Page 32 of Oops, I Fell For The Town Bad Boy!

“Meaning that if you let yourself believe they want you to stay out of their lives, you’ll have an excuse to do that,” she said. “It would be easy to walk away from all this again. It would be harder to stick around and try to make things right. I think you’re trying to avoid facing up to things, even if maybe you don’t realize it. You don’t want to have to look Jeff Chesterfield in the eye and take responsibility. I hate to put it like this, but there’s a part of you that’s still running away from the past.”

Kane wanted to deny it. He wished he could. But there was too much truth in what she was saying.

“You really think this could work?” he asked.

“I think it will,” she said. “And what’s the worst that could happen? You’ll raise some money for the Chesterfields and then get out of their lives again? That won’t hurt anyone. Even if they don’t appreciate it, even if they wish they’d never heard your name again, they’ll have the money and you’ll be gone.”

Kane nodded. It stung a little that she could talk so casually about him leaving. But then, leaving was a part of his plan. Why shouldn’t she say it? It was going to happen. And in the meantime, if he could do something to help the Chesterfields, maybe he should. Maybe that was for the best.

More to the point, he couldn’t stop looking at Taylor’s face. He couldn’t ignore the hopeful look in her eyes, nor could he pretend that he didn’t understand how much this meant to her. He didn’t know exactly why, but for whatever reason, it was clear that she had grown attached to this idea. She wanted this fundraiser to happen, and it seemed to Kane that the best thing he could possibly do now was to go along with it.

But even if he did… “What would we do?” he asked. “How could we possibly raise enough money to be helpful? You already told me that everyone in Miller Creek is doing all they can to help the Chesterfields by prioritizing purchasing their goods. What are we going to do that could possibly make any serious difference? We’d have to raise thousands of dollars, wouldn’t we? I don’t know where we’re going to get that kind of money. So many people would have to get involved, and I just don’t see how we’re going to do that. Miller Creek is too small a town.”

“You’re right,” Taylor mused. “Miller Creek is too small to make much of a difference… but Cedar Rapids isn’t.”

“Cedar Rapids?”

“Whatever we do, we should advertise it there. That way, we can involve a whole lot more people. If we can get Cedar Rapids involved — and maybe Iowa City residents too, even though they’re a bit farther away.”

She was starting to get really excited about the whole thing, Kane saw, and he knew that there was no way he could say no to her now. Even though he still wasn’t convinced that this was the best idea, he couldn’t stand the idea of telling her he wasn’t willing to go along with it. After all, he had asked her for help once, long ago, and she had denied him. Now she was trying to help him. He couldn’t turn that away.

“If you really think it’s a good idea, I’m in,” he said. “But I don’t know what we could do to raise funds that would actually make a difference.”

“We’ll figure something out,” she assured him. “Let me worry about that. The important thing is that we get people to participate, and that it has your name on it, so the Chesterfields know that you wanted to make a difference.”

Kane still thought that putting his name on it was probably the worst thing he could do — much better to raise money for the Chesterfields without them knowing he’d had anything to do with it, so they could retain some sense of mental peace about the whole thing. But he wasn’t going to argue with Taylor. Whatever she had in mind, he knew that the train had already left the station, and the best thing he could do now was to remain on board.

CHAPTER 17

KANE

“You know what would be really good?” Kane said.

Three days had gone by since Taylor’s initial suggestion that they put together a fundraiser, and so far, they hadn’t been able to think of anything. Now, though, as he washed the dishes, Kane was beginning to feel the spark of an idea. They’d made a lasagna for dinner using Chesterfield produce, and it had been fresh and delicious, and it had occurred to Kane that perhaps one of the best things he could do to help the Chesterfields might be to let everyone taste their food.

“You look like you’ve thought of something clever,” Taylor said. “Lay it on me.”

“A farmers market,” Kane said. “The Chesterfields could have it right on their property, and we could get people to come from nearby cities.”

“It’s a good idea,” Taylor agreed. “But do you think people would travel for that? Cedar Rapids must have farmers markets of its own, and I’m sure Iowa City does as well. Why would they come to this one?”

“We’d have to make it special,” Kane said. “We’d have to arrange for other attractions. Carnival rides. Maybe a petting zoo. We’d probably have to leave it operational for several days, too, so that word could spread.”

“How are we going to afford all those things?” Taylor asked.

Kane had thought of that too. “I’ll pay for it,” he said.

“You can afford something like that out of pocket?”

“No. But if you buy me out on the house, the way you’re planning to, I’ll have some extra funds to throw at the project.”

“You know I don’t have that money right now,” Taylor said.

“I know, but I figured if I took more of a token amount, instead of the value of the property, you might be able to swing it right now. Then I could use that money to pay for the attractions we’re talking about. Even if it isn’t half the value of the house, it ought to be enough to put on a farmers market.”

Taylor frowned. “I could give you about ten thousand right now,” she said. “But that’s nowhere near what your share of the house is worth.”

“I know,” Kane said. “But that would allow me to get this project done. I’d accept that amount if you would be willing to pay me right now instead of waiting, or trying to borrow the full amount. Would you be willing?”

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