The house at Walker Ranch had grown loud and full of people. All ten of the Walker children, their spouses, and their families filled Glenda Walker’s kitchen.
Jessie sat in a chair, just beyond the enormous dining room table, listening to the well-organized thoughts of Lydia and Pearl. Each of them had a legal pad in front of them filled with lists of things that each of them would need to think of immediately, short term, and long term.
Glenda fussed over every tired person in the room, including Jessie, which hadn’t comforted her, but made her uncomfortable.
“We have to start with the wedding this weekend,” Pearl said. “She is in possession of her dress. She picked it up yesterday morning.”
Susan, with her own legal pad, leaned in. “I have her menu. I’m on track.”
Lydia nodded. “We just need a venue.” She tapped her pen to her chin. “I have a text in to my mother to see where she can help us.”
What Jessie had learned was that Lydia’s entrepreneurship came naturally. Her mother too was business minded and had her hand in multiple businesses around town.
Pearl lifted a mug of coffee to her lips. “I’ll put in a call to the bride around eight o’clock.”
Lydia made a note and exchanged looks with Todd. “I’ll need you to walk me through each venue booked. We can do that tomorrow.”
He nodded and made a note in his cell phone.
Within three hours, the family had solidified plans for the next two weeks. Lydia’s mother was able to offer them space in one of her venues. Lydia, Todd, and Bethany had made plans to reconvene in two days to plan out the rest of the contracted bookings.
Audrey walked back into the room, her phone in her hand. “I’ve put in calls to all the insurance companies on the list. Everyone should expect to get calls back shortly.”
Pearl nodded and made a mark on her list.
Audrey pushed her fingers through her hair and sat back in her chair. “I’ve talked to four local salons and they’ll house my stylists until we’re back up.”
Ella walked from the kitchen with a fresh cup of coffee. “I’m going to rent an office in one of those open work spaces.”
Gia finished typing on her phone and then set it down. “I have a text into a real estate friend. As soon as we can work out a short-term lease somewhere, I will reassemble my inventory. We have a trip planned to Italy in July. Maybe insurance will process by then.”
Tyson walked behind his sister and rested a hand on her shoulder. “Phillip says the fire investigator is in there now. We should have some word on the fire soon.”
Lifting her mug to her lips, Lydia looked around the room. “I think we need to go home and get some sleep. We made some good progress.”
The drive home had been quiet. Todd’s head was filled with lists that had items that needed to be checked off.
He honestly couldn’t decide if the fire was a horrific event for Lydia to process, or was it exactly what she needed to reincorporate herself back into the daily life she was always part of.
Shifting a glance at Jessie, who watched the scenery out the window, he realized he had to be sensitive to her loss too. She’d only just started her entrepreneurial journey, and now it was all gone. Her portraits, her equipment, her props were all in that pile of rubble to sort out.
Todd reached for her hand and laced their fingers together, but her gaze did not shift from the window.
“What are you thinking?” he asked as the dirt road gave to pavement.
She shifted in her seat to face him. “That I should go get a job.”
“Why would you do that? You have a solid business.”
“That’s crap, and you know it.” Her voice shook. “I have a generous business because of your family. We were neighbors with a like mind in a business model. They sent me everything they could, rarely could I reciprocate.”
He hadn’t expected her attitude about her business. In fact, he figured that she would be just the opposite, just like his family that was ready to rebuild even before the embers cooled.
“I don’t think they see it that way,” he assured her.
“You don’t know what they think.”
“And neither do you,” he said not wanting to trump his family loyalty over his loyalty to her, but he couldn’t help but shut down her thinking. “Those women consider you one of them. They are ready to rebuild, and that includes you.”
She turned her gaze back out the window. Obviously she wasn’t in the same mindset as the others—not yet. Todd realized she needed time to process what was going on. He could give her that, but he didn’t want her to give up.
As they drove through town, her cell phone rang, and her mother’s voice could be heard on the other end. Todd listened as Jessie gave her account of the morning, and when she began to cry, he gave her hand a squeeze.
Exhaustion was taking over, and he could see it darken her eyes. Perhaps he could convince her to lie down when they got home. He’d make her some tea and join her for a few hours of rest.
He wasn’t sure how rebuilding the empire they had all made would take shape, but he knew that they would be back—and even better. Lydia and Pearl would rebuild, there was no doubt about that.
Time would convince Jessie of that, he was sure. For now, all he could do was help her through her loss, remembering to be mindful of her misguided feelings toward Lydia.