Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
" W e definitely have some things to think about now," Noah said, over top of the murmurings, which died down when he started to speak.
"I guess we're kind of shooting ourselves in the foot if we keep the box store from coming in. We'll miss out on the lower prices and shorter drive as well," a voice said from the other side of the room.
"Yes. While some of the practices of the big box stores are not exactly what I would like to see, there's no doubt that they're able to offer products at a less expensive price point.
There are people in town who definitely could use that, and it would be a blessing to them.
It's foolish for me to prevent that from happening just because of my politics and personal disdain for big companies," the voice came from the other side of the room.
It was still in an area that Jack couldn't see very well, but it sounded like someone who had spoken earlier against the idea.
He hadn't meant to talk anyone into anything; he'd only meant to present the other side.
He glanced over, and Kate's eyes were on him. She smiled and leaned closer.
"You did a great job."
"Thanks," he said, and somehow her compliment made him feel warm all the way to his toes.
The meeting had moved on, and they took care of a few different items, but as Jack suspected, it didn't run long.
"And the last thing that we need is someone to volunteer to help Marjorie McBride with the town Christmas festival. Marjorie usually does it all by herself, but we don’t want to continue to take advantage of her. Would anyone be willing to help?"
"You should do that," Jack said, glancing at Kate and seeing her biting her lip.
"I was just wondering if I was too new. Do you think people will resent me?"
He glanced around and then lifted his brows. "You don't see anyone else jumping on it."
She took a breath, similar to the one he had taken when he needed extra fortification to stand up and speak his piece.
"I'll help her," Kate said, her voice seeming a little uncertain.
"That's wonderful. I couldn't think of a better person." Noah looked down at the paper in front of him and wrote a name down.
"Does he know you?" Jack asked, knowing that Kate had just moved to town not that long ago.
"Through Nelly. I've met him several times. He's a nice guy."
Was that jealousy that ripped through him, leaving him feeling a little cold and annoyed?
"He's right. You'll be excellent at that."
He had to say something. He couldn't let Noah be the only one giving her a compliment. And he wasn't quite sure why that was.
"All right, I'd like to go back to the first item of business.
I have on my paper that I wanted to appoint someone the head of a small business alliance for Mistletoe Meadows.
I originally wanted it to be so they could protect the local shops, but maybe just protect the local shops' interests, and while also giving the townspeople the opportunity to have the very best services possible, and making people's commute through Mistletoe Meadows, if it was strictly necessary, as smooth as possible as well.
That means you'll be working with local and state authorities and planning commissions as well for the county and the state. "
"I think Jack is the obvious man for the job," Roland said, glancing at Jack, who felt a bit of an electric shot go through him. He hadn't come to the meeting thinking he was going to be appointed to anything.
"I was thinking the same thing." Noah nodded.
There were some murmurs, and then several other people spoke up and agreed.
"Will you take the job?" Noah flat out asked Jack.
Jack did not want to, but someone needed to do it.
“We need a shop to feature at the Festival, and I propose that if Jack takes that position, we feature his candy cane shop at the Festival this year.” Marjorie McBride spoke clearly. Her words caused a murmur to go through the room, then several people called out an assent.
"I will." Jack knew he needed to answer the call to help his town, and adding the Festival shop feature made it a no-brainer.
He hadn't thought about it any farther than that, but he supposed he didn't need to.
He was hoping that someone with a cool head, who could see both sides, would be in charge, and.
.. apparently that was him. Did he have a cool head? He thought he could see both sides.
The meeting broke up not long after, and he found himself standing beside Kate, talking to the McBrides.
After a few minutes, they walked away, with the McBride children seeming to want to get their mother home.
"Would you like me to walk you to your car?
" Jack asked Kate. There was just something in him that said that since they'd walked there together, he was responsible for getting her home safely, even though he knew that there really wasn't any such thing.
She was perfectly capable of getting herself to her car.
"I'd love that."
They spoke to a few more people on their way to the door, where they grabbed their coats and put them on before heading out into the night.
"You did a really great job in there. I was completely against both ideas until you spoke, and then you really made me see that while I still am not super excited about the changes that might happen here, it might be a good thing for the community in general."
"I think so, if we do it in a smart way.
I didn't mention it at the time, but some of the tax revenue that's generated by the big box store going in could be used to advertise the downtown.
That might mitigate the loss of revenue.
I don't know if we can put that directly into any agreements that we make with them or not. "
"That's an excellent idea."
"Yeah, I don't know. I suppose we'll see how it pans out.
I mean, there will be taxes coming in from that, obviously.
So we might as well make good use of them and try to use them to offset any of the negative consequences.
I was also thinking that perhaps people who commute through Mistletoe Meadows could somehow have some kind of permit, similar to an EZ Pass, where they're allowed to use the bypass as well, you know? "
"That's a great idea. You should have said that back there." Kate huffed out a breath. "I guess if you're in charge, though, you'll be the one talking, and you can present those ideas to the various people who need to hear them."
"Yeah, I guess I just didn't have everything organized in my head. I wasn't expecting to have to speak on that tonight...I would have been more prepared had I known."
"You did a great job."
"I hope I didn't push you into helping with the Christmas festival if you didn't want to."
"Oh, not at all. I'd planned to get involved in the community. I love that kind of thing, and I thought I would do more of it at my last job, but... it just didn't work out that way. So actually, you did me a favor. Even coming into this meeting, I told myself that I wanted to get involved."
"Well, you're definitely going to be involved. The community Christmas festival is a really big thing."
"I don't know. Maybe people will find out I'm doing it and decide to stay away. Sometimes small towns can kind of circle the wagons against newcomers."
"I can't disagree with you, but I don't think Mistletoe Meadows is like that. Especially since you know the McBrides. That gives you an in that not a lot of people have."
"You would know, having grown up here."
"True. Although I grew up outside of Mistletoe Meadows, on the farm out there."
Kate seemed to hesitate, and then she said, "Are you just in the candy shop because of your late wife?"
Wow. That was a question he wasn't expecting to have to answer today. It wasn't something that he typically talked about with anyone. But he didn't want to ruin the rapport that he'd developed with Kate, and he found himself wanting to answer her anyway.
"It's for my daughter. That's her heritage. So yeah, I would rather be on the farm—that's mine. That's what I love, and it's what I wanted to pass down to my children."
"Lilly is yours too," Kate said.
It was a simple statement, but it hit hard.
"You're doing so much to keep the candy shop alive because it was important to Lauren, but in the process, you're losing what was important to you, if I am not mistaken." She paused for a moment and then she said, "And if I'm not overstepping my bounds, either."
"You're not overstepping. You... said something that I hadn't even dared to think. Or maybe I just hadn't considered it. After all, I guess I assumed that Lilly would want what was her mother's."
"But maybe she wants what was her dad's as well."
"I'll have to think about that," he said. Was he really being blind? Was he doing his daughter a disservice by only giving her one parent's dream?
Maybe she'd have a dream of her own that wouldn't include the candy shop, and he would have spent all that time and struggle trying to keep everything afloat when she didn't really want it after all. But if he lost it and she did want it, he wouldn't be able to get it back.
But the same was true of the farm. It was coming down to him either needing to sell the candy shop or sell the farm, because he wasn't doing a very good job of trying to keep up with both, and he couldn't afford it either.
They walked the rest of the way to Kate's car in silence. The walk had gone quickly. As she stopped beside it, he automatically put a hand on her door handle.
He didn't want the night to be over. He...wanted to spend more time with her.
"Thanks a lot. I think Mistletoe Meadows is pretty safe, but I'm new, and I do appreciate you walking with me."
"It was just a few steps past where I needed to be." He paused, wanting to somehow extend the conversation and his time with her, but not knowing how.