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"Nice job on that. Are you going to continue to fix it up?"
"I'm going to bring her back to her glory. It may take a while, but I'll get it finished."
"That's awesome. Coop is a great guy. He's found a good one in you."
"Thank you so much. I appreciate the compliment."
He spent the next few hours in much the same way. People recognized him as the guy fixing the Knucklehead. And he told them about the petition.
36
Grace met so many people tonight. After three and a half hours, she had a short break and saw that she'd not only gotten her five hundred signatures, but she was now well over seven hundred. She couldn't wait to tell Sid. Chiefy whined a little and Grace bent down to pet her.
She opened the door to the truck, brushed Chiefy off with her hands, and Chiefy jumped inside. Grace rolled the window down so Chiefy could see her, but her tired pup was grateful to lay on a soft seat.
More folks approached the table and Grace started her spiel all over again. At this rate, she'd be saying it in her sleep.
She'd passed nervousness hours ago. And, now when people greeted her and asked her where she was from, she happily told them she lived here and she was fixing up her short-term rentals. A couple people said they had family coming into town and would look at her listing and rent it for them to stay in. This night turned out to be a boon not only for the petition, but for her little fledgling business too.
Sid drew closer and her tummy felt as though butterflies took flight.
He stepped behind the table and waited as she explained the petition one more time. After the folks left, Sid kissed her. "How are things going?"
"We now have seven hundred and sixty-five signatures." She chuckled. "We have enough and a few more just in case some of these aren't valid."
He hugged her close and whispered in her ear. "Damn I'm proud of you, but sweetheart, I'm beat."
She squeezed him tightly to her. "I'm tired too. But, revved about this petition."
"You should be. We did it."
"We did." She looked over at the band. "They're really good."
"They are. Jami is our neighbor. He lives in the house in front of the barn. The barn has been converted into a studio. Do you want to meet him?"
"I would."
"Okay. Let's pack this up and put it in the truck. How's our girl?"
"She's tired. She's sniffed the air until she has no more smell left I think. She laid down a while ago and that wasn't comfortable anymore, so I put her in the truck. I tried brushing the sand off her, but if I didn't get it all, I'll clean your truck tomorrow."
He chuckled. "Don't fret over it. It's all good."
She packed up her petitions. Then grabbed Chiefy's water bowl and dumped out the water that was left. Using a napkin, she dried it out then tucked that in her bag.
Sid grabbed all the pens off the table and dropped them in her bag, then took it from her and set it in the truck. He opened the back door and petted Chiefy, then closed the door and took her hand. They skirted the tables, chairs, and the dancers and made it to the side of the stage just as the band announced their break. She watched the band members as they played. They all looked like they were having fun. That said so much about them all. They had talent and managed to find work they loved to boot.
As soon as the band stopped for their break, Jami met them at the side of the stage. Sid smiled as he looked at her. "Jami, I'd like you to meet my girl, Grace Murphy. Grace, Jami Hart."
Jami shook her hand and smiled. "Nice to meet you, neighbor."
Grace giggled. Which, for a woman her age seemed odd. But, Jami Hart was handsome and talented and she saw all the women swooning as they listened to his sultry voice croon love songs and songs of woe. "Nice to meet you too."
Jami grinned. "So, how did we do? Did you get the signatures you needed?"
"We did and then some. Thank you so very much for playing tonight and helping us with this. I don't know how I'll ever be able to thank you."
"Getting those bikers out of town is how you'll thank me. I love this little town. It's my sanctuary. I don't want it ruined."
