Page 167 of The Perfect Love

“Thank you both,” Harley says, then she and Maura leave.

“I wish every girl had a friend like that who they could truly rely on. Who would show up for them.”

Rae loops her arm around mine. “Guess we’ll have to make sure we raise the next generation that way. With strong friendships—especially female ones.”

I chuckle at that. “With you leading the charge, we’ll be in good hands.”

No one makes or keeps friends quite like Rae Cooper. I’m honored to be one of them.

“This is such a beautiful thing you’re doing. I’ve lived so close my whole life and never knew. I’m so glad you’re here today. Would it be possible to get some business cards to keep in my shop downtown? You never know where someone might see exactly what they need.”

The woman in front of me smiles warmly. She’s dressed in a flowing bohemian paisley maxi skirt with a cropped tanktop and oversized sweater. She runs a small shop in Old Lake Town selling soaps and handmade goods. She even teaches some classes.

“That would be amazing.” I spin around and rummage through one of the containers we brought before pulling out a stack of postcards with information about Promise on them. “Take these, and if at any point you need more, you can call and ask.”

“Perfect. Well, I’m so glad I met you…”

“Chelsea.”

“Chelsea. Keep up the amazing work.”

“Thank you. Take care.”

“Many blessings.” She bows her head and walks away, leaving us in a calm silence.

Rae is sitting at a small table on the counseling side of the booth, talking with a couple of women, but otherwise we’re in a bit of a lull. Kristen joins me near the front of the booth and smiles. “You’ve helped do something pretty amazing here today. I hope you know that. And I appreciate you suggesting we be involved.”

My cheeks heat at the compliment. “Thank you.”

“You should be proud. You’ve come a long way this year, and I mean that. I have lots of interns who come in and out of Promise. We make it a point to try to pick people who are interested in and dedicated to our mission. The majority do a great job and continue on. Then there are a few who stand out. Who take Promise’s mission and make ittheirmission. They bring a part of their spirit to everything they do and go above and beyond. Somehow, I got lucky enough to have two at the same time.” She glances over at Rae. “We might not be able to change the world, but I’m certain you two can change your little corner of it.”

Tears well in my eyes, but I blink them away. “That means a lot to me. You’ve taught me a lot, and I look forward to learningeven more next year, then taking it all with me wherever I end up.”

“Rae mentioned you’ll be helping her this summer at the counseling center in Ida.”

“Yeah, it’s mostly volunteer stuff, but I’m excited. Especially since a lot of it is outreach and connecting with high school or college students. The earlier we teach girls about their strength and their power, the more strong females we have out in the world.”

“Your passion for advocating and empowering women is inspiring. In fact, I was talking with a friend the other night. She’s a professor in the women’s studies department, and she’s been working with the local high school to set up a program where women in their junior and senior years of college mentor girls who are in the junior and senior years of high school.”

“Yes,” I blurt out.

Kristen laughs.

“Seriously, how do I sign up? I would love to be a part of that.”

“I’ll pass her information along to you.”

“Thank you.”

I take a deep breath and let it out again, looking around at the tents and booths dotting the field, rooted in this moment. There were times when the darkness felt too overpowering to make it out of, but I made it.

Four beautiful, familiar faces appear, walking toward the booth.

“Rae, trouble’s here.”

Kristen looks at her watch. “Oh, you two need to get out of here and go have fun.”

Rae comes over to join me as Amanda, Mackie, Sarah, and Hyla stroll up to the booth.

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