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In three days’ time, I had an appointment with Janet, my therapist, and Chance was coming too. Therapy had helped me immensely and I was grateful for it, but I kind of thought that Chance believed it was all nonsense. His attending made me unsure of my feelings despite knowing he needed to come with me, and the distraction of shopping would help with that.
“Do we need a cage?” Diesel asked.
“Yes. Today I’m gift shopping for the raffle and other things. And Diesel, if you start prying like every other fucker, don’t bother,” I warned.
Diesel nodded warily but followed me out to an SUV. He spoke to Bones and then climbed into the driver’s seat. I’d already got into the passenger side; I knew full well that nobody drove these men.
“Where to?” Diesel asked.
I gave him directions to a flower shop. They were donating two huge bouquets, and I wanted to ensure they’d be ready. I’d been working on these plans for six weeks now.
The initial idea had come to me during a therapy session, and I’d begun making lists and contacting people. Now things were coming along, and just last week, I’d confirmed that the individuals providing the stalls were still able to deliver, and I knew the newspaper was running the event on a full page.
I’d paid someone to post flyers, and there were posters up in shops. Everyone in Spearfish knew there was a fundraising event from 9 am to 2 pm on Thanksgiving morning. I hoped the Hellfire link would drive people in. However, I’d already sold more tickets than I expected.
I’d organised a Thanksgiving tree where people could place what they were thankful for. There’d be a large raffle and several tombolas, and I’d started a waiting list for stalls. Games and a lottery were planned, and everything was running smoothly.
Today I was taking some of the money raised so far to buy prizes and also wanted to check on donations, which were currently stored in the old garage. Not that Chance knew, because he didn’t use it. Luckily for me, Chance used the nice double one attached to the cabin.
Many of the others had become involved in one way or another too. Calamity and Rosie were bringing animals for adoption and kind of making a petting zoo as well. I had spoken to Tiny, and he was going to use a stall to sign up people for his gym. Levi was displaying his paintings and putting one up for raffle alongside Shotgun, who was putting up a beautifully crafted leather belt and wallet. I’d even bullied Celt into taking a stall and showing his glassware—and he was donating two beautiful vases.
Manny and Gunner were coming from Rage and were going to display their woodwork, while Lindsey and Mina had both agreed to sign books for a small donation. Smokey had rallied the other prospects, and they were manning the grills for burgers, hotdogs, and ribs. Fanatic had raided Reading Hall and stolen some of their huge cookware, so there’d be chilli, soup, jacket potatoes, and fries on offer. Penny from Rage had said she’d man those.
Then we had the shop people who’d also rented stalls. Nobody had complained as I’d given a fair price, and they understood it was for the Trusts. I’d also advertised for a toy drive and hoped that people would bring at least one. I had ordered a huge tank-like container for the toys to be placed into, and Smokey was covering it to ensure the toys stayed clean.
So far, I’d raised several thousand and was now using some of it for prizes. Of course, shops had donated on learning other people had, but it wouldn’t hurt to have extra prizes. I planned to do the raffles at 1 pm before we closed for the day.
Lindsey and Mina had also both given full signed sets of books, and Chey had donated all her CDs—signed, of course.
???
I smiled with pride as I took a moment to recognise everything I had pulled together so far. There was more to do, there always was, but the bubbling excitement of it all made me feel warm.
As I left the florist, who had expressed excitement for the event, I spotted a man standing in the shadows. Warily, I clocked his appearance and hurried to the SUV where Diesel waited.
“Okay?” he asked.
“I’m not sure. That guy kinda spooked me, but I think it’s my nerves,” I answered honestly.
Diesel’s head whipped around, and he searched the area.
“I don’t see anyone,” he replied.
“Probably some innocent guy. I’m just jumpy, I guess,” I said.
The one thing I’d learned from Janet was not to bottle things up anymore. If I felt or thought something, then I vocalised it. It was all the swallowing shit and ignoring it that had caused my breakdown.
“Okay, where to next?” Diesel asked.
“I need to check that the butchers can fill the order.”
“Tell me where,” Diesel said as we climbed into the SUV.
Giving Diesel orders, I sat back with a happy smile. So far, so good.
“Why me, Clio?” Diesel questioned, and I felt surprised.
“Huh?”
