Page 32 of As They Are
“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.
“Maybework 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 ashowhere 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 healththisquickly.”
“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.”
