Page 30 of As They Are
“Yeah. I could work on it and then stay for a while. It would give me a few months here to catch up with you guys before I have to get back for some other projects. But they said it would need long-term funding, and they weren’t willing to do that for a small town, because God forbid they do something charitable.”
Bitterness rose in me. It had been growing ever since I was halfway through season one. Now it felt like it was taking over completely.
“Having a library would be cool,” Eric said. “I’m sorry they said no.”
“Thanks,” I said softly. “Anyway, that’s why I didn’t want to get your hopes up. Or anyone’s, really.”
I looked up at Mollie, only to find her staring at Cain. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” she asked him.
“Yep.”
“Would it cover that?”
“No idea, but there’s not much itdoesn’tcover.”
Mollie bit her lip, eyes lost in thought.
“What are you guys talking about?” I asked.
“There’s a grant here,” Mollie said. “Just for this town. It might cover the funding.”
“What, like a government one?” I shook my head. “If they were gonna cover that, they would have.”
“No,” she said. “It’s private.”
I blinked in shock. “What kind of private grant cares about small towns?”
“Not many, but this one is called the STM grant. It covers Strawberry Springs.”
“Only here?”
“Yep.”
“Why?”
Mollie shrugged.
“It’s helped a lot of us,” Cain said.
“Did you use it for the farm?”
“No, the eggs and milk keep that afloat. It was for my personal life, actually. It paid me back for the custody battle I was in with Eric.”
My eyebrows raised. That sounded too good to be true.
“I know,” Mollie said, catching my disbelieving expression. “I thought the same thing, but the money is real. And it pays out every time.”
“How long has it been around?”
“Five years,” Cain said.
“And the end date?”
“There isn’t one.”
“I’m sorry, but money coming from nowhere? That seems fishy.”
“I agree,” Mollie replied. “But you can ask around. Get some firsthand accounts from people who’ve received it. If you really want this, then it’s worth a shot.”
