Misty looked as if she’d frozen to her spot.
“Come on, Misty.”
She ran toward the stairs and stood next to Vanessa with her cheeks a bright red.
“Misty brought me several ideas to help move the needle on Porter’s. We’ll be doing some really great things, including a new online store and ramping up production goals for 2020.”
For the next twenty minutes she fielded every question about the upcoming changes, and let Misty respond to some of the Porter’s-specific ones, which she handled with ease and confidence.
“Thank you, everyone, for your support and dedication to our future here in your beautiful town, and thank you for making me feel such a welcome part of it. Our task is to have everything done prior to my meeting back in Chicago on December eighteenth. Everyone who works the entire time will get paid days off through the holiday for the extra time and dedication. And I’ll be back in town taking some time off too, with my cousin here for our first Fraser Hills Christmas.” She scanned the room for any remaining raised hands or uncertain expressions. “If there are no more questions, that’s it for tonight. I’ll bring us together when we have more news. Thank you.”
Everyone filed out of the store. Surprisingly, even with thecrowd the store wasn’t disheveled, but the store employees did a quick walk-through to straighten up before they closed for the night.
Vanessa was the last one out. Buck and Anna sat in his truck in front of the store waiting on her.
She stopped at the double front doors. As she slipped the old key into the shiny brass lock, through the watery glass it looked like a dream.And to all a good night.
She dropped the key into her coat pocket and got into the back of Buck’s car.
“That’s good what you did in there.” Buck’s eyes met hers in the rearview mirror.
“Thank you. This old guy gave me some good advice. Not that I’d asked for any.” She laughed. “But I’ve been trying to put it to good use.”
“I’d hoped you would.”
He grinned, nodding as he pulled away from the curb.
“Can I tell her?” Anna looked about ready to explode. Had she been a hiding a secret?
Vanessa leaned forward in the seat. “Tell me what?”
“Misty is my great-granddaughter.” Buck lifted his gaze from the road to the rearview mirror again. “Did you have any idea?”
“None.” Misty had never mentioned it, and there’d been a clear chance when Vanessa had talked about Buck and the carriage house.
“Nope. She’s a smart kid. Came out of the womb that way. Confident. Determined. Strong. I’m very proud of her. I’d do anything to be sure that child has all the opportunities she deserves. Thank you for recognizing that in her.”
“Don’t thank me. It was certainly not done as any kind offavor to you, though you’ve been terrific. I liked what she’d planned. It was a good solid plan, and she had the data to back it.”
“I think it’s going to be a pretty good year around here next year.” Buck lifted his hand from the wheel and dropped it to Anna’s leg. “I’m gonna see more of you next year too, won’t I?”
“If I have anything to say about it.”
Vanessa probably should have put her hand over her mouth to hide her cheesy grin.How sweet is that?
There was no way she was going to break that little cloud of happiness by asking Buck whether he was Mike’s grandfather or Misty’s great-grandfather on her mother’s side. In a town of people who knew everything about everyone, she was clearly the outsider, because she was always at least one detail behind.
CHAPTERTWENTY-EIGHT
From the morning after the meeting, everyone who worked at Porter’s and several who offered to pitch in during their personal off-season worked hard to make everything on that project plan happen.
Morning red-yellow-green meetings were held with task owners to make sure everyone was on schedule, and a SWAT team was put together to take on any roadblocks or obstacles they bumped into, which ended up being few.
Vanessa attributed it not to her experience, but to the full-disclosure approach. The plan was posted so that every single employee, no matter their level, could see it. In some cases, people stepped up to help on things they hadn’t been tapped for, and that had ended up being an unexpected boost, cutting several hours from the bottom line.
The calendar that took up the entire whiteboard on the wall next to Vanessa’s desk was a flurry of scribbles in all differentcolors. From back here it almost looked like a Monet, or a Kandinsky—a masterpiece of color.
She picked up a green marker and walked over to today’s date. December 18.
