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She’s right, “Okay. I’ll only say that I was pleasantly surprised by his talents.”
“EEK!”
I just laugh at her joy in my happiness. “Anyway, this morning, Gladys stopped by and gave me a check for five thousand dollars, saying that the girls collected the money from the residents in my neighborhood, but no one knew how to put it in the crowd fundraiser online. Then said something about a fundraiser next weekend. They all want to attend and make baked goodies. Want to clue me in here?”
“Oh, ah, yeah. Well, I’ve been busy today.”
“I should say so. You and Chloe have been. Have you seen how much has been collected?”
“Kate, first, you deserve it. What that fucktard did to your shop is unforgivable. Second, yes. It’s currently sitting at eighteen thousand dollars. And thirdly…”
“WHAT? Eighteen thousand dollars?! Only a few hours ago, it was ten thousand dollars. What the hell!?!”
Grace laughs, “Kate. You have no idea how many people like you and your shop, do you? Chloe, Josh, and Anna have been sitting outside your shop all day telling customers know what happened when they come for their daily breakfast. Your customers are the ones donating, Kate. They all care about you.”
The tears are free flowing down my face as Hudson, with his wet hair fresh from the shower, walks down the hall with concern on his face. I wave him off and put Grace on speaker. “I have you on speaker, Grace. Hudson wants to know why I’m crying.” I warn her because you never know what may come out of her mouth at any given moment.
I look at Hudson, “The account is up to eighteen thousand dollars and my staff have been sitting outside the shop letting customers know about what happened all day long.”
Hudson’s eyes widen and he pulls me into his arms as more tears fall down my face.
“Here’s the problem, though.” Grace continues. “We were planning a fundraiser picnic thing at the clubhouse in your neighborhood next weekend, but it’s grown a bit, and they can’t handle that many people. Are you okay if we hold it in a park the weekend after next? I called the parks department, but they already have the place book this coming weekend, but they have the next one available.”
“Why don’t we do it at Hooplas? We have the entire two adjacent empty properties next to the bar. You can use that area.” Hudson offers.
“Don’t you need to consult with your partners?” I ask because this is very generous of him, but I don’t want to cause any friction between him and his partners. Hell, I don’t even know who his partners are.
“It shouldn’t be a problem, but I’ll text everyone now.” He pulls out his phone and sends a quick text while Grace is talking out loud to no one.
“Oh, that would work. We could put the dunk tank in one corner, the midway games over on that side, the picnic tables here, and the stage over here. This could work.”
“Wait. Midway games? Stage? What the hell are you planning?” Now it’s all getting overwhelming.
“Oh, you have no idea. I called Riley, you know her. She’s on our kickball team. Anyway, she’s an event planner and when I told her what happened, she volunteered her time and efforts. She’s got everyone donating time and supplies. Between this fundraiser, the one online, and the insurance money, you’ll be able to rebuild your shop fast. Maybe even bigger and better than before. And if you decide to move to another location, maybe you could even build your wedding cake business, too. Kate, this is going to be epic. I promise.”
I can hear the tears in her voice as mine roll down my face. “I wish you were here, Grace, so I could hug you.”
“I’m sending you giant hugs, babe. I’ve got your back. Always have.”
“I love you, girl.” I tell her because the words ‘thank you’ don’t seem to be enough.
“I love you, too.”
“My partners are all on board. We’re doing this at Hooplas. What do we need to do?” Hudson interrupts our love fest. “What’s with all the tears again?” He looks confused.
“We love each other.” I tell him.
Hudson pales and I realize my error as soon as I say it. “Grace and I love each other. Grace and I.” I try to laugh it off.
He takes a deep breath, “Oh. Okay.” He seems to recover quickly, “Grace, what do you need from Hooplas?” He says into the phone, but his eyes are on me as he gently wipes away my tears. His touch is going straight to my heart.
“Let me get back to you. I’ll call Riley and let her know. You may hear from her instead of me. I’m trying to help but not get in the way, if you know what I mean.” Grace laughs. “By the way, thank you to you and your partners, Hudson. I really appreciate it.”
“You’re welcome.” He says absently as we’re still staring at each other.
“Okay. I’ve got to go. There’s a lot to do. Kate, take it easy and don’t worry about a thing. Hudson, take care of Kate. Love you both.” She calls out and then the phone goes dead.
“Thank you for the use of your place.” I tell him as I put the phone in my back pocket and then wrap my arms around his neck.
