Read Online Finding Perfect by Susan Mallery - Free Book Online Page B

signs had been donated by a printer, and ones that had been made by hand were sorted and in place. Pia had drawn up a floor plan of sorts, showing what would be collected where.
    Her miracle phone tree had worked perfectly, and she’d heard back from over fifty people with promises of books, supplies and even cash. Liz Sutton, a Fool’s Gold native and a successful author who had recently returned to settle in town, had quietly promised five thousand children’s books to start the library. When Pia had offered to shout about the donation from every rooftop in town, Liz had insisted on being anonymous.
    She wasn’t the only one giving big. Local hero Josh Golden had already handed in a check for thirty thousand dollars, again with instructions to keep quiet about him giving it. A cashier’s check for ten grand had arrived in her office the previous morning. Just a plain envelope slipped under the door. No return address and drawn on a busy Sacramento bank, so there was no way of tracing it.
    Pia had turned the money over to Nancy, along with a list of what else she knew was being donated.
    Now as she sipped her coffee, she went over theevents that would happen during the day. The city yard sale would begin at eight. Donations had been delivered the day before, and her volunteers were already sorting through the bounty. To keep things simple, the items would be grouped according to price, at one-, three-, five-and ten-dollar tables.
    The bake sale would start at noon, giving the last-minute bakers time to get their goodies finished. The auction was at three, and Pia was still waiting on the list of what would be offered.
    Throughout the day, local bands would play, the hospital was offering a mini-clinic for blood pressure checks and the high school senior class was holding a car wash. Pia was less sure about their “Naked for a Cause” theme—even though the class president had sworn that meant bathing suits, not actual nudity, but at this point, she was willing to take every dollar they raised.
    By seven-thirty there was a steady stream of volunteers showing up. They checked the master directory Pia had posted and went to their assigned areas. Charity arrived fifteen minutes later, looking pale.
    â€œSorry I’m late,” she said, tucking her hair behind her ears. “I don’t get sick in the morning much, but today was one of those days. The good news is the guys did a very nice job installing the floor tile.”
    Pia winced. “You got a close look at it?”
    â€œFor nearly an hour. My knees hurt.” She pressed a hand to her midsection. “Not to mention other parts of me.” She handed Pia a folder. “The final auction info.”
    â€œThanks for doing this.”
    â€œI’m happy to help. There are some great prizes.” Charity paused. “Is it a prize if you have to buy it?”
    â€œI’m not sure.”
    Pia flipped through the list. There were the usual gift cards from local restaurants and shops. She would bundle those into a couple of baskets, so the value was greater. That should up the bidding price. Ethan Hendrix had offered five thousand dollars’ worth of remodeling. There were weekends in Tahoe and up at the ski resort, ski lessons, and a weekend in Dallas compliments of Raoul Moreno. His package included airfare, two nights at Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek, dinner at the hotel and two tickets to a Dallas Cowboys home game…on the fifty-yard line.
    â€œThere’s some money in that prize,” Pia said, impressed by Raoul’s generosity.
    â€œI know. My eyes nearly bugged out,” Charity said. “The guy’s already donating his camp. That’s more than enough.”
    â€œHe’s nice,” Pia said absently. “He can’t help it.”
    Charity laughed. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”
    â€œIt can be.” Although Raoul had claimed to have a dark past.