Promise Canyon (Virgin River #13)(32)

"How about a lottery?" a man said, standing. "'Course it would help to know how much money there is before we actually do it, but we could have a lottery and divide it up. Then a bunch of people could be winners."

"Listen to yourselves," Jo Ellen Fitch said. "We need a school! We've been bussing our children to other towns for years and even survived a bus accident! What could be a more responsible use for Hope's money than a school?"

"I got my kids through school!" someone shouted. "I put 'em on the bus or drove 'em myself. I don't want my one chance at some cash to go to some school when I don't have any need of one anymore!"

"Seriously--a lottery! Let's take care of it, here and now. It's town money and we're the town, right? So Jack, spit it out--how much is there?"

"Will you listen to yourselves?" Jack said angrily. "What are you going to do if there's an epidemic? A wildfire? If some kid goes missing in the forest? Don't you have any interest in saving up some money for emergencies? What if we have to rebuild the town someday? What if we need an ambulance or fire truck or--"

"I guess we'll do what we've always done," someone answered. "You ever know us to fail to pitch in?"

"You can't wait to get your greedy hands on this money!" he nearly shouted. "I'm totally shocked! I thought you'd come up with good ideas for the town! But no, you want to clear loans and win a lottery!"

"A school, at least for the little ones," Jo Fitch repeated. "It could be one room, grades one through six or something."

"What the hell for?" someone shouted. "The rest of us got our kids through school riding that bus! Paid for by the county, by the way!"

"I ain't giving up my share for someone else's elementary schoolers!" someone else shouted.

Jack's face grew red. He listened to people shouting back and forth and just went from red to purple. He glanced at his wife and saw her gently close her notebook. Finally, with no feedback from him, the din subsided. He cleared his throat. "Ahem. Hope did not leave her money to the people of the town, but the town. And she put me in charge of figuring out how to serve the town. So, you all sound like a bunch of selfish bastards who can't wait to get your paws on her money--excuse me, the school idea was not selfish, no offense intended...."

"What about my sign?" a woman asked.

"Also unselfish. But totally unnecessary. This was a bad idea. This meeting is over."

He walked back down the center aisle and out of the church.

The Loving Cup was Dane's brainchild. It was also a way for him to help his sister, Darlene, get on her feet after a rough divorce. They had started on a shoestring, but Dane had catering experience and Darlene was a dream in the kitchen. They had decorated with an eclectic collection of comfy chairs from wing chairs to cushiony armchairs complete with mismatched side and coffee tables. Although they sold food ranging from cookies and slices of pie to breakfast and lunch sandwiches, the front of the store was set up with a series of small sitting areas. And it was almost always full. People dropped in for as little as a cup of coffee or as much as a lunch meeting.

There were only two stools at the end of the long counter, and Lilly had claimed one of them as her favorite perch.

Dane worked the front of the store, which was one of the reasons Lilly had formed a closer bond with him than with Darlene. Darlene was stuck in the kitchen, creating her masterpieces. And there was also the fact that five years postdivorce and four years post-Loving Cup opening, Darlene, a single mother of two teenagers, was in a very nice, comfortable relationship with the owner of a small hardware store. And Dane, like Lilly, was unattached. That allowed for their occasional nights out together.

There was undoubtedly more to it--Lilly and Dane had taken to each other. What began as a few friendly chats over tea and buns turned into deep conversations in which some confidences were exchanged. And because neither of them was romantically involved, it was a simple matter to arrange outings like trips to the wildlife sanctuary or movies or even shopping trips.

Most importantly she relied on his friendship because she'd told him things about herself that she hadn't even told any of her few girlfriends. And he had responded with both kindness and wisdom.

Dane and Darlene closed the coffee shop at six-thirty every evening. They had discovered that evening crowds were thin--people seemed to prefer dinner at real restaurants or bars, even if their drink of choice was a frothy coffee. Knowing it was closing time, Lilly popped into the shop after finishing work at the feed store. And knowing this was very rare for Lilly when they didn't have plans together, Dane walked around the counter, flipped the sign to Closed and locked the door.

He walked back around the counter, faced her and said, "I already washed the teapot. And you've been wearing that strange look for a couple of weeks at least, except tonight it just got stranger."

"Can I just have something from the case? Like a Snapple or something?"

"And then you'll talk?" he asked.

"I always talk," she said.

"Well, that's debatable," he said, getting her a cold drink. He twisted off the top and handed it across the counter. "You always talk eventually. Sometimes you lead up to it for months. I'm getting less patient with that."