I shrugged. “Mother Nature, I guess.” My shoulders sagged, and I found pictures of the storm and damage to the town. I handed the phone over to Dad.
“I hoped that maybe you guys would give a large charity donation and help the town rebuild. We can do whatever publicity you like for it? We will hold other fundraisers and try to make it part way, but there isn’t enough money to do it on our own.”
“So, this is why you’re home.” Mom sneered. “We have already agreed which charities we are supporting this year.” She rolled her eyes.
“Yes, but you run a business. This could be good for Luxe. Think of how it would look for the papers. You guys would save a whole town. But regardless of Luxe…” I took a steadying breath and blew out the tightness in my lungs and glanced at my parents. “I was hoping you would do this for me, as my parents.” Tears gathered in my eyes. “I love this town, and I love these people.” I wiped a stray tear with my shoulder. “They don’t have the resources to fix the school. Most of the town lives paycheck to paycheck or from harvest to harvest. Without the school, they will have to bus kids to other towns, split up friendships, and require long bus rides. I rolled my ring. “That’s just the start. Over 60 percent of the population of Hillsdale earn their wages from the school, and they will all be jobless, including me.” I sighed and looked at the floor. “I know I don’t deserve to ask for this, when I ran off like I did.”
Mom scoffed. “That’s for sure.”
Dad’s forehead wrinkled.
“If we did this, would you come back and work for Luxe?” Mom folded her arms and raised her brow. “Seems like a small price to pay if you love them as much as you say you do.”
This was it.
The moment that mattered most.
Would I be willing to sacrifice what I wanted and worked toward in life so others could live the life they loved?
I breathed in and held it. I couldn’t tell what was right.
My friends would despise me for it, but they would despise me in a functional town.
“Would that be required?” I whispered.
Chapter Thirty-Four
ADAM
It had been several days since I had seen Faith. Several days of quick phone calls, both of us overwhelmed in our own spaces. I wanted to go with her to New York; I wanted to make her come back, but neither of those things were up to me.
The team had several days before the state basketball game. Considering there was so much uneasiness in their lives, they were doing well. They pushed themselves as they ran ladders on our half of the gym.
It would be ideal to use the entire floor, but sacrifices needed to be made by everyone. Part of the elementary school was currently using the bleachers and the other half of the gym for their lessons. There were also classes in churches, the firehouse, and the B&B community center.
Again, not ideal, but necessary. Our next practice would be full court.
The bonus was I got to watch Danny interact with his classmates a little during practice. It was a lot for him with the recent changes, and the way noise echoed in the gym. Faith mentioned headphones might be helpful while in the gym.
We had started the paperwork for testing Danny a bit ago, and we were still waiting to meet with the pediatrician.
I hoped I was doing the right thing by Danny.
The team ran across the black line; several placed hands on their knees as they tried to catch their breath.
“Nice job!” I walked toward the group. “Let’s run through some plays.”
Jacob nodded and took the ball up to the three-point line as the other boys got into position. He held up the number three, and I watched the players shift around accordingly.
Somehow, even though I’d lived here most of my life, everything had a newness that now included memories with Faith.
We were slotted to go in third at state with a single elimination bracket. I was happy they kept the state championship going. The kids could use some normalcy in their lives. They moved the venue a little farther away to accommodate the storm, but other than that, things were going forward as planned.
Fifteen minutes later, I blew my whistle. “Four foul shots each, a ladder for the team for each shot missed.” The boys started lining up around the key. “State is coming up at the end of the week. I know life is a little hectic right now, but let’s try our best to focus on the good.”
The phone call with Faith last night had been short. She sounded exhausted, but at least she answered this time. I tried to remind myself that she had a lot to do there, and she felt a lot of pressure to succeed, which might be why she seemed somewhat distant last night.
I searched for plane tickets to New York, and wondered if it would be worth the extra cost to see her, even if only for a few hours. But then real life kicked in, real life as in Danny, who had recently decided four a.m. was a perfectly acceptable time to rise and shine. Or rather, rise and demand.
