Page 7 of Every Bit As Perfect
I frowned.
Hunter chuckled.
My dad’s voice rang out.“You hear that, Harley?”
I jerked to attention, my gaze skittering left and right before finally landing on their reflection staring at mine in a mirror on the wall.
My dad threw the door open.“You’ve got your weddings.”
I tossed my hands up in the air and launched myself into my dad’s arms.
His chest reverberated with his laughter.
Hunter grinned at me behind Dad’s back and gave me a dorky double thumbs up.
Backing out of a memory that still ached, I drew away from my dad and briskly swiped under my eyes.
“You okay, darlin?”
“Yup.I was at the beach.My eyes are a bit gritty.”
“Mm,” he hummed.
Sometimes he saw too much.Thankfully, he was not much of a talker when it came to serious stuff, so I counted myself lucky.
My mom waltzed into the room.“Hi, baby.What’s up?”
There was no point in delaying.They’d either go for it, or they wouldn’t.“I want us to become more involved with the community.”
Her brow crinkled.“What do you mean?”
“I want us to be more personally connected.Most of our staff live here in town.Why not open the resort up a couple of times a year to our families instead of just having the Christmas party?More than that, I’d love to open to the community once or twice a year for recreational purposes.”
“It sounds like a logistical nightmare,” Dad muttered.
“How would that affect guests?Won’t it be disruptive?”Mom pursed her lips.
“I think we can work something out,” I countered.
“I’m not sure about this, Harley…”
I knew they’d balk at that one so I launched it at them first knowing they wouldn’t be able to shoot me down twice in one sitting.
“Okay, we’ll table that for now.For the fundraiser this year, I’m planning on adding an evening adults-only component with childcare provided on-site,” I rushed to finish before they could protest.
Dad looked skeptical.“Do you really think people will go for that?”
“Dad,” I huffed, exasperated.“The first year I suggested a fundraiser, you guys opposed it, but we raised enough money to get an autism service dog for Audrey Lewis.The second year we raised enough to kick off the animal shelter.The third year, we established our women’s shelter.This year, instead of making it a strictly family affair with pony rides, face-painting, hot apple cider, and the bake sale as usual, I want to add an evening component.A silent auction.Maybe wine and cheese.A trivia night.I don’t know the details yet,” I rambled quickly, “but I’ll figure it out.I always do.”
“What are we raising money for this year?”
“Now, Dad, you know I never reveal that until I present the check.”
The truth was, I hadn’t quite decided.
My dad broke the silence following my impassioned plea.“Let’s think about it.We’ll come back to it next week.”
I opened my mouth to protest but he held out a hand to stay me.
