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Betty waved the woman toward their table. “Git your fanny over here, Jean and meet this woman. She won’t bite. In fact, she’s real sweet.” Standing up, she practically forced Jean to take her chair. “She really is one of your biggest fans,” Betty told Kaylee.
“Hello,” the woman said softly as she perched on the edge of Betty’s vacated chair. “I’m Jean. I mean, I guess Betty already said that.” Her cheeks were flushed, and she wet her dry lips.
“Nice to meet you,” Kaylee said, sticking out her hand. “Please call me Kaylee.”
The woman shook her hand, gripping it tightly then pressed her palm to her chest. “I think I might be having a heart attack.”
“Oh no. Should we call an ambulance?” Kaylee scanned the room. “I’m sure there’s a fireman around here somewhere. Can we get some water? Or something to eat?” She pushed her plate of half-eaten pancakes toward the woman. “You’re welcome to share mine.”
The woman shook her head and blew out a nervous laugh. “No. I’m fine. I’m not really having a heart attack. My heart is just pounding a thousand miles an hour because I’m so nervous about meeting you. I really am a huge fan. I’ve read all your books, and you inspired me to try my hand at writing my own romance novel.”
Kaylee let out her breath, thankful the woman wasn’t in cardiac arrest. “Wait. I did?”
“Yes. I saw you at a conference once. In Chicago.”
Kaylee remembered. It was one of the few reader conferences she’d attended. Faye had assured her it was going to be small and signed her up to be on a panel. There had been over a hundred rabid readers there. She’d been both terrified and thrilled at meeting the ones who came up to her signing table on the second day.
“You were on a panel, and they asked you what advice you would give to new writers. You told this story about perseverance and how many times you’d been rejected, and it really moved me. You were so sincere in your encouragement, and I felt like you were talking directly to me. You gave us great advice on character development and story structure, and you gave me the courage to start writing my own book.” Her voice shook as she spoke, and her eyes welled with tears.
“Oh my gosh,” was all Kaylee could say.
Jean wiped an escaped tear from her cheek with the back of her hand. “I’m so sorry. I don’t know why I’m crying. It just means so much to me to meet you in person and to be able to tell you how much you inspired me and my writing.”
Kaylee swallowed, the emotion thick in her throat. She’d never had anyone cry when they’d met her before, and the sentiment moved her beyond words. “It’s fine. I mean, you’re fine. Oh, I don’t know what I mean.” She pressed her hand to her chest. “I’m truly honored and so pleased that something I said helped you. And I can honestly say you’re the first person who’s ever cried at meeting me.”
Jean cringed. “I can’t believe I did that. I’m such a dork. I was just so nervous. Then I had you thinking I was having an actual heart attack. And now I’ve blubbered all over you.”
“You thinkyou’rea dork? I thought you were going into cardiac arrest, and I offered you my plate of half-eaten flap jacks.”
Jean snorted out a laugh and the group of women all joined in. As if the laughter had been the break in the dam, their conversation then flowed easily as they chatted about books and their favorite authors.
Luke sat leaned back in his chair, listening and watching as the women finally wound down then hugged her and scurried away. “That’s really cool,” he told Kaylee. “The way you and your books have made a difference in so many people’s lives.”
She shook her head. “Oh, I don’t know. I think they were just being nice.”
He put his hand over hers and gently squeezed. “Stop. Don’t put yourself down. Those women read your stories and what you wrote genuinely made an impact on them.Youdid that. With your talent and your words. The credit belongs to you, so own it, and be proud of yourself.”
She hadn’t ever thought of it that way, hadn’t really given much thought at all to the fact her books could impact anyone’s life. Sitting a little taller in her chair, she turned her hand over and squeezed Luke’s back.
“Kaylee! Luke!”
Luke dropped her hand as Emma’s voice rang out across the hall. They both stood as the girl came running up to their table and threw her arms around Kaylee. “I did it. I got my new bike.”
“You did? I thought you still didn’t have enough.” Kaylee’s chest was full to bursting at the joy she saw radiating from Emma’s face.
“I didn’t. Even with the gift card. But Miss Pearl called me this morning and said they were doing some kind of summer deal. And the bike was on sale for exactly how much I had. And even included a new helmet. Isn’t that amazing?”
“A helmet too?” Luke raised an amused eyebrow at Kaylee before turning back to Emma. “Thatisamazing.”
“Yeah, it was quite a coincidence,” Dean said, ambling up to their table after his daughter. “Imagine Pearl having a deal for theexactamount Emma still needed.” He narrowed his eyes as he wagged his finger back and forth between them. “You two wouldn’t happen to know anything about this great sale, would you?”
“Not me,” Luke said, covertly pointing a finger toward Kaylee above Emma’s head.
“We gotta go,” Emma said, before her dad had a chance to say anything more. She gave Kaylee’s waist one more squeeze. “The parade is starting in fifteen minutes, and I need to get in line. I saw Gladys and Cooper outside. Tell them I’ll cuddle them later.”
“Have fun,” Kaylee called to her back as she was already off and running toward the door.
“Speaking of the parade,” Luke said. “We should probably go claim a spot on the curb.”
