

Our bio was a quick story about us, including that we were trying to keep our fathers’ legacy going. I wasn’t going for the sympathy vote, but I wanted people who were familiar with it to understand that things had changed a bit.

The news of the tragedy had spread across the artisan community, but that didn’t mean it was well known to all of the tourists who attended as well.

A loud, booming voice cut through the room. I glanced up and grinned. It seemed fate was looking out for me.

Mayor Adams had just walked in. He was our old principal but had taken over as mayor a few years ago.

Nobody really ran against him these days, and he’d done a pretty good job from what I’d seen on social media and heard from my family.

When he glanced my way, I gave him a winning smile and a small wave. His eyes widened, and so did his grin before he was sauntering over my way, stopping and greeting a few people as he passed.

To most, it would seem like a shady political move. To him, the entire town was his family, and he was simply saying hello. He would ask about someone’s kids, see how someone was feeling—it was like he knew something about everyone he met.

The more I watched him interact with the group, the better I felt about what I was about to propose. It was a bold move, and I was hardly prepared, but I wasn’t going to let a lack of confidence creep in.

Instead, I stuck to my guns, let my brothers’ encouragement bolster me, and knew that I had a good pitch, impromptu as it was now.

“Avery Whitaker, it’s about time you came back to us. I hear you’re back in town to stay.”

“Hello, Mayor Adams. It’s good to see you. Yes, I am in town to stay.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” he said, giving my shoulder a pat. “Those brothers of yours have been working hard.”

“They have,” I agreed. “I was just working on some ideas to build us up a PackVlog page and bring in more customers, not just the seasonal college crowd.”

His eyes lit up like I had just dangled his favorite present in front of him. I had a feeling I was going to win him over.

“You know, I was just talking to a few people the other day about that. I want to get our presence out there, to rebuild this town. It was a real damn shame what happened to your fathers and the Artisan Fair. It affected us all, and this town took a big hit. We haven’t seen anywhere near the business we used to, and I’m sure you’ve seen we’ve lost a lot of small businesses in the aftermath.”

“We have, and I agree that there’s a lot of potential in Rockwood Valley, we just need the rest of the world to see it. Speaking of which, I’ve got a few proposals if you’ve got a minute to sit down with me?”

He let out a small chuckle as I cleared a spot for him. “Well, I didn’t expect to come in for a business lunch, but if you’ve got ideas, I’m more than willing to hear them.”

“If you’re looking to hire someone to manage the town’s image, I believe I would be a very good fit. Not only have I done my research on the matter, but I really think that I could show the rest of the world the heart that Rockwood Valley has.”

“What are your qualifications for this role? Not to be rude, but you have just come home.”

He was eager, but understandably a bit skeptical. I didn’t hesitate to reassure him, rattling off the work and degrees I’d managed while gone.

“I have been gone,” I concluded. “But the experiences I’ve made at bigger companies and learned in school, will only help me reach our visibility goals.”

He nodded slowly, not quite sold yet.

“I am thinking it would be best to start with showcasing the individual businesses in town. I’d shoot video tours, take pictures of their business and edit them to perfection, create individualized profiles with links, and do interviews. We could give everyone notice and they can make sure their business is looking its best. Each video would lead them to the town website with the promise of the full interview videos and more. I can even help you rebuild and rebrand the website.”

His eyebrows furrowed, and he ran a hand across his chin back and forth as if he was deep in thought. “It has been quite a few years since we’ve updated that website,” he said, nodding his head slowly as he did.

“It has, and not to be rude, but it shows. In this day and age, we have to use a mix of nostalgic, rustic, and modern. If we do it just right, then we can show off the Southern charm this place has.”

He let out a whistle and leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms as he studied me. “Avery, I always knew you were a bright student, and I am very impressed with the lady that you’ve turned into. I’ve already been discussing this with the board in some capacity. I wanted to allocate a budget to hire out a management team, but using one of our locals, especially someone who has fresh eyes to see our town with and knows its potential, I think this could convince them. Could you start small, maybe make us up a mock website so we could see a few videos, and then present them at our next council meeting? That’s next Tuesday, so you don’t have a lot of time to work, but if you do a good job it’ll be far easier to convince the others.”

“I won’t let you down, I promise,” I said, having to force myself not to do a dance in my chair.

Excitement was bubbling up in me. He was pulled to another table and I managed a goodbye before it truly hit me.

I had less than a week to come up with a proposal, but if I did well, then I could have a permanent job—one I didn’t expect, but knew I would be amazing at.

Needing to tell someone, I packed up, paid my bill, and tipped Kelly. I practically ran to my truck, cranking my music as I drove home.

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