Page 6 of So Right
The door opened again, and in walked Crystal Donovan and Alaina Pierce—rather, Alaina Archer. Even though Kelsey considered her a friend, it was hard not to think of the hugely famous actress by anything other than her movie-star name.
Truly best friends forever, Crystal and Alaina often arrived together, which made sense since Crystal stayed with Alaina when she was in town. Crystal wasn’t really an official Ribbon Ridge resident since her primary residence was in LA.
Crystal hefted a bag. “Hey, girls! As promised, we brought sandwiches from Barley and Bran.”
“Let’s head upstairs,” Kelsey said, leading the way.
As they reached the top, Kelsey headed toward the meeting room in the far right corner, but her companions walked en masse toward the exhibit space, which spanned the left side of the massive room.
Alaina went to a display table and ran her fingertips along the edge. “Wow, Kelsey, you’ve gotten a lot done. Didn’t the tables just get here on Friday?”
“Yeah, I probably worked too much yesterday.”
“You always work too much,” Brooke said, shaking her head from another of the tables. “We need to take you away for a girls’ weekend.”
Kelsey laughed. “Like you’d leave Cameron.”
Brooke grinned. “I would. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, after all.”
Crystal had also moved to the one of the tables and looked up, her gaze roving among the others. “That’s a great idea. Let’s go to the beach. I love the Oregon coast in the fall.”
“Me too,” Alaina said. “And I’m sure we can use the Archers’ house.”
As much as Kelsey wanted a weekend away, she couldn’t leave the library. She had a few volunteers and one newish part-time employee, whose first full day without Kelsey had been Saturday when Kelsey had gone to pick grapes at West Arch. “Sounds fun, but I don’t think I can get away for that long. At least not from the library.”
“You have help, right?” Crystal asked, tucking a lock of pale blonde hair behind her ear. “You deserve a break, Kel!”
Kelsey couldn’t really argue with that. But part of her still had to pinch herself and wonder what she was doing here in this idyllic town, hanging out with a great group of new friends, one of whom just happened to be an A-list celebrity. When Kelsey thought of what she’d come from or where she’d been headed… Well, she tried not to think about that.
She also refused to be pushed into something she didn’t want to do. That was the old Kelsey. “I’ll think about it. In the meantime, let’s eat. I’m starving!”
She went into the meeting room, where a large table dominated the center. Bookshelves lined one wall, a small almost-kitchen with a sink, dishwasher, and fridge took up another wall, and boxes cluttered the corners. Photographs and documents were piled on the table, which Kelsey had been using to sort and organize. She scooted everything to one end to clear a place to eat, then grabbed paper plates from a cupboard.
Brooke pulled various drinks from the fridge—water for her and Alaina, iced tea for Crystal, and a Diet Coke for Kelsey. They’d stocked up on their favorite beverages not long after their meetings about the history exhibit had become somewhat regular.
Crystal set the bag of sandwiches down. “You trust us to eat around that stuff?” She gestured toward the stacks Kelsey had moved over.
“Should I not?” Kelsey asked.
Alaina opened the bag and passed around the sandwiches, each marked with everyone’s initials to differentiate the order. She tossed her BFF a gimlet eye. “We’ll be good. This expectant mama needs some protein.” Alaina had just announced her pregnancy that weekend at the harvest event. Between that and Cameron and Brooke’s engagement, it had been an evening of celebration following the picking—until their collective exhaustion had kicked in and ended the festivities by about ten.
“Besides,” Alaina continued, “I’m an expert at keeping mess contained. Comes with having a toddler.”
Crystal laughed. “That’s because Alexa is the neatest toddler to ever live. I really hope your next child is a whirling dervish.”
Alaina rolled her eyes. “Thanks. I’ll be sure and have you babysit more often.”
Kelsey glanced at Brooke to see how she was taking this kid talk. She’d confided to them that she wasn’t able to have children but desperately wanted to. She and Cameron were exploring options. Brooke caught her eye and gave a subtle nod along with a smile. She was good.
Kelsey relaxed. She hated to see anyone in pain.
After a few minutes of eating, Crystal asked, “So what’s our plan today besides helping Kelsey with setting up some exhibits? Although it doesn’t look like she left us much to do.” She flashed Kelsey a wink and a smile.
Kelsey nodded toward the pile on the table and then toward the boxes in the corners. “There’splentyto do.”
“I have something to report,” Alaina said. “I talked to the county historical society, and we have an appointment Friday morning at nine.” She took a bite of her sandwich.
Brooke grinned. “Excellent! Did you learn anything about what kinds of maps they have?”
