The Reluctant Bachelorette (4 page)

She’d grown up and had a mind of her own now—a mind that was
smart enough to know that if she wasn’t careful, Luke would break her heart all
over again.

T
hree days and not a word from Luke
.
No promised phone call, no dinner, not even a text to cancel. Nothing. It was
like he’d already packed up and left town. So pathetic that Taycee had kept her
phone nearby the entire time, willing it to ring.

Luke really hadn’t changed. Ten years and he was the same old,
unreliable, undependable Luke. Out of sight, out of mind. That was his mantra.
If only Taycee could adopt it as her own and stop thinking about him.

She sighed and turned her phone to vibrate before walking in
the back door of the crowded town hall. Wow. Were all town meetings as packed
as this one? There wasn’t an empty chair in sight.

“Why, Taycee,” said Lexie, her crochet needles pausing, “how
nice to see you here, supporting the town. I can’t remember you ever coming
before.”

Probably because Taycee had always avoided town meetings.
Long, depressing discussions about the town’s troubles wasn’t her type of thing.
In fact, she wouldn’t be here now if Jessa would just call her back. “Hey, have
you seen Jessa anywhere?”

Lexie’s finger pointed toward the front of the room. Sure
enough, on the second row in an aisle seat sat Jessa. Even in the florescent
lighting, her gorgeous highlights shone. Was it possible for Jessa to have a
bad hair day? So unfair. Taycee grabbed a folding metal chair from the back and
carted it up the aisle, setting it up beside her friend. “Hey, Jess.”

Startled blue eyes glanced Taycee’s way. “What are you doing
here? You never come to the town meetings. And you can’t sit there.”

“Why not?”

“Because that’s the aisle.”

Taycee plopped down in the chair and gestured toward the space
between her and the next chair. “There’s still room for people to get around
me.”

“What are you doing here anyway? You hate town meetings.”

“You left a message saying you needed a couple bouquets made
for something tomorrow night, but you didn’t give me any details. Since you
never called me back, I couldn’t put in the order. Now I have to drive to
Colorado Springs in the morning to pick up whatever it is you need. Which is
what, by the way?” Jessa was notorious for doing stuff like this. She seemed to
think Taycee was a mind reader and would know exactly what to create based on
“I need two bouquets for a town function tomorrow night. You don’t mind, do
you? Thanks, you’re the best!” End call.

“I would have given you more details if it mattered,” Jessa
said. “It’s only the mayor’s annual appreciation dinner. No big deal. Throw
some blue daisies in a vase and call it good. Simple.”

“There’s nothing simple about blue daisies, Jess. They need to
be dyed.”

Jessa rolled her eyes. “Then throw some white daisies in a
vase.”

White daisies? Was she serious? Those were something you’d
give to a teacher or a friend in the hospital, not something you’d use to
accent the mayor’s annual appreciation dinner. “Are you sure that’s what you
want? White daisies?”

“I’m saying I don’t care,” Jessa hissed. “Do whatever you
want.”

“Fine. How big do I need to make them?”

“I’ll say this one more time. I. Don’t. Care.”

Taycee settled back in her chair and folded her arms against
the chilly air coming through the a/c vent. “Sheesh, someone’s a little testy
tonight.”

“Sorry, I’ve just got more important stuff to worry about than
a couple of flower bouquets.”

“Like what?”

The mayor stood and started the meeting. Instead of answering,
Jessa bit her lip and fingers tapped staccato-like on her knees. Wow, she
really was anxious about something. Taycee was about to ask what when the mayor
called out Jessa’s name and said the floor was hers.

Ah, Taycee should have known. Jessa hated presenting because
of all the opinionated people in Shelter who had no problem voicing their
thoughts. For the past five months, ever since Jessa had started working for
the town, Taycee had heard all about it. Meetings that dragged on and on and on
and made Taycee even more determined to stay away from them.

Jessa faced the crowd and clasped her fingers together before
clearing her throat. “Several months ago, I introduced the idea of forming a
co-op and starting a small chain of farmers markets. Many of you were opposed
at first because of the risk and investment involved, but after several weeks
of debates, the majority of you all agreed to give it a try if we were able to
come up with the $50,000 needed. I’m here tonight to tell you that I think I’ve
found a way.”

Jessa lifted a poster from behind the desk and set in on an
easel. It pictured Main Street with the words, “Help Save Shelter!” blazoned
across the clear blue sky. “Now, many of you know how popular The Bachelor and
The Bachelorette shows are on TV right now, so I figured we’d capitalize on
that fame. What I’ve proposed to the council is this: That we create our own show,
similar in nature, called
Shelter’s Bachelorette
.”

Whispered voices seemed to surround Taycee as she sat in her
aisle seat apart from everyone else. Not quite seeing Jessa’s vision, Taycee
bit her lip as she rubbed at a non-existent spot on her khaki capris. Of all
the fundraising ideas out there, this is what Jessa had come up with? A
bachelorette show? How in the world was that supposed to raise $50,000?

Jessa forged on, speaking above the murmurs. “Believe it or
not, it’s already proven to be successful. I came up with this idea months ago,
and it’s already in the works. A website has been launched, prominent
newspapers have advertised it in their papers across the country, and hundreds
of bachelors have already emailed us application videos. We even have them
narrowed down to the final twenty.”

Jessa held out a staying hand to the growing voices. “Please
keep in mind that these bachelors understand this is a charity event. They will
pay their way here and will cover all expenses related to their dates with the
bachelorette. Although we hope the bachelorette will find true love, this show
is about funding a co-op to help save the farming community in Shelter.”

“How’s a stupid polygamist show going to fund anything?” A
deep voice boomed from the back of the room, voicing the thoughts of probably
everyone present. Taycee included. The question opened the floodgates of even
more questions because it suddenly seemed like everyone had something to say. Taycee
kept her thoughts to herself, more interested in hearing how it had already
proven to be successful.

The mayor’s gavel struck his desk a few times, restoring
order. “Zip it, folks. I’m going to ask you to please listen to the rest of
Miss McCray’s presentation before shooting anymore questions her way. I think
you’ll find she’ll answer most of them if you’ll just listen.”

The room quieted, but the murmuring continued on a more
subdued level. Taycee wasn’t sure what to think about it all. As much as she
wanted to support Jessa, who would be interested in watching a dating show set
in Shelter Springs, Colorado?

Her head held high, Jessa continued, “We set up a donation
account on our site a few months back and have already received some donation
money. In addition, because our website is getting a lot of traffic, we’re also
bringing in some advertising revenue. So far we’ve made a couple thousand
dollars, and the show hasn’t even officially started.”

“Are you jerkin’ my chain?” a man called out. “There’s people
out there donatin’ to our town?”

“That’s right,” Jessa said. “And as the word continues to get
out, more people will contribute, I’m sure of it. I’ve interviewed my aunt and
uncle, in addition to a couple of others in this room and have posted those
interviews on the site. Believe it or not, there are a lot of people out there
who don’t want to see the independent farms go under. In addition, the local
viewers that we draw to the show will also be potential customers. So this is
not only a fundraising opportunity, but a great way to get the word out about
the market you will open in a couple months.”

More murmurs swept through the room as Taycee shifted in her
seat. Although Jessa had made some good points and had obviously put a lot of
thought and planning into this, Taycee still wasn’t sold on the idea. A few
thousand in advertising revenue and donations wouldn’t make a dent in the amount
of money that needed to be raised.

Jessa lifted another poster and placed it on the easel. The
schedule. “As you can see, the show will run for six weeks. We’ll be doing
things a little differently than the real show. In
Shelter’s Bachelorette
,
our bachelorette won’t be choosing the bachelors. That will be up to the
viewers, who will vote at the end of each round of dating. I like to think of
it as The Bachelorette meets American Idol.”

“Polygamy
and
matchmaking?” a man said from the back. “What
century are we living in anyway?”

Laughter sounded throughout the room, Taycee’s included, only she
muffled hers behind her hand. If every town meeting was this entertaining,
she’d have to come more often. No wonder Jessa wasn’t a fan. She hated being
challenged.

Jessa leveled a look at the man. “You’re missing the point. By
giving the viewers the power to choose, we’re giving them what they really
want—control over which bachelor wins. Plus, we’ll be able to charge them a
dollar a vote and potentially earn way more than we ever could through
advertising and donations.”

That seemed to quiet everyone. Or at least shock them into
momentary silence.

Although Taycee still couldn’t imagine this becoming popular
enough to bring in that kind of money, Jessa’s confidence made her believe in
the possibility. Besides, it was better than sitting around and doing nothing.

“Burt and Megan, who recently returned home for the summer,
have agreed to volunteer their time and talents to film and edit the show. They
have a lot of experience and will do a great job,” Jessa said. “Each date will
be filmed, rapidly edited, and then posted on our site. The voting will open
for two days and the winners announced at a rose ceremony similar to what they
do on the real show. Only in ours, the bachelorette will be just as surprised
as the bachelors. Granted, this won’t be nearly as professional as NBC’s show,
but it
will
be good and the viewers are going to eat it up.”

“You’re sayin’ we can watch it on our computer?” a woman spoke
up.

“If you have an internet, then yes.” Jessa drew in a deep
breath and scanned the crowd. “I can only imagine what you all must be
thinking, but I want to reiterate that this is about saving our town. I’m sick
of seeing farms go under and good people being forced to leave Shelter.
Starting right now, we’re going to put a stop to that. We’re going to earn
enough money, we’re going to start that co-op, and we’re going to keep you all
in business. And if, for whatever reason, this doesn’t work, then I’ll think of
something else.” Jessa’s hand slapped the podium beside her. “I refuse to give
up.”

A hush fell over the crowd, and Taycee swallowed, feeling
suddenly close to tears. Jessa’s words seemed to open up people’s minds and pave
the way to acceptance. No one had anymore arguments—at least none they
verbalized.

“Who’s the bachelorette?” a girl from the front row asked.

Jessa smiled—her first real smile all night. “If you want to
know that, you can check out our site tonight when you get home. Increased
traffic looks good to potential advertisers, so this is my way of forcing you
to get on our site and drive up that traffic.”

“What’s the URL?” A man held up his phone. “I’ll look it up
right now.”

“Sorry, but you’ll have to wait until the end of the meeting
for that info. For now, rest assured that we’ve found the perfect bachelorette.
She’s ready and excited to do this.”

Taycee glanced around the room, wondering who it could be.
Marie? Stephanie? Or—heaven forbid—Liza? Whoever it was, at least they were
excited about it. Taycee certainly wouldn’t be.

A woman raised her voice above the noise of the crowd. “Is one
of the bachelors from Shelter?”

“No,” said Jessa. “We’ve kept everything quiet around town
until we got the ball rolling, so before tonight only a few people even knew
about it. Besides, it would be an unfair advantage to have a bachelor from the
same town as the bachelorette, don’t you think? All the finalists are from
various states around the country.”

A woman’s voice called out above the chatter. “I think it’s
only fittin’ to have a representative from our town be one of the bachelors.
This is a charity event for our town, after all.”

A murmur of approval swept through the room, and Jessa nodded
slowly, as if considering it. Finally, she shrugged. “All right, if that’s what
it takes to make you happy, let’s do it. We can always start off with
twenty-one bachelors instead. Any suggestions?”