Page 85 of The MC's Surprise
“Sierra Martin?” the woman asked with a kind smile. She was dressed semi casually in jeans and a button up, her hair braided over one shoulder. The man shook my hand next, dressed a little more formally in a suit and tie. Both of them were look at me like I was someone special. I just couldn’t figure out why.
“I’m Summer Lindon and this is Jorge Diaz. We’re from the parks department. We wanted to thank you in person for what you’ve done here.”
“Oh, that wasn’t me. That was the crew,” I protested, but Summer cut me off before I could continue.
“They might’ve done the clean up, but you set everything into motion. I always hated driving past this park, knowing how good it could be but not having the funds or manpower to do it justice. Thanks to you, people can finally enjoy this space like it should be. And we’re in talks with your club president about fixing up the playground as well. That’s amazing. You should be proud of yourself.”
I spluttered, unsure what to say. All I’d done was make some phone calls and maybe a little planning to make sure everything got done. It wasn’t that big a deal.
“This is my card. If you’re ever interested in doing more events like this, please let me know. We’d be happy to work with you in the future,” Jorge said while handing me his card. “And ifyou don’t mind, we’d like to dedicate this place to you. Without you, none of this would be possible.”
I stared at him, speechless. Justin had to step in to answer for me because I couldn’t think of what to say.
“That sounds great. If I know my girl like I think I do, I’m sure she already has plans in the future for more events like this. We’ll be in touch.”
They shook my hand and thanked me again before leaving. I was still frozen in shock when Justin took my helmet and moved to put it on me again. Catching his hand, I choked out, “What are you doing?”
He smiled softly. “Showing you just how amazing you are. We’ve got one more stop before we head back to the rally. Think you can handle it? Or do you need to be done?”
My heart was pounding in my chest, and I couldn’t for the life of me figure out where he was thinking of bringing me next, but I didn’t want to disappoint him by ending things early. I swallowed hard against the dry spot in my throat, releasing his hand so he could help me with the helmet.
“I can handle it. Hopefully.” I muttered the last part, but Justin’s shit eating grin said I wasn’t quiet enough. My belly fluttered a little as I climbed onto his bike again, and I tried to pay more attention this time to where we were going.
He brought me to the fire station, where the fire chief was waiting to praise me for an event I couldn’t even attend. When I tried to point that out, both he and Justin argued that I did all the work to set things up and made it so everything went off without a hitch. The fire chief asked to work with me again, and I collected another card with his information on it. More obligations were piling up, and I wasn’t sure how I was going to balance all this with work and raising Melanie. It scared me to think I’d miss out on raising her. I didn’t want to admit that it scared me just as much to give up on helping all these people. Itwasn’t like I was inexperienced. I could set up events like that in my sleep. I just needed to find the time.
When we parked back at the rally, my head was spinning. I couldn’t make the same mistakes I did in the past. I couldn’t be impulsive. I needed to stick with a steady job so I could be there for Melanie. I refused to fail when it came to raising her.
“Come on, sweetheart. I texted your mom and she said to meet her at the main stage.”
I frowned. “Wait. What? Why?”
She said she’d stay at the cafe. The main stage was where most of the music was playing. It was too loud for Melanie.
Worried about my daughter, I hurried toward the main stage, dodging through the throngs of people. It took me a minute to realize there was no music playing and most of the rally was gathered around the stage as Prez spoke to the crowd.
“We couldn’t have done any of this without the help of a special someone. Sierra Martin was seven months pregnant when she offered to help my crew. She’d just gotten to town, was still dealing with the stress of the move, but she dropped everything to help us show you who we really are. I couldn’t have asked for a better friend and ally to our crew.”
For like the hundredth time that day, I froze, gaping at the stage. When Prez’s gaze locked on me, it was like the crowd parted and everyone was looking at me.
“Sierra? Can you join us for a minute?”
I squeaked, which was embarrassing, and I needed Justin’s support to step forward. This was even more intimidating than speaking in front of the entire crew.
Justin led me onto the stage, sticking by my side with a proud smile as Prez pulled me into a hug.
“What is this?” I whispered.
He stepped back, a smirk pulling at his lips as he spoke into the mic again. “This is a thanks, Sierra. I know you left behinda big job in California, but I’m hoping we can continue to work with each other in the future. And if you’re willing, I’d like to be the first to invest in you opening up shop here instead.”
50
Vegas
It looked like Sierra almost swallowed her tongue at Prez’s proposal. She shot me a wide eyed look, and I couldn’t ignore the fear there. I pulled her against my side, leaning to whisper in her ear.
“I didn't bring you to all those places today just to give them a chance to say thank you. I was showing you what you’ve already accomplished. By helping us like you did, you established a foundation for your business here in town. You’ve already got clients willing to work with you. And I know I’m going to need your help, since I got a text this morning that Charlotte quit. We run events throughout the year. I need your help too.”
Tears filled her eyes and she shook her head minutely. Turning her to face me, I took her hands. “I know you’re worried. You’ve got every right to be after what happened. But you’re amazing at what you do, sweetheart. The town needs someone like you. And you shouldn’t give up on your dream just because some asshole tried to sabotage you. He’s the one who fucked up. And he failed to take the one thing that made your business a success.”
