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Coop laughed. "No, thank you. I've had my time in the Garage, it's Sid's turn."
He patted Sid on the shoulder and grinned ear to ear.
The council reentered the room and the crowd quieted down.
She laid her hand over her stomach as it quelled. The clerk glanced her way and, was that a grin on her face? Grace would have sworn she grinned at her.
"The council meeting will come to order," Roark Dinsmore barked.
The crowd silenced and Roark again leaned forward into the microphone.
"The council has discussed the stories we've heard tonight. Ms. Murphy, your petition was required to have five hundred signatures. You brought in seven hundred and seventy-two. Of those, seventy-eight were erroneous and unable to be verified as citizens on the voting rolls of Blossom Springs. That still left you with six hundred and ninety-four valid signatures. Congratulations on managing this in such a short amount of time.”
She smiled. "I had plenty of help from friends."
"I've heard. You have some powerful friends Ms. Murphy. Remind me to get you on my re-election campaign."
The crowd laughed and she did too. It felt good to laugh.
"The council voted and unanimously approved the emergency order. It will not run the bikers out of town, so to speak. But, we'll make it irritating for them to live here. Police will immediately be instructed to arrest the bikers involved in any theft, vandalism, stalking, and threat of bodily harm. We'll either have them all in jail or they'll get tired of being hauled in. In addition, the fines for such violations will be doubled until the bikers leave town. So as not to show any profiling and open ourselves up to that criticism, the fines are doubled right now for everyone committing any crime, harassment, theft, vandalism, and/or stalking." He tapped the gavel to the block. "Meeting adjourned."
The council stood up to leave and the room erupted in cheers and applause. Sid grabbed her and hugged her tightly. He kissed her lips. "Congratulations, sweetheart. You did it."
"With your help and Jace’s and Quinn's and Jami's."
"You were the driving force."
People came up to congratulate her and thank her for a job well-done and she met even more people than she had last night it seemed.
As people filtered out of the room, Sid took her hand and Chiefy's leash and led her to the door. "Let's go home and celebrate."
41
Sid walked out of the bank, a smile on his face and Grace at his side. Their hands were clasped tightly together and he'd never felt higher. He glanced down at her and saw her smiling face looking up at him.
"You own a business, Sid."
He chuckled as he had much of the morning. It all seemed so surreal. "I know. It doesn't seem real. All these years I felt like I was searching but not knowing what I was searching for. All these years, I felt like I didn't belong or I was doing something wrong but I didn't know why. It took coming here and finding you and Coop and the Garage to find where I was supposed to be. I know that sounds weird, but I don't have the words to describe it."
She rested her head on his shoulder. "I understand this, believe it or not. I understand it. It feels like you aren't a complete person and you're slogging along doing what you feel like you're supposed to do, but even that doesn't feel right."
"Yes." He shook his head. "Grace, you get me."
She laughed and the sound of it sent a thrill through him. "I do. I think you get me too. It's wonderful."
"It is." He helped her into his truck, then sauntered around to the driver's side. When he slid in, he glanced at her beautiful face and grinned. "I'd like to have a grand opening. Maybe a party or something."
"Oh, that's a great idea. I'll help you with that. Should we do it this weekend?"
"Absolutely. I'd like to get it over with so I can begin business in earnest."
Grace laughed. "Okay. Let me work on some things and plan for a party on Saturday. You just need to get the Garage organized so you can showcase it positively and let folks know you're in business."
He chuckled. "I'll get things organized. I wanted to do that anyway, so I have some bearing on what's here and what, if anything I'll need moving forward."
She smiled. Her hair blew slightly in the breeze, her lips had a shine on them, and her smile was breathtaking. His heart thumped firmly in his chest and he thought how many times in the last few weeks she'd made his heart pound and sing. At this time in his life, he hated to let a minute pass him by and yet, he didn't want to be rash either. His head had been spinning since he met Grace, and to be honest, he loved the way she made him feel.
He secured her into the truck then jumped in himself. They drove to her second bungalow. "If you feel scared in any way Grace, call me."
