Page 52 of One Small Spark (Love in Sunshine #4)

THIRTY-SIX

SHEPHERD

Trying to look casual and unaffected when my vital organs feel like they’ve been chopped to bits on a butcher block is tough work. It’s way too late to ask Lila to cover the entire presentation, but the thought has crossed my mind.

Approximately seven hundred times.

“The turnout’s even better than I hoped.” Lila’s twisted in the seat next to me, eagerly watching the crowd behind us.

I haven’t turned to look, but the ambient noise is loud enough I’d guess the auditorium is packed. That’s good for the trails. For me, less so.

My hands are so clammy I have to subtly wipe them on my pants every few minutes so I don’t drop my tablet. My heartbeat is thrumming in my ears, and my thoughts are like an upended toolbox. There’s probably something useful in there, but I’ll have to hunt to find it.

“This is so exciting,” Lila’s saying. “Mayor Martinez is really championing the project. Did you know he’s a big biker? You probably do.”

Enrique Martinez visits Get in Gear regularly, and he’s voiced his enthusiasm for this project over the last month. That doesn’t do anything to settle my stomach, currently riddled with anxiety like mold in a hunk of blue cheese.

I need a strong drink. A long bike ride. An evening next to my fire listening to a Greek mythology audiobook. Wren’s soft body tucked up next to mine on the couch. I need?—

Arms come around me from behind, a warm cheek rubbing against mine. “Okay there, Callahan?”

“Wren.” I clasp her arms over my chest. It’s not an SSRI or a shot of whiskey, but it helps. “Better now.”

“I like the jacket.” She runs her fingers over the lapel of my navy corduroy suit jacket I layered over a flannel shirt. “You look like a hot, dangerous professor.”

This woman. “I feel like a kid who didn’t study for his final.”

Even though I have the source material memorized.

“You’ve got this,” she whispers in my ear, her lips grazing over the shell. “This is your vision. Your plans. You know every last detail. And you are going to rock these people’s worlds.”

I don’t deserve her, but I’m never going to let her go.

“Thank you for being here.”

She shifts forward and faces me better. “What? You think I was going to coach my boyfriend and not come cheer him on? No way, kitten.”

My eyes must light up at that shared nickname because she leans back in. “Would it make you feel better if I smack your butt while you walk up to the podium?”

I laugh out loud, my mood truly lightening for the first time this evening. “It might.”

“In front of your parents and everything, huh? Saucy.”

“What?”

She straightens but keeps her hands firm on my shoulders. She tilts her head behind her, a secret smile peeking out. I turn and have to laugh again.

My parents are in the seats next to hers with Charlie and Leo— holding hands, not that I have the brainpower to ask about that—next to the aisle.

They’re in suits and frilly dresses, clearly taking time away from the event at the lodge to join us.

Hope and Griffin are here, along with Tess and Ian.

Lila’s boyfriend, Grant, is next to Palmer, Laurel, and the rest of my Get in Gear crew.

Even Jamie from Blackbird’s is here, waving at me from three rows back.

“You showed up.” I’m talking to any and all of them.

“You should have told us about this, you big dope,” Charlie says.

“We’re always here to support you, Shepherd,” Mom adds.

“But the gala?—”

“We can miss the silent auction,” Dad says. “But we can’t miss being here for you.”

Leo holds out his fist for a bump. “We’re your pack, bro.”

I bump his fist, trying to make sense of that. They’re my what?

I tilt my head to look up at my goddess. “What did you do?”

“I threatened them all with bodily harm if they didn’t come out here to show you how important you are to us. We’re no Grandpa Callahan, but we can be your rock, too.”

This woman who cloaks herself in cynicism like battle armor has the softest, most loyal heart at her center.

Gathering everyone together to support me—the guy she used to proudly proclaim was her nemesis —must have cost her some vulnerability.

A moment of open-hearted risk wrapped up in her “don’t defy me” attitude.

“Wren.” I reach up to pull her in for a quick kiss. “I love you.”

“That’s because I’m awesome.” She kisses me again. “But so are you. This is going to be a slam dunk. In biking terms, that’s like…going really fast down a hill.”

“Thanks for putting it a way I can understand. ”

She touches her nose against mine. “And I love you, too.”

“They’re about to start,” Lila says, quieting everyone.

Nerves ping through my chest with fresh enthusiasm. My family’s presence won’t cure me of my anxiety. I might still panic when I get up there, whether it’s obvious to anyone in the audience or not.

But having everybody important to me in the front rows grounds me at my core. Whether I deliver my presentation flawlessly or totally blow it, they’re here for me.

All because of the spitfire woman I love.

“We should crash more parties.” Wren gazes up at me as we slow dance in the lodge’s barn.

“We had an explicit invitation.” My parents left as soon as my presentation ended but told us to come by once everything wrapped up at the town hall meeting.

We’re underdressed for the evening, but we’re not the only ones.

Most of the rest of our friends showed up at the gala, too, ready to dance and mingle and bid on Leo’s signed Hornets gear.

My eyes popped out of my head when I saw the amount Grant spent to win a signed jersey. Leo would probably give it to him for free now, but it’s for a good cause.

Wren focuses on something past my shoulder, steering us that way. I bump into someone and turn to see the man of the hour. Dancing with my sister.

It’s going to take me a second to adjust, but I’m fine with it. As long as I ignore how low his hand rests on her waist, I’m totally fine.

“You did great tonight.” Charlie said as much right after I finished the presentation, but I can appreciate her praise more now that the buzzing noise in my head has died down. “I’m proud of you.”

Lila’s already heard positive reactions from council members and residents. Her eager texts will probably double now as we plan for the next steps in the process.

“Hey, I’m proud of you . Look at this place.” It’s hard to believe this is the same space that used to be a catch-all for machinery, animals, and Grandpa’s collection of old tools. Now, it shines like a new penny. “You had a dream, and you went for it.”

Leo swipes a finger beneath one eye. “Stop, it’s getting too emotional in here.”

“Are you sure you want to deal with this guy?” I ask my sister.

She tips her head toward Wren. “Do you want me to ask her the same question?”

“Nope.” I spin us away, ignoring their laughter.

“The answer’s yes,” Wren says after a minute. She’s got one hand on the back of my neck, making it hard for me to concentrate. “I do want to deal with you. Just a little.”

“A little, huh?” We slow in the middle of the dance floor.

My throat tightens as if I’m standing on that stage again, even though Wren is the only one close enough to hear me.

“Thank you for everything you did tonight. Getting everybody to show up. Being there for me. It meant more than I can say. I don’t know how I’ll ever thank you. ”

She lifts a mischievous eyebrow. “I have some ideas about that.”

I lean closer, ready to hang on every word. “Really?”

“Do you want to go to New Zealand with me?” She bites her lower lip but plows on. “I was thinking in the spring. Our spring, their fall. It should still be warm enough to enjoy the beaches but not so busy we’re surrounded by touristy crowds. ”

I draw her to me until our bodies are flush together. “Wren. Yes. Absolutely, yes.”

Her smile is like the first rays of sunshine over the mountains on a summer morning. “Good. I already told Mom and Tess I’m taking the time off. So…all we have to do is make some plans.”

“I would like to make a lot of plans with you.”

She rolls her eyes but doesn’t sell her exasperation very hard. “Big goals there, Callahan?”

I lean down to touch my nose to hers. “I want everything, Krause.”

I’m not sure just what she’s willing to reveal in this crowded space, surrounded by family, friends, and acquaintances who will surely gossip about us the moment our backs are turned. But she stretches up to meet me, throwing her arms around my shoulders in an enthusiastic kiss.

When we part, she shrieks. My heart pounds pretty hard, too. Ada and Isabel are standing so close to us, they might as well have their arms around us. No surprise, both are grinning like their bingo numbers just came up.

“We’re just so delighted you two made it to the gala,” Ada says.

“So happy to see you both here.” Isabel smiles up at us so hard, it’s a little uncomfortable. Like a clown making direct eye contact in a crowd.

“And looking so happy together, I might add.”

“Very happy.”

Smug has never been more perfectly personified than in these two wonderful, meddling women.

“We owe it all to you,” Wren says with only a hint of sarcasm.

Ada and Isabel nod at each other, accepting full responsibility for our relationship .

“I knew you just needed a little push,” Isabel tells me.

“The tiniest shove in the right direction,” Ada adds.

Wren nods along. “The ittiest, bittiest nudge to kiss each other’s faces off.”

I pull her closer. “I never needed extra encouragement about that.”

Ada giggles. “Maybe we should leave you two alone, hmm?”

It’s not as alone as I’d like to be, surrounded by about three hundred other people.

Isabel looks past us into the crowd. “I wonder who else here needs a little push?”

Ada taps her fingers together like an evil mastermind. “Let’s find out. Have a good night, you two.”

They shimmy off through dancing couples, no doubt searching for their next potential match.

“Who do you suppose is next?” I ask.

“That’s their problem.” Wren slides her hands up my shoulders, gazing at me as if nobody else exists. “The only romance I’m interested in right now is ours.”