“I ran yesterday, too,” Krista said quietly, trying not to move her lips in case Betty was looking their way.
“Ladies,” Betty said, speaking a decibel louder than she just had. “Do you have something to share? Amber, where are we on entertainment?”
Amber looked down at her phone as she quickly stood. “I still haven’t heard back from all of the bands we were looking at, but the ones that I have are not available on that date. I was thinking that worst-case scenario we could hire a DJ.”
The room instantly fell so silent you could have heard a pin drop. Krista was actually surprised that there hadn’t been audible gasps of horror. Betty stared at Amber like she had just committed one of the seven deadly sins.
Amber looked around the room in confusion. “What? What did I say?”
“This fundraiser is not the sort of event that is suitable for a DJ,” Betty said.
Krista knew that the woman was attempting to be diplomatic, but anyone who knew her knew that what she really wanted to say was that this was a black-tie event, not a disco.
Live music had been a staple of the fundraiser for as long as Krista had been attending. She was not opposed to the idea of switching things up, especially if they had no other choice in the matter. But this was an old-school crowd and for most of them, this event was the highlight of their year.
“Okay…” The tone in Amber’s voice indicated that she really didn’t see what the big deal was. “Well, then I am going to need some new names of bands that you would all find appropriate so that I can try and make something happen.”
During the last meeting, Amber had brought in over twenty possibilities for bands to play. After all the ladies had put in their votes, only six had made it to the final round.
“What about the Malone boy?” Krista heard Marla Smith pipe up from the front row. “He’s back in town. I was never a huge fan of his music, but some people seem to like it. We should ask him to perform.”
Liz Posey put in her two cents. “I never much cared for his guitar music, but he can play a mean piano.”
“You just tell him none of that rock music,” Marla added.
“I think that’s a great idea!” Betty clapped her hands together once again. “Amber, that’s the direction we want to go.”
“I’ll ask if Chase would be willing to play, but I’m not sure he’d appreciate my limiting his playlist, and I also don’t think we have it in the budget to hire him.”
Betty looked at Amber with her signature ‘bless her heart’ expression. Amber had lived in Harper’s Crossing for quite some time, but Krista realized that she still didn’t totally understand the dynamics of small-town living. The women in this room didn’t look at Chase Malone and see a multi-Grammy-winning, international superstar musician. They saw Chase Malone, Roger and Abby’s boy who played music.
“Why doesn’t Krista ask him?” Liz suggested. Then she added, “That boy’s been sweet on her since God was a boy.”
There were mumbles of agreement that rolled like a wave through the twenty women seated in attendance in the gym of the women’s shelter.
“Great idea.” Betty slammed her tiny gavel (Krista never understood why she even had a gavel!) on the wooden podium. “Now dress code.”
As Betty went on to talk about the importance of keeping the event black-tie, Amber sank back into her chair, mouthing, “Sorry.”
Krista smiled to assure her friend that it was fine. She had no idea what Chase’s schedule was or even how long he planned on being in town, but if his schedule allowed, she was sure he would agree to do it.
Then she realized that the fundraiser was only about a month away. She really hadn’t let herself think about Chase being around then. In fact, she’d just been hoping he’d leave. But now that she did, the thought of him not still being in town made her feel sick to her stomach.
Last night had been the most fun she’d had in…she couldn’t remember how long. They’d danced and laughed. Sure, they’d also had the moment Amber had so kindly captured for posterity, but then they’d laughed and danced.
Krista honestly had no idea how to navigate through the Chase-infested waters. She felt like she was being slammed around by all of the emotional waves and then last night had finally caught one and rode it onto shore. But every day that he was here, a part of this town, a part of her life, she was getting tossed back into the emotion ocean.
At this point, she just hoped she didn’t drown.
Chapter Fourteen
As she squirted lotion from the bottle and rubbed it on her bare legs, Krista pressed her fingertips into her sore muscles and she massaged it into her skin. She was beginning to feel a little more human. After her meeting this morning at the HCWS, she’d come home and walked Bear. Then she’d snuggled up with him on the couch and slept for a few hours.