Page 5 of The Worst Possible Plan

Lola sat straighter in her chair and pushed out her chest. “Wish Sheriff Walker would call me.” A slow smile spread across her face. “Tall, grumpy men with badges are exactly why I still own handcuffs.”

“It’s a disaster.” Helen pointed at her coffee for emphasis. “The event planner quit yesterday. Said I was too demanding.”

“Shocker,” mumbled Lola.

Helen rubbed her forehead. “I need someone organized. Competent. Calm under pressure.”

Every instinct in my body told me to remain silent.

Instead, for reasons I will never fully understand, my hand shot into the air, and I heard myself say, “I can do it.”

The words flew out of my mouth so fast I almost looked around to see who’d said them.

Helen stared at me.

Lola lowered her coffee cup very slowly.

Dottie looked delighted.

I swallowed hard, waiting.

“Well,” said Helen cautiously, staring as though this was the first time she’d ever laid eyes on me. “Do you have experience planning events?”

“Yes. Lots,” I answered. Total lie. The lie was so smooth, confident, and disturbingly natural I nearly believed it myself.

Wow. Unemployment had unlocked new personality traits.

“Really?” asked Helen.

“Absolutely,” I told her.

Technically, I had once organized a surprise birthday party for my friend Nicole. Okay, yes, the restaurant lost the reservation and someone’s husband got drunk and cried near the desserts, but overall people had eaten cake and survived. So, I took that as a win.

But inside, my brain was already screaming.

GOOGLE THE CRAP OUT OF EVENT PLANNING.

WATCH YOUTUBE VIDEOS.

BUY A CLIPBOARD.

Helen narrowed her eyes slightly. “You think you can pull together the festival in two days?”

I nodded, mostly to convince myself. “I do. Absolutely.” My voice sounded weirdly confident for a woman who’d nearly set her own toaster on fire making a bagel last month.

Helen studied me for another long moment. “Can you start today?”

“Yes,” I blurted out immediately.

Lola leaned toward Dottie and whispered loudly, “This is either going to save her life or destroy the entire town.”

Dottie shrugged. “Could go either way.”

I ignored them, my eyes fixed on Helen. “You can count on me.”

Look at me. I was doing it. I was moving forward with my life.

I had a job.