Page 42 of Sherry and Sunflowers
"Well, if that's the route you decide to take, you have the kind of contacts most people in the business would kill for." Jacob chuckled. "Not to toot my own horn or anything. And of course, there's Bentley."
"Thanks, Jacob. I appreciate it. I have a feeling I'm gonna need to start picking your brain soon."
"Sure. The offer's there anytime." A pause. "Are you saying you'd give up the flying?"
Reaves swallowed. "If it comes down to it, then yeah."
"You really are serious, then."
"I am."
Chapter Ten
"Are you going to be okay there while I work?" Alara asked Zia.
"I am going to be very okay," Zia announced.
She'd set herself up on the floor in Alara's office. She was sitting on a large sheet of paper—the largest that Alara had been able to find at the craft store this morning, but still nowhere near as big as what Zia and Charles had used. She had a whole pile of stickers and sparkles and googly eyes—all her favorite things to sit and make with—because this morning, Alara was on a mission.
She'd fallen asleep right after she'd had the revelation about the gold leaf last night, but that might have been a good thing; she'd dreamed all kinds of strange and beautiful dreams that had given her a lot of inspiration. She'd loaded Zia into the Suburban this morning and headed out to get everything she needed to finally create the designs for the rebrand.
Zia got up and came to the desk. "I know you're going to be busy, and I promise I'll stay busy with my work too, but I was thinking… before I start, should I go and see if Mrs. Faye has any cookies for us? It's best if I go now, so I don't interrupt when you get in the flow."
Alara shook her head with a smile. "Okay, you're right. It probably is best if you go now. But don't pester her if she says no, okay?"
"I won't. But she won't either."
Alara set her desk up, removing the keyboard and the computer screen and placing them carefully on the floor in the corner. Moving them left her a little out of breath, but she needed her workspace free and clear. Of course she'd have to go back to the computer and recreate the designs on there, but the magic of this place—Charles's magic, and her own, for that matter—was something more grounded and natural than she'd ever be able to create digitally.
She set up her pencils and brushes and the little pots of gold paint, and goosebumps broke out on her arms. This was it. She finally had it. All she needed to do now was capture it.
"Come on in, Z," she called when she heard a knock on the door. "You don't need to—"
"Hey, it's me."
She spun around to see Delaney standing there. "Oh… hi. I wasn't expecting you."
Delaney grinned. "No, I know. But since things are moving along so fast, I thought I'd better come and touch base. We need to get moving. And I spoke to Aaron this morning." She let out a short laugh. "Well, I spoke to Caleb first, but you don't need to worry about that part. Aaron's the visual guy. In fact, maybe you should talk to him yourself. He surprised me—he loves this place, and he understands the feel of it, and…" Her words trailed off and she frowned. "Alara, what's wrong? Why are you looking at me like I just grew a second head and might have come to abduct your firstborn?" She glanced over her shoulder. "I assure you, you’ll never have to worry about that," Delaney said. "Your daughter's adorable, but I have no idea how to deal with her."
Alara let out a short laugh. "You're safe. If anything worries me about you, it's not that."
"What, then?" Delaney came in, frowned at Zia's art supplies on the floor, and stepped over them gingerly before taking a seat on the sofa.
"It's just…" Alara checked her desk, hoping that nothing there would give away her vision. She didn't want any outside influence to affect her in the embryonic stages. "Nothing's wrong. But I think I've got it, Delaney. I think—I know."
Delaney's eyebrows shot up. "Is it one of the samples you already showed me? The set with the house as a castle was really good, and it lines up with the way Aaron sees this place."
"No, no, no. It's not that. It's something new. Something entirely different." Alara perched on the edge of her desk. "I need you to trust me, just for today, okay? I know exactly what I want to do. I'm ninety-five percent certain that when you see it, you'll agree. But right now, Delaney, I don't need to talk to you. I don't need to hear your thoughts, or the distributor's thoughts. I just need to create it."
Delaney leaned back on the sofa with a strange little smile on her face. "There you are. I've been waiting for you to appear."
"I—what do you mean?"
"You seem so meek and mild. But so much of your work—everything I've seen, in fact—it doesn't come from a meek and mild woman. It comes from someone who knows exactly how she sees the world, and how she wants to express herself."
Alara just stared at her.
"I can see it in you now. The way you talk when you're passionate like this." Delaney got to her feet. "I trust you. I trust your genius." Her smile faded. "Although if you screw this up, we'll be a day behind, and there's a lot riding on this, you know."
