Page 8 of As They Are (Strawberry Springs #2)

“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 it doesn’t cover.”

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.”

I bit my lip again. Maybe Tammy knew something about it. Henry too. “Okay, I’ll do that.”

“And Wren?” Mollie started. “I think it’s really sweet that you wanna work on the library. Most people would see it and walk right past.”

“You know I love bringing things back to life.”

“It always seems to be what you need to make yourself feel better,” she said. “So I’ll help in any way I can.”

“You’re back already! And this time, you brought Mollie!” Tammy seemed genuinely excited to see us.

“She owes me a diner breakfast,” Mollie said, linking her arm through mine. “And we can chat while we’re at it.”

This morning, Mollie caught me as I was coming down the stairs, declaring that Cain was working on the farm and she would be helping me get information on the STM grant. She wouldn’t take no for an answer, even when I wanted her to focus on her work, and drove me here herself.

This was the Mollie I knew. The spunky girl from high school who’d broken past everyone else’s words and became my best friend. I hadn’t realized how much of her I’d lost while she was with Trevor.

“Chat? You know I love that.” Tammy walked us over to our table. “Coffee for Mollie and water for Wren, right?” she asked.

“That’s right,” Mollie said with a smile. “Then, we have a question for you.”

“I’ll get your drinks, but then you’ll have to scoot over. If I’m getting questioned, I’ll at least sit with you.”

Mollie nodded as she chuckled. Tammy went to get our drinks.

“She’s awesome,” Mollie said. “Most people here are.”

“It’s different,” I mused. “Everyone knows each other.”

“For the good and the bad. But I like it. After being lost in the anonymity of the city, it feels good to be known.”

The idea sounded great. To be liked no matter who you were. To be a part of something. I was good at being a part of things, but there was always something people didn’t like. Something that excluded me.

Now more than ever.

“We’re gonna have to talk about whatever gave you that look on your face,” Mollie said. “Because I know it wasn’t the library.”

“I’m—”

“If you say you’re fine, I’m gonna start throwing sugar packets at you.”

My shoulders slumped. “You know me too well.”

“What did Jude do?”

“How do you also know it was him?”

“All we talked about was you and him, and now you won’t mention his name. It’s a process of elimination.”

“It really wasn’t that bad in the end,” I said.

“Somehow, I doubt that. But you can have a few more minutes of denial if that makes you feel any better.”

“I’m back!” Tammy announced. “Coffee and water. Now, what were you gonna ask?”

She sat next to Mollie, facing me. Mollie gave me one last pointed look before fully turning to Tammy.

“You know the STM grant, right?” Mollie asked.

“Of course I do.”

“How much do you trust it?” I asked.

“At first? Not at all. Small towns are used to being forgotten, but nowadays? It keeps the town afloat. It fixed rent prices. Makes sure all the businesses can stay open. We would be hurting without it.”

“And it regularly pays out? It’s never missed anything?”

“No. Why?”

“Wren wants to work on the library.” Mollie said it before I could stop her.

“ Maybe work on it,” I rushed to add. “I don’t know if I can make it happen.”

But Tammy’s eyes were wide. “You want to bring it back? Oh, kid, that would be incredible.”

“Yes, but I can’t afford it on my own. I wanted to do it on the show I’m on?—”

“You want to bring a show here too?” Tammy laughed. “Are you trying to save the whole town while you’re at it?”

I blushed at the praise but shook it off. “I wouldn’t get excited. They’re saying no. Not only is it not Nashville based, but it needs long-term funding.”

“And that’s where the STM grant comes in,” Mollie said.

“It would cover it,” Tammy replied. “A few of us have talked about wanting to apply for the library ourselves, but we had no one who could do the work.” She looked at me. “Until you.”

“She should do it, right?”

“She should. One hundred percent.”

Mollie and Tammy seemed so close. I wondered if Mollie had added her to a part of her support system.

And if I’d fallen out of it.

It only made me need to be here more than ever. I wanted to be part of her life, and even though I’d be going back to Nashville at the end of this, at least I would know everything about my best friend once again.

But the idea of depending on money from something I didn’t understand was still hard.

I didn’t know a lot of people here, but the one person who had the most logic was Henry. “Hey, um, is Henry working at the clinic today?”

Tammy raised an eyebrow. “You need to see a doctor? Don’t tell me we’ve driven you to question your mental health this quickly.”

“No,” I said. “I just want his advice too.”

Both Mollie and Tammy glanced at each other.

“How do you know Henry?” Mollie asked.

“I’ve met him a few times.” And broke into a library with him. “He’s sweet.”

“He is.” Tammy nodded. “But you’re taken, right?”

“For now,” Mollie said.

“For now? What’s goin’ on there?”

“Nothing.” I waved them off. Madison would kill me if too many people knew. “And there’s nothing with Henry either. He’s sweet in general. And he seems smart.”

“He is,” Tammy replied. “He should have the clinic open by now.”

“Then that’s our next stop.”

“He’s also single, by the way.” Tammy smiled and leaned in. “In case you think he’s a better choice.”

Mollie laughed but covered her mouth. I could only gape at Tammy. “I ... Well, no. That won’t happen.”

“Sure. Definitely not. But if it helps, Henry’s a good guy. If Jude screwed up, you have options.”

“Maybe it wasn’t Jude who did it. I could be terrible at relationships.”

Mollie huffed. “Now, hang on a second. We’re not blaming ourselves for shitty men.”

“I’m not saying it’s not him. I’m just saying that I could have been part of the problem.”

Tammy hummed. “I’ll let you in on a secret. When I meet a woman with a great personality and she’s having relationship problems, it’s usually not her that’s the issue.”

I rubbed my chest, feeling warmth growing at her comment. She was just being nice to a newcomer. It didn’t mean anything. “All right, fine. You’d ... mostly be right. Kinda.” I thought of the fake relationship. It made everything so complicated.

Tammy narrowed her eyes as she appraised me. I thought she was going to question me, but someone called her to the table. I watched her go, but when I turned, Mollie was staring at me.

“So, are you finally gonna tell me what Jude did?”

“It was just one comment.”

“And it was enough to break the two of you up?”

“We were never together.”

Mollie blinked. “I’m sorry, what?”

“We were fake dating. For the show.”

“Hang on. But you flirted.”

“Yep.”

“And kissed . It was all fake?”

“I wanted it to be real.” I shrugged. “He didn’t.”

Her jaw dropped. “You have to be kidding me . How dare he! You’re a catch!”

I messed with my straw. “Not to him. I thought I could get him to change his mind, but obviously not.”

“Fuck, Wren. I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine.”

She looked at me as if I were a stranger. And she was right to. I was a stranger. Both to myself and to her. “It’s not fine.”

“Mollie, it has to be. I have a second season to do with him and it’s in my contract.”

Her eyebrows furrowed. “Seriously? They’re making you do it?”

“Our romance is a part of the show. And I signed on for the second season before he turned me down.” I sighed and sat back. “It’s why I wanna work on the library. At least if I’m working on something I care about and hanging out with you, I can feel like I’m not losing it.”

“Are you sure there’s no way to get out of this?”

“Not that I can find. And if I keep working with them, they’ll invest in more and more. Imagine what I could do.”

Madison had already offered the idea of many seasons beyond the second once I was finished with my projects. If I took it, I could give that back to the library too.

“Yeah, but only within their limits. Sounds like this isn’t what they told you it would be.”

Her words brought back that bitterness I’d been feeling earlier. I closed my eyes for a long moment to try and wrestle it back into place.

“I’m trying to get them to see reason. And if I do, I can do more.”

“I get it,” she said. “But I don’t like the idea of you being miserable.”

“I don’t like being miserable either, but it won’t last for long.” I forced my lips upward. “Once I’m in that library, everything will feel better.”

“And you’re sure about this?”

No. But I could pretend. “Yes.”

I wasn’t sure if she believed me. Her eyes were narrowed in my direction. “Okay, fine. But that means you need to apply for this grant.”

“If it’s real,” I said.

“Tammy said it was.”

“I know, but I want Henry’s opinion first.”

“Yeah, about that ... Why him?”

“You heard what I said earlier. He’s smart.”

“And no other reasons?”

I could have said he was cute. Really cute, in a nerdy way. He considered others, but stepped in when he needed to.

But that would open up a whole other slew of questions I wasn’t ready for. So, I shook my head. “Nope. No other reasons.”