Steph nodded as she followed Rachel’s gaze. She’d put up Christmas lights around the starting corral and lined the various pathways with either battery-powered lights or glow sticks, everything ready to be turned on when the time was right. “Thanks. We try to make it festive.”
“It’s great. I guess the extra money this year didn’t hurt anything either, right?”
She pulled her mouth tight. “Extra money?”
“Yeah, from Jack Swisher’s company.”
“Steph didn’t use that money for decorating,” Phil Davies said as he strode toward them. “That all went to Windy Basin Youth as a donation. Steph bought these decorations out of her own pocket over the past several years.”
Smiling at Phil, Steph gave a nod. “Hey, good to see you here.” She wrapped him in a hug. When she stepped back, she gestured toward Rachel. “Do you know Rachel Newton?”
Phil shook his head as he reached out his hand. “I don’t think so.”
“Rachel has a hair salon on LeClaire Street.” She turned slightly toward Rachel. “Phil is Brooke Davies’s brother.”
“Oh, yes, of course.” Rachel’s smile widened as she said, “Nice to meet you, Phil. You don’t come to running club?”
Phil made a face. “I’m not a runner. I walk the Jingle Run 5K each year, but only because I’m on the board of directors for Windy Basin. The Jingle Run and Basin Bolt are our big fundraisers and are always a huge success, thanks to Steph.”
“It does look amazing,” Rachel said before pausing. “I’ve never actually run at night before. I didn’t even know there were night races.”
“The route is well lit,” Phil said. “You’ll do fine.” He turned toward Steph. “You want me to mark the mile route?”
“Please. I’ve had a few volunteers call off. I need to find someone to man the turnaround spot.”
“For the one mile?” Rachel asked. “I could do that if you think I would be finished before the start of the 5K.”
“Take your car down there and you will be,” Phil said. “Want to walk with me to flag the route and I’ll show you where you can park?”
Steph watched for a moment as they walked away. Phil was a fixture in Irma. He owned the print shop started by his dad years earlier. When his dad retired, after the death of Phil’s mom, he took it over.
She’d known Phil for even longer than she’d known Brooke. While Brooke was away at college, Steph and Phil had dated. It never went beyond friendship, both realizing early on they didn’t quite mesh.
She still thought a lot of him and sometimes wondered if it might be worth a second try. Even if they didn’t have a passionate love affair, maybe they could make a good life together. Build a family.
She shook her head and went back to setting up. Phil Davies was great, but like Chris Hepner, he wasn’t the one for Steph and she knew it. Better to be alone than to settle.
By four o’clock, Steph was short three more volunteers. Everyone had valid reasons for why they couldn’t help, not that it made a difference overall. Things were going to be difficult.
Most of the other volunteers were already there. Some were setting things up at the park, and others, like Phil, were marking a course. More than half of those working now would be running the 5K, leaving Steph to make sure all went smoothly. She’d figure it out. It wouldn’t be the first time she was shorthanded on race day.
Steph grabbed her clipboard and made a few notes on where she could move people and how it would work.
“No problem,” she muttered. “I can be in three places at once.”
She was still staring at the clipboard when she heard footsteps on the gravel behind her.
“Where do you need me?”
She turned. Jack Swisher stood a few feet away in cold-weather running clothes, bundled in a dark jacket and a knit cap. The chill had turned his nose and cheeks red, which, for some ridiculous reason, made him look kind of adorable.
Steph mentally slapped the thought down.
“You’re registered to run,” Steph said. “You’re early, but bib pick up is over there.” She gestured toward the sign-up table. “Brooke probably has things ready.”
“I decided not to run. Thought you might need some help?”
Steph tapped her clipboard. “Why do you think that? Does it not look like I have things under control?”
