Page 25 of All I've Waited For

Carlotta Jenkins raised her hand, her red nails a perfect match for her bouffant hair. “I have a question.” The woman’s mouth was perpetually puckered as if she’d just had one too many lemons in her iced tea. “Rumor has it that you might take over Kyle’s business soon. Is that true?”

Ashley bit the inside of her cheek before she lashed out at the woman she and Madison referred to as the Queen of the Walker Beach gossips. She was only asking because Kyle wasn’t in attendance today. He wouldn’t have taken any of her guff. “Um …”

“I also heard that you are being forced to plan Derek Campbell’s wedding to that French girl.” Carlotta’s mouth twisted into a sympathetic frown, but her eyes held a glint—like a shark sensing dribbles of blood in the water. “Poor thing.”

Ashley’s eyes snapped to the back of the room, where Derek’s sister Heather sat. Thankfully, she seemed too engrossed in a quiet conversation with her longtime friend Alex Rosche to have heard Carlotta’s words.

But the whole rest of the room leaned forward with one collective breath.

Madison stood, her chair scraping against the tile. “Does anyone have a question that actually has to do with the festival? No? Fine. Get into your subcommittees, then.”

The growled command got people moving, and Ashley plopped back into her chair, breathing a bit easier. She needed to make her rounds, ensuring the subcommittee chairs had what they needed to move forward until their next meeting. But for this moment, she allowed herself to be still.

Evan slid into the seat across from her. “I’m sorry about my dad. He was out of line.”

“Please don’t worry about it. And he was right. Sometimes it does feel like too much.” Ashley rubbed the corner of her eye. Last night hadn’t provided her much sleep, not after so much time spent in Derek’s presence.

“Ash, wecanget you some help, you know. You don’t have to do this all on your own.” Evan massaged the back of his neck.

“No, no, that’s not what I meant. I just have a lot going on, but I love helping out with the festival.” And who else was going to do it? She was the resident events gal, the one people looked to when they had a need to fill, especially when it came to planning and organizing. Not that others weren’t capable, but everyone else was busy too, and she really liked having something of value to give to her town.

She liked being needed.

The thought unsettled her. She did it for them, not herself. Right?

Of course she did.

Shaking her head, she forced a smile. “And besides, we’ve made a lot of progress. The hardest part is done. Now, the details are up to the subcommittees. I’m just managing them and making sure they stay on track.” That wasn’t the total truth—there was still a ton for Ashley to do. But she didn’t want Evan to worry. He had enough on his own plate.

“If you’re sure.” Evan sniffed the air and groaned. “Oh man, I can smell Josephine’s meatloaf and potatoes. Having meetings here is way too distracting.”

Ashley laughed. “Maybe you can convince Madison to eat dinner here tonight.”

“Don’t I wish. I actually need to leave soon to get an online test done tonight, and she’s got new books in that need to be cataloged and shelved. It’ll be a lonely night for both of us.”

She could so relate. But at least they had each other. Who did Ashley have?

It didn’t matter. She didn’t need a man. Like Aunt Jules, she was content to be independent—and soon, a business owner. Living out her dream.

“I hope the test goes well.” She stood. “I’d better talk to the chairs before they take off.”

Walking around, she spoke with the heads of the sponsorship, events, and marketing and communications committees, answering questions about what she needed from them within the next month. The festival wouldn’t happen until the middle of December, which was still seven months away, but those months would fly by quickly.

She steeled herself for the last conversation, but when she looked for Heather Campbell—the head of the volunteer coordination committee—Derek’s sister was nowhere to be found.

Ashley’s lungs released a breath.

“Here.”

Turning, she found Madison behind her, holding two plates of apple pie à la mode. “What’s that?”

Mad rolled her eyes and set the plates down on the table Heather and Alex had vacated. “What does it look like? Ms. Josephine said she could tell all the way from the kitchen that you needed a pick-me-up.” She slid into a chair, and Ashley joined her. “I think she must have heard the Queen’s comment.”

“That was terrible, wasn’t it?” Ashley stabbed the pie, scraping her fork along the top of the fluffy ice cream. “Most of the time I love living in a small town. But other times …”

“You can’t let the gossips get to you. Isn’t that what you told me when I first came back to town?” Madison took a bite of the pie and moaned. “Oh man, you’ve got to try this.”

“I shouldn’t. I ate like five desserts with Derek yesterday.”

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