He pulled Cady into an interview with a news crew that had come up from San Francisco. “This is our secret weapon,” he told the reporter. “She’s imported from the UK. Highest quality.”
Cady felt the heat of a blush in her cheeks, and for a moment it seemed like he was going to give her the credit that Reid was so hung up on. But then he started talking again, the moment passed, and she stood on the sidelines of the interview until it was over. Well, that was fine with her. She spotted an excited-looking Dayna and Brad, and went over to say hello. This was what it was all about.
Soon the sun was fading, and the square was full. With start time approaching, Kyle stood at the microphone at the top of the bank steps, the Flashpointers around him. While they waited, Cady took in the scene in front of her, imprinting it on her memory. The colorful bunting hanging in the trees behind the food stalls, the crowd dancing to the band, the last rays of the sun glancing golden off the windows of the buildings around the square. At the far end, cars slowed as they passed, people peering out to see what was happening. A big screen showed images from the Flashpoint camera crew, reflecting the good time back to the crowd. A little crispness was just creeping into the warm daytime air, laced with the aroma of burritos and burgers. She was suddenly acutely aware that she’d be back in London before she knew it, just regular old Cady again. Lady Cady, the Flashpointers, and all of this would be just a memory. She wanted to make sure she’d remember every detail of the time when she was different.
The only thing missing was Reid. He’d texted earlier to say he’d be back in time, but there was no sign of him, and she couldn’t help feeling disappointed. She didn’t want credit from Kyle, or anyone else—regardless of credit, she’d always know this was her achievement. So why did she want Reid to see it so badly? She shouldn’t need his admiration, shouldn’t want to see that appreciation in his eyes again. All the same, she scanned the crowd, hoping to see him threading his way through, toward the steps. As the light faded into evening, it was getting harder to make out who was who—but none of them were him.
Then the band wrapped up their last song, and Kyle began to speak. At his first words, every face in the crowd turned to him.
“Look at you all,” he said, nodding with approval.
That was all it took to get the entire gathering—already warmed up by the band—cheering and whooping. Kyle grinned, adjusting his beanie as he bathed in the reaction. He was in his element.
“This is why we’re here,” he said, extending his arms to take them all in. “It’s about people, isn’t it? In the end, that’s what everything’s about.”
The renewed hollering from the crowd showed that they agreed. Cady had to laugh. She had the feeling they’d agree with pretty much anything he said at this point. Although it was exactly what she’d thought earlier herself.
“And also, this is why we’re here.” He put out a hand to Dayna, and she and Brad came to the front with him. Her belly was enormous, and she had the classic pregnant stance, legs slightly apart and leaning back a little. When the crowd cheered for her, it seemed like the wave of sound and love almost tipped her off balance. She grabbed onto Brad’s arm, her face a picture of pleasure and disbelief. Brad just beamed, the smile on his face and the shine in his eyes showing how incredible the moment was for them both.
Kyle pointed to Dayna’s belly. “Can you believe there are three new people in there, waiting to join us in the world?” he asked the flash mobsters. “Let’s make sure their place in the world will be an awesome one.”
The cheer that went up made it obvious that everyone was totally with him. He stood for a moment, nodding and soaking up the vibe. Then he grabbed the wireless microphone from its stand, stepped forward, and held it out to let the crowd hear itself through the speakers. They cheered and hooted even louder, loving the rock star move.
“Okay, if you’re confirmed as part of the house, grab a spot. Everyone else, give them a little room. Let’s do this!” As he raised his hands, the audience applauded wildly, and he laughed with satisfaction.
Cady and the others headed down the steps to help get the flash mobsters in the right place, some along the outlines of the house, then a space, and the rest surrounding them. As the driving beat of ‘Home’ began to flood the square at full volume, she felt a huge rush of adrenaline go through her. Almost every single person in the crowd snapped glow sticks and held one in each hand as they started the dance routine. Those who didn’t have a glow stick held up their glowing phones. Cady caught sight of Shelby across the square, and mouthed a Wow! as the mob started moving to the dance steps she and Jennifer had come up with. Shelby nodded back, her face glowing with enjoyment at seeing her routine come to life. And also at being sandwiched between two shirtless flash mobsters whose chiseled torsos put the ‘ab’ in ab-tastic. She pointed to each side, mouthing O.M.G! back to Cady, who laughed and shook her head. That was a happy twin.
The glow sticks shone in the dimming half-light, a multicolored sprinkling of magic across the crowd. They moved as one to the steps, and if the occasional person was slightly ahead or behind, it didn’t matter. Iggy’s languorous voice punched into the air, the insistent guitar and drum rhythm charging everyone up as they went through the routine. The feeling was incredible. Cady could hardly take in that this was her idea, come to life. It felt totally surreal.
Someone had found Dayna a chair, and she and Brad watched from the top of the steps with huge smiles on their faces. Then, as Iggy and the electric guitar brought the song to a crescendo, Kyle took her and Brad down to the house of people. With the last riff reverberating in the air, they stood at the ‘front door’—made of Dayna’s mother and sister holding hands with Max and Ty.
Ty’s little voice rang out in the sudden quiet. “Hi, Mommy!”
Everyone laughed as his sweet face filled the big screen, and Dayna bent to kiss him, and then Max. “Hi guys,” she said.
Kyle gave a nod, and the front door family swung around to let Dayna and Brad go in. The people lining the hallway lifted their glow sticks to make a luminous guard of honor. With a cameraman in front, the two of them walked through the house, their smiles broadcast on the big screen for everyone to see. When they reached the ‘living room’, they found big tarps covering a bumpy collection of large items. All at once, the people making the house sat down, followed by the entire square-full of people. Dayna and Brad looked around, bemused.
“Thank you mobsters,” Kyle said into the microphone. “You killed it!” He grinned and nodded as more cheers rippled though the square. “Okay, our official math brainiacs are doing the counting, and soon we’ll be able to tell you exactly how much money we’ve raised for this amazing family. In the meantime, I think someone here could do with a seat.”
Tino and Gavin came forward and pulled the tarps away, revealing an entire living room’s worth of brand new furniture, laid out just like the real thing with rugs and cushions, a lamp, and even a TV.
“This is for you—thanks to the generous people at Rownville Furniture Emporium,” Kyle told them.
From where Cady was standing by the steps, she could see the moment when it sank in, and Dayna instantly burst into tears.
“Thank you,” she managed. “Thank you! Oh, I’m sorry, it’s the hormones…” She wiped her eyes as the tears continued to flow.
“Thank you,” Brad echoed. “Very much.” He helped Dayna lower herself onto the sofa, and Max and Ty came scampering over and jumped up next to her.
Kyle nodded. “In a few minutes we’ll have the final fundraising results. And flash mobsters, hang around for another special announcement soon. Eat, drink, enjoy the music—don’t go away yet.”
With that, the second band cranked up the volume, and the crowd were back on their feet, ready to move again. The glow sticks bobbed in the dark with the dancers, and the atmosphere was rocking. Somewhere in the middle of it all, Dayna and Brad sat in their soon-to-be real lounge with Max and Ty, waiting to hear what
was coming next. From the number of people there, Cady suspected they’d have a good fundraising total. But had Kyle made anything happen with the bank? Maybe she should have done that part herself too, or insisted on being involved…
Then, through the swirl of the crowd, she heard someone calling her name.
“Cady. Hey, Lady Cady.”
As he came closer, the jolt of her reaction was like seeing him for the first time all over again. While he’d been away, she’d tried to keep her mind in the safe middle ground, and not let it wander off to that Reid place, full of delicious, dangerous thoughts. But as he came closer, she remembered anew. Eyes that looked at her with amusement, but gave nothing away. The strong, jeans-clad thighs below the low-slung belt, and the broad chest in his usual black band t-shirt. The dimples that flashed in his cheeks above the goatee and even—okay, yes—the ponytail (heaven help her). And to top it off, the sharp mind and repartee that kept her on her toes, but also put her in most danger of tipping straight off those toes and onto her back. Not that that was an option, as they’d established already.
Now, in the half-dark, they stood an arm’s length from each other, happy flash mobsters milling about on all sides. She fought the urge to fling herself at him, pressing her toes into the ground to hold herself in place. Did they both recognize something unspoken in the look that continued between them? Maybe it was just her. The pause drew out longer, as each waited to see what the other would do. Where were they at? Were they people who hugged hello after an absence, or just said hi? Maybe they were in the kiss-on-the-cheek place, but the seeming weight of the moment held her back from taking a step forward. It couldn’t have been as long as it felt, but finally she snapped herself into words.
“I thought you weren’t going to make it,” she said, trying to sound brusque instead of relieved. It wasn’t like she’d spent half the flash mob looking over her shoulder, trying to spot him amongst the crowd. Nope, it wasn’t like that at all.
He smiled. “Sorry. The job took longer than I expected. Then when I got here, there was nowhere to leave the car.” He waved around at the festive crowd still scattered with shirtless men, the TV cameras, the kids perching in the trees around the square to get a better view of the band. “Look at this. I had to park halfway back to San Francisco, and run to get here before it was all over.”
If he had run, he’d done it without breaking a sweat. “Sure, swan in at the last minute, just in time for all the glory.” Okay, that was better. Jokey was good. She had this.
“Well, yeah. Clever, right? I’m smarter than all of you put together.” He grinned, then his face became more serious. “But this is incredible. Credit to you—you pulled it off.”
“I did have help…but thanks.” Maybe she didn’t want credit from anyone else—but from him, it did count for something after all. She knew she was beaming like a fool at his praise. Plus, she was amped up on flash mob adrenaline and the pleasure of seeing him again. There was no fighting it.
“And there’s a little surprise coming for them too,” she added. “But we’ll have to wait and see how much money we raised. All of this is for nothing if Dayna and Brad can’t keep their house.”
Then she saw Kyle waving to her from the steps of the bank. Damn. “I’d better go, sorry. See you after?”
He nodded. “Go. Enjoy. I’ll be here.”
She started toward the steps, noticing that as well as the Jeep representative she’d been dealing with, Kyle was standing with two other men in expensive-looking suits. She hoped they were from the bank. As she was about to go up and find out, someone grabbed her arm, stopping her in her tracks, and she turned around to see Shelby.
“I have something to tell you,” she said, holding up her phone, obviously too excited to worry about the Huawei factor for once. “I just heard.”
“Heard what?” Cady asked, one eye on the steps, where the suits were looking impatient. When Kyle gestured for her to hurry up, she broke away from her sister.
“Shel, I have to go,” she said. “Tell me later.”
“But this is important,” Shelby insisted.
“Later!” she called back over her shoulder. “I promise.”
Whatever it was, it would have to wait. The end result of her bright idea, and her work—all of their work—was here. Now, it was time to find out whether the Isaacsons would have something more than a roomful of new furniture to be grateful for.
Fifteen
High on anticipation, Cady said hello to the Jeep PR guy and the suits, and stood next to Kyle at the top of the steps as he took the microphone again. In front of him, the flash mobsters were a twinkly-colorful sea of glow sticks and cell phone lights. The band finished up, and the crowd turned to see what would come next.
“Sit down, guys,” Kyle urged, and they obligingly sat, looking like a bunch of latter-day hippies. Cady noticed now that amongst the shirtless men was a good scattering of women wearing bikini tops, unfazed by the cooling night air.
“You were amazing,” Kyle said, making them cheer and applaud, the lights bobbing in the dark. “Because of you, this growing family has a second chance.” He gestured to Dayna and Brad, still sitting with their boys, their living room an island in the ocean of flash mobsters. They both still looked completely overcome.
He continued, his voice somehow capturing a tone somewhere between evangelist and slacker. The crowd loved it. “Thank you, Isaacsons, for giving us the chance to do something worthwhile here tonight.”
Dayna managed a tiny wave, then locked her fingers under her belly again. Her face glowed with emotion and excitement.
Now Kyle gestured to the men in suits, and they came forward. “And huge thanks to the representatives from West Interstate Bank. They’ve counted your donations tonight, and the total is a mind-blowing thirty-eight…” He checked a piece of paper in his hand. “Thirty-nine thousand, eight hundred and fifty three dollars.”
As the crowd cheered, and Dayna clapped her hands to her cheeks in surprise and delight, he nodded. “Yeah.” Then he added, “But there’s more.”
He passed the microphone to one of the bankers, who looked nervous but determined.
“West Interstate Bank makes our customers a priority,” he began. The crowd’s reaction to this little number, straight from the songbook, was predictable, but Kyle put up a hand and the jeers died down.
“Banks don’t want to see people lose their homes,” he said, looking increasingly hot under his stiff collar. “We’re pleased to say that West Interstate Bank will match your donations, dollar for dollar. Dayna and Brad, this will not only halt the foreclosure, but will give you a major step forward in paying off your mortgage.”
At this, Dayna broke down and cried again. Brad put his arm around her shoulder and whispered something in her ear. She nodded, and clutched her boys close as Brad made his way to the stage, picking his way through until he got to the steps. Then he took them three at a time and grabbed the banker’s hand, shaking it vigorously. Over the noise of the crowd, Cady couldn’t hear his voice, but it was clear that he was saying thank you over and again.
Kyle took the microphone back. “There’s one more thing,” he told the crowd. “You’ll like this too.” Then he passed the microphone over to the Jeep guy.
In contrast to the bankers, he had his jacket unbuttoned and his shirt was open, tie-less. Cady could hardly wait for him to make his announcement.
“Awesome!” he exclaimed, waving enthusiastically. “All right! Woo!” He was obviously going to make the most of his time center stage. “The team at Jeep thought this extraordinary event was something special. We know it can be hard to keep a big family on the road. But you know, like Iggy says, you can make it in a Jeep.”
He grinned at the crowd. If they were cheering more for Iggy than for him, he didn’t care. He had their attention.
“So Jeep would like to offer the Isaacsons a brand new, seven-seat, new generation, Jeep Waggoneer.” He grinned and held up some car ke
ys, playing it up for the crowd. Then he passed them to Brad, and pumped his hand in an enthusiastic handshake. Brad shook his head, speechless, and looked from the keys to Dayna, still sitting in the center of the square.
Cady looked too. Dayna’s mouth was a little ‘o’ of amazement, matched by her surprised, rounded eyes. Cady laughed. It had been so hard keeping that secret, but it was worth the effort to see their reactions now.
“Also…” Jeep man turned back to the crowd, pausing for effect.
There was more? Cady had no idea what might be coming next—she’d only talked about the car with him. She held her breath.
“We know this family needs security, going forward,” he said. “So Brad, your local Jeep dealership would like to offer you a full-time position in their service department. I hear you’re more than qualified.” He thrust the microphone under Brad’s nose.
By this stage Brad had both hands on his head, as though it was going to fly off. He looked completely floored—which was kind of how Cady felt too. In a very good way.
“I am qualified,” he said. “Thank you.” He shook his head again, looking around at the scene in front of him. Then he took the microphone and addressed the crowd.
“This is completely unbelievable. Just a week ago we were facing disaster. Financial disaster, that is—because these babies are God’s blessing on us.”
He held out his hands to Dayna, and the audience cheered again as she cradled her very pregnant belly. The relief in her face was clear. Watching, Cady’s heart felt huge in her chest as she realized that the Flashpointers had done it. They’d turned everything around.
“We can’t say enough how thankful we are to West Interstate Bank and Jeep for changing the destiny of this family,” Brad continued. He rubbed the top of his head and puffed out a long breath, obviously working to keep it together. “And thank you Kyle and Cady, and everyone with Flashpoint, for making this happen. You came into our lives and changed everything. And to all of you, who came tonight—we’ll never forget your kindness, and we’ll make sure to pay it forward every chance we get. Thank you so much.”
The Near & Far Series Page 35