A/N: Apparently, my brain can't let me focus on just one story at a time. This one came to me last weekend and I'd tried to resist, but it demanded that I write it.
I hope this premise is interesting to someone else other than me.
I know the non-profit world fairly well (I just my five-year anniversary working for a DV shelter), but I know not every aspect of this story is going to be realistic.
My brain says this will spawn a series of stories based in this town, which is why Copper Creek #1 is part of the title.
Happy reading!
1
Bella
Mondays are the worst, is my first thought when my alarm goes off. I hit the snooze button, rolling over onto my back, taking advantage of the last few minutes I could spend in the sanctuary of the covers, but a whine coming from the foot of my bed says that won't be happening. I look down, finding a pair of soulful brown eyes staring back at me.
Spencer, my Yorkie, was wagging his tail, doing the little half bark he does when he's excited. Once he realizes I'm awake, it's game over for me. There have been countless times on the weekends where I'd woken up at seven or eight with the intention of going back to sleep, but Spencer had other plans. He was lucky he was so adorable. He's the only one that can get me out of bed before ten o'clock on the weekend and survive.
"I still have a few more minutes, dude." I tell him, earning a growl and a 'buff' in return. Sighing, I got out bed, knowing that there was no way he'd leave me alone until I did his bidding.
Spencer barks in excitement when I stand, spinning in circles next to my bedroom door, bursting through it in a once I open it, going straight down the hall to the kitchen to be let out for his morning walk. He jumps on the sliding glass door when I walk into the room, his nails tapping against the glass. He barks as he runs down the stairs of the back deck, greeting the morning.
When I'd been looking for places to rent, one of my main requirements was that it have a decent sized fenced in back yard. Spencer loved the outdoors and I wanted to be able to let him as often as possible without having to worry about him wandering off.
I got Spencer when I graduated high school. My mom had surprised me with him that night after the ceremony and I cried. I'd been talking about how much I'd been wanting a puppy for months, since our last Yorkie, Paisley-Belle, had passed away. The house wasn't the same without her. My mom had been resistant for a while, it was too soon for her to want another dog, but when my graduation came around, she'd finally given in. He'd been a good a addition to the family, bringing us so many laughs, and helping to fill the hole that Paisley had left behind.
I watch him for a few moments as he runs around the yard for his daily zoomie session, before I get ready.
I work for Safe Haven, a women's shelter, based here in Copper Creek. My best friend, Zafrina, liked to say we're small, but mighty. Our organization was the smallest in the state of North Carolina, but has the largest service area.
Safe Haven has been around for almost forty years, helping countless women and children flee dangerous, situations; helping them rebuild their life and start over. Being the Office Manager for such a small non-profit didn't afford me a large salary, but the work we do is so fulfilling, making the less than desirable salary worth it. It just meant that I have to be mindful of my finances and budget carefully.
Once I have my periwinkle wrap dress and nude pumps on, I go let Spencer back in, laughing when he makes a beeline for his water bowl. I refill his food bowl before going to the bathroom to put some makeup on.
My house was small, only having one bedroom and bathroom, and was on the older side. It was built in the 1920s, but my landlord had renovated it prior to me moving in, so the appliances and amenities were newer.
The layout was simple. There was a foyer separated by an archway that opened up to the living area. The owner of the property had taken down some walls to make the living room, dining area, and kitchen one open space, making it feel like there was more room than there really was. The bedroom and bathroom were down a short hallway off what had been the living room. They were small, but it was plenty of room for just me.
I'd decorated with warm beige and creams, accenting with pops of gold, light blue, and pink. All the furniture were pieces that I'd Zafrina and I had found at garage sales and thrift stores. My bedroom set was the one I'd had at my mom's house growing up. It was homey, which was exactly what I wanted. After a long day, it was nice coming home to a place that was calming.
When I'd toured the property a little over a year ago now, and I'd asked Mr. Jenks how much the rent was, I about hit the floor when he said it six hundred, with utilities included. He explained to me that the house was paid for, and that renting it out was just to bring in some extra income. Mr. Jenks had been a very successful lawyer and owned what felt like half the town of Copper Creek. He'd also been my mom's divorce attorney, so he'd known me most of my life. I think he'd given me such a good deal because he liked me. It also wasn't like he and his wife couldn't afford to rent it out for such a low amount. I would've been a fool not to take it.
I'm putting my mascara on when my phone rings, Alice's face looking back at me. I smile as I answer. It had been a minute since the two of had talked.
"Hey." I greet her, running my fingers through my chestnut brown hair, fluffing the slight curl I'd put it in this morning. "Isn't it absurdly early there?"
I hear her husky laugh through the phone, filling me with nostalgia. "Yeah, it is, but this little bean has been moving around nonstop and keeping me awake."
Alice had been my best friend since kindergarten. I remember walking into the classroom that first day, clutching my mom's hand for dear life, not wanting her to leave me. My mom had tried to reassure me that I would have fun and make lots of friends, but I had just continued to cling to her. That's when Alice had bounded over, a big smile on her face. I still remember the pink overalls she'd been wearing, her hair in pigtails. She'd introduced herself, taking my hand in hers, saying that we should color together, and that I could use the cool sparkly blue crayon she had.
There'd been something about her that instantly comforted me, and I let go of my mom's hand, letting her lead me away to where she'd been sitting, coloring with another little girl. We'd been inseparable ever since.
She was currently living in California with her husband Jasper, who was a big wig agent out in Los Angeles. They'd met on spring break our sophomore year of college. We'd gone to a bar our first night in Daytona, because of course we'd gone to Florida, and he'd been there with a group of friends. He's a few years older than us, and was there for a friends bachelor party. He was cute with shaggy dirty blonde hair and a muscular build. He towered over Alice's four-ten frame.
He'd tried to use a generic pickup line on her that might, something like "you must be from Tennessee, because you're the only ten I see,' to which she responded that if he wanted to talk to her, he was going to have to do better than that. I saw it there in that moment, the spark that had come to his eye. He spent the rest of the night trying to make it up to her, and it must have worked, because she invited him along to every activity we did that week, and when we left Daytona, she'd told me that she was in love.
The first few years of their relationship had been long distance while we finished college. They'd broken up a few times, but always made their way back to each other. He'd flown in for our graduation from UNC and proposed to her that same night.
Their wedding had been an intimate affair right here in our hometown. I'd been her maid of honor and helped her plan every aspect of the big day. She'd looked beautiful walking down the aisle in her white dress with its sweetheart neckline. Her mother and father had both given her away, and I cried like a baby through the entire ceremony. While I'd been sad to see her leave North Carolina, I was so incredibly happy that she'd found her person.
When she called to tell me she was pregnant a few months back, I'd been thrilled. She and Jasper were going to be such great parents.
"Besides," she continued. "I wanted to check in with you. It's been forever since we talked."
"You've been busy getting ready for your little bean." I turned off the light to the bathroom as I made my way back to my bedroom. "I still can't believe you guys chose not to find out the gender. How am I supposed to shop?"
She laughs again, and I can picture her blue eyes crinkling at the corners. "You sound like my mom. She's been begging me to change my mind. Even tried to bribe me with helping design the nursery."
"Definitely sounds like your mom."
Esme Cullen was like a second mom to me; I'd spent so much time at their house growing up, that she'd jokingly said that she'd adopted me. She and Carlisle both were such sweet, kind hearted people. Even though my mom had never told me, I know that they helped us out a few times financially after she lost her job. Mom had just told me she'd had more savings then I knew about, but I knew better.
Esme was an interior designer, one of the best, if not the best, in the entire state. She was always in demand. While one of the sweetest human beings I'd ever met, she still liked things to be a certain way, like bribing her daughter with free interior design to find out the gender of her future grandchild.
"It didn't work for her; it's not going to work for you."
"Well, shit." I teased, grabbing my purse and work bag from the ottoman at the foot of my bed, earning another laugh.
"Jasper and I just want to be surprised. We're genuinely happy either way."
"I still think I would have to know." I lock my front door, making my way to my car on this surprisingly warm April morning. "You know how much I hate unknowns." I'd never liked any level of uncertainty. I liked knowing everything I could before going into a situation. If I didn't, it caused a pit of anxiety to form in my stomach, my mind raising as I over thought everything. It was something I was working on.
"I think you'd pull all your out before you gave birth." I laugh at the mental image.
"You're not wrong." I started my car, waiting for my phone to connect to the Bluetooth, before I pulled out of my driveway.
"How's work been?"
Her question causes a ball of stress to wrap around my heart. All the news we'd been getting from our funders wasn't great. We were looking at some pretty sizeable cuts on all fronts. If we weren't able to find additional funding sources, we were going to have to do some layoffs come July. My Executive Director and I were trying everything in our power to not have to do that. We had such a hard working staff that cared so much for the clients we served, that the thought having to lay anyone off was a gut punch.
"Not great." I sighed, coming to the stop sign at the end of my street, turning right toward downtown. "The news we've been getting from our funders, isn't great."
"Oh, Bells, I'm sorry." The genuine care in her voice eased some of the tension in my shoulders. "I'll have Jasper send another donation today."
The two of them had sent several thousand dollars of the last year alone, which we'd utilized to place survivors in local motels when our shelter was full. Those funds were really coming in handy as we near the end of the fiscal year and funds for hotel stays were running low.
"Thank you, Al. You have no idea how much that means." We could send thank you letters all daily to donors, explaining what their donation helped us do, but it was something totally different to know that without that donation, a woman and her children could've been stuck in a violent situation.
"Of course, Bells. We're happy to help."
We talked for a few more minutes, as I make my way through downtown toward my favorite coffee shop.
I've lived in Copper Creek my entire life and the beauty of the town never gets old. Nestled in the mountains of North Carolina, the views of the trees surrounding the town limits and mountains beyond are breathtaking. The architecture of the buildings along Main Street is beautiful. The brick facades offset by white columns make them look like they belonged on a Hollywood film set. A few Hallmark films had been filmed here, and it was easy to see why.
Copper Creek was on the smaller side without being too small. There were still plenty of things to do and places to eat. The only downside was that everyone knew each other, and the gossip mill ran rampant.
Alice and I say our goodbyes before I head into Cooper Creek Roasters, a quaint coffee shop that was run by Jane Volturi, who I'd gone to school with. She was a short woman with blonde hair that came to her chin. She had piercing blue eyes that were so light in color, they almost looked translucent.
She'd opened Copper Creek Roasters a few years back and it had been a popular spot ever since. Every morning there was a line that almost made it out the door of people waiting for their morning caffeine fix, today being no exception. They had some of the best coffee, so much better than Starbucks. They were known for the roasts they made in house, making their coffee more unique than the other places in town. I'd been addicted to their crème brulee cold brew for months now. Jane always made sure to add a little extra syrup and cream to mine.
When I stepped up to the counter, Jane's behind the register. The black and white striped short sleeve t-shirt she's wearing puts the full sleeve tattoo that weave their way up her arms.
"Your usual?" she asked, already putting my order into the register before I've answered.
"You know it." I reply, taking out my debit card to pay.
Once my order's in, I step off to the side to wait, taking the time to text my mom. She's been off traveling with her new boyfriend. The last time she and I spoke, they'd been in Maine and she hadn't been able to stop talking about the lobster rolls they'd had.
My mom loves food, she's always lived to cook. When she retired, her boyfriend Phil surprised her with a trip around the country to check off all her bucket list foods where they originated. Basically, it was my mom's dream vacation.
She doesn't text back right away, which I expected. She isn't an early riser, never has been, but especially now.
I scroll through Instagram while I wait. I see the pictures Zafrina posted over the weekend. She'd made the drive to Asheville on Friday night to see her mom. They looked so much alike. They both had rich, golden brown ears, black, bouncy curls, and wide smiles.
My name being called makes me surface and put my phone back in my bag, grabbing my coffee as I head out the door.
Our administrative office is right of Main Street. A small brick building that was basically a blink and you'll miss it type place. The rest of my coworkers' cars are in the lot when I pull up, taking the space next to Zafrina's silver Camry.
"Good morning!" Siobhan greeted me from the front desk when I walked in, a warm smile on her face. Her red hair is piled on top of her head in a bun, her green eyes even more piercing due to the plum eyeliner she has on. The floral dress she has on makes her skin glow.
Siobhan has been working here almost as long as I have. She was a sweet woman with a kind heart, making her the perfect type of person to work in this field. She was our Intake Specialist, and the first person that clients that came in for intakes had contact with. She was kind and patient, always making sure that the survivor felt seen and heard.
"Good Morning," I replied. "I think you're more awake than I am right now."
"Too Monday for you?" she asked, taking a sip from the mug of tea she had on her desk.
"Definitely too Monday."
Our office isn't anything extravagant. There are a few comfortable chairs and a love seat in the reception area, a coffee table sits amongst them with magazines that have been well worn. The floors are covered in an older carpet that had seen better days. My office was in the back right corner, beside the room we used as our conference room. It was the only office on this hall, making it the quietest room in the entire building. When we'd moved into this office space in November, I'd known what I was doing when I picked this one.
I hadn't decorated my new space much yet, just a few pictures on my desk of my trip to Disney World with my mom, one of me and Alice at her wedding, and one of me and Zafrina when we'd gone out one night with some coworkers to get dinner at Amici's, a local Italian restaurant that had the best pizza in town.
I settle in at my desk to check my emails, responding to a few from our accountant who'd had questions about grant reporting and payroll.
I hear Zafrina's stilettos before I see her. She walks into my office in a black A-line dress, her lips painted her signature red. She sits in the chair next to my door, crossing her legs.
"Good morning, bestie!" She greets me with a smile, her leg swinging.
"Good Morning." I take a sip of my coffee. "How was your weekend?"
"It was amazing. It was nice seeing my mom; I hadn't seen in her so long." Zafrina's mom had rheumatoid arthritis and couldn't drive, so they weren't able to see each as much as they used to a few a years ago. "She gave me my birthday present while I was there." She proudly sticks out her left wrist, showing me a bracelet hanging there with a hummingbird charm adorning it. She and her mom had a special thing with hummingbirds that went back to her childhood. After her grandmother passed away, they'd both seen hummingbirds everywhere they went, taking it as a sign that her grandmother was still watching out for them.
"That's so sweet." I take her hand, bring it closer to me to get a better look.
"Thank you. I'm not even embarrassed to say I cried a little when she gave it to me." She says primly, a soft smile on her face she plays with the bracelet.
"Only a little?" I quirk a brow at her. She and I joked that she was a walking tear duct. She cried over everything, especially the ASPCA commercials.
She stuck her tongue out at me, which was so Zafrina of her. We both gave each other shit and loved every second of it.
"Don't forget, we're going out for my birthday tonight."
"Like you would let me forget." I'd never seen someone that was so into their birthday before. Last year, she'd walked into the office wearing a sash that said Birthday Girl on it with a matching tiara. She'd been talking about her birthday dinner for weeks now. We were going to Mod Olive, a fairly pricey restaurant in downtown. We didn't go there often due that, but were making an exception for her big day. "I also am preparing myself for that fact that despite it's a work night, you're still going to make me take shots with you tonight."
Zafrina was the only one that I drank with. She had a much higher tolerance than I did, and had been trying to build mine up since we met when she started working here last May.
"You know it! We're going to get lit tonight." She stands, dancing and swaying her hips around my office, making me laugh. There was no one quite like her. I was a very shy, reserved person and she had a way bringing me out of my shell. We evened each other out in that way. She was self admittedly little extra, and I helped calm her in moments she needed it.
"Get out of here," I shove her away from when she starts shaking her chest in my face. "I need to get work done. I have a meeting with Kate I need to get ready for."
Kate was our Executive Director. She'd been working for Safe Haven for the last twenty years. She was the first boss that I felt completely comfortable talking to about anything and she truly cared about her employees. It was making her sick to think that we might have to do staffing cuts; hence the meeting today. We were trying to figure out how we can stack grants going into the new fiscal year to save as many positions as possible. But, if we didn't find any new grant opportunities that had large awards, the likelihood that we would be able to retain all our staff was grim at best.
"Okay, fine." She sighs, going to my door, stopping just outside the doorway. "But I will see you tonight."
I shake my head as she disappears down the hall. I was so going to pay for tonight tomorrow morning.
-SH-
My meeting with Kate goes about as well as I expected. We pour over the reports that I ran, trying to figure out how we're going to handle our staffing dilemma, but the end result is what we'd been expecting. If we didn't get a miracle, we were going to have to lay off four employees, which was almost half our staff. A hit that would cripple our small agency. Needless to say, I was looking forward to those shots as I walk into Mod Olive, Zafrina's gift under my arm.
She's already here, sitting at booth near the bar when I arrive. She's wearing a skintight red dress and nude fuck me pumps. She's already got a drink in front of her, a red sangria by the looks of it and is perusing the menu.
"Hey, sorry I'm late." I tell her as I slide into the booth across from her. "Kate and I stayed later at the office than I was expecting."
"Not a problem." She sets her cocktail down on the table. "I took the liberty of getting the spinach artichoke dip for as our appetizer. And don't worry about the tab, it's my treat."
"But it's your birthday. I was going to pay." We argued over who was going to pay the bill every time we went out. Both our love languages were gift giving, making us quite the pair.
She shrugs a shoulder. "I beat you to it."
"Okay, fine. But I'm getting next time." I relent as our waitress brings our appetizer to the table, making Zafrina do a happy dance.
After the day I had, coming out with one of my best friends is exactly what I need. True to fashion, she orders two rounds of vodka shots for us, and we toast to our friendship both times. We're both talking a little too loudly by the time our entrées come to the table, but neither of us cares.
Before we're about to leave, I get up to run to the bathroom and run into someone when I trip (stagger, because I'm just going to say it, I'm a little drunk) out of the booth. I look up to apologize to the poor man who has some of the best smelling cologne I've ever smelled that makes me want to bury my nose into his lightweight blue sweater (did I mention I was drunk?). But when I look up, I freeze, because I know those green eyes that are staring back at me.
A/N: I don't have a concrete posting schedule for this one, and probably won't until Single Soon is done. I've been going strong with the daily updates for that one and am trying to continue that momentum, so this one most likely won't get another update until next week, maybe sooner if I get the next chapter finished sooner.
Let me know what you think.
See you next chapter!