Gwen clenched her fists on the table. “But Reagan, she—”

Reagan raised her hand. “We can talk about it later. I want to focus on something that’s important to me. And she is not. Okay?”

“Fine.” Gwen sighed.

Beth eyed them both. “Well, I obviously missed something and you can catch me up later. But I guess we should move on for now. So is this meeting about the benefit you’re planning?”

Reagan let out a breath and turned to the front of her notes. “Yes. I want it to be a benefit but also a celebration of life for my dad. I want to raise money for the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, but I don’t want it to feel like a stuffy fundraiser. I want people to have fun, enjoy some excellent food, and have a chance to win some great items in the silent auction. Think that will work?”

They both nodded in reply.

“Let’s see what you’ve come up with so far,” Gwen said.

For the next two hours, Reagan presented the ideas she’d had running through her mind since before her dad had passed. She wanted it to happen at the beginning of December, hoping to catch people when they were in the holiday spirit and a little more generous. However, that meant they only had a few weeks to prepare, but she figured keeping it less formal would make it easier. Gwen and Beth threw out suggestions, and Reagan easily incorporated them into her vision.

As she wrapped up the meeting, she divvied up a list of tasks and scheduled a meeting for the following week. Closing her notebook, she turned to leave the room, but Gwen asked her to stay.

“I’ll just go start on some of these,” Beth replied, closing the door on her way out.

Gwen leaned her hip against the table and crossed her arms. “It’s later, so let’s chat.”

Reagan sighed and dropped her notebook on the table. “Gwen, it’s over and done. I don’t really want to think about it anymore.”

“I’m sure you don’t, but I wanted to check on you. How are you doing?”

“Her words hurt. I can’t deny that, but I know they weren’t about me.”

“Yeah, I kinda got that. Have you talked to Jill?”

“She came over that night and apologized.”

“That’s something, at least,” Gwen muttered. She paused and took a deep breath, as if bracing herself for what she was about to say. “If this gets serious, do you really want to be around people like that?”