Page 64 of The Worst Possible Plan

And then it hit me. “Hang on.” I grabbed my phone so quickly with trembling fingers I nearly dropped it.

Helen blinked at me. “What are you doing?”

“I… I think I have an idea.”

“You do?”

“I said think. Let’s not get carried away.”

My fingers flew across the screen as I opened Google. Come on… What was the name? “The Riverstone Ramblers!”

Helen stared. “Who?”

“The Riverstone Ramblers.” My thumbs were already typing. “A friend of mine dragged me to Murphy’s Pub a couple of weeks ago because she can’t walk past live music without treating it like a civic obligation. They were incredible. Country. A little folk. Everybody was singing along.” I found the band’s website and practically jabbed the screen. “Please… please have a phone number… There.” I pointed triumphantly.

Helen leaned closer. “You found them?”

“I found their manager.”

Before I could lose my nerve, I pressed the little green phone icon. The line rang once. Twice. Then…

“Riverstone Ramblers. Stan speaking.” His voice sounded cheerful.

Good sign.

“Hi!” I said, perhaps a little too loudly. “My name’s Sophie Hartwell. This is probably the strangest phone call you’re going to get today.”

There was a brief pause. “I’ve likely had stranger.”

“Our headlining band for the Maplewood Falls Summer Festival just canceled.” I glanced at Helen, whose eyes had grown wider with every word. “Their van broke down a couple of hours away, and I’m desperately hoping this is one of those once-in-a-lifetime moments where the universe decides to be nice instead of… you know… itself.”

Stan laughed. “How soon do you need a band?”

I looked toward the main stage and then at Helen. “About…” I swallowed. “An hour?”

Another pause. Long enough for my optimism to begin packing its bags.

“No problem,” said Stan.

My mouth dropped open. “Really?”

“Yup. We’re rehearsing fifteen minutes outside town.”

My heart actually skipped.

“I can have the boys loaded up and headed your way in twenty minutes,” Stan continued. “Just text me the load-in location and stage schedule. We’ll take it from there.”

“Oh my god. You’re amazing.”

He laughed. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

“Yes.” I laughed too. “Definitely yes.”

“We’ll see you soon.”

The call ended.

For a second, I just stood there staring at my phone. I glanced at Helen. “They’re coming.”