Endless Love (Santa’s Secret Helpers #5) - Leeanna Morgan Page 0,1

enough money to buy four hundred flowers over the two weeks before Valentine’s Day. Is that too many flowers?”

Emma shook her head. “I don’t think so, especially if we promote the fundraiser to people who are visiting Sapphire Bay. If everyone donated ten dollars for each flower, we’d have four thousand dollars to put toward the Christmas wish program.”

“I’d be thrilled if we raised that much money,” Shelley said. “Are there any questions about where we’re up to with the flower fundraiser?”

Everyone studied their spreadsheets.

“It looks good to me,” Kylie said. “Once the website is up and running, Mabel will wave her magic wand over our community Facebook page and advertise the fundraiser. With the posters, media interviews, and other advertising, people will be reserving their flowers in case they miss out.”

“Once we finish the flower wishes fundraiser, we could organize an event with an Easter theme,” Bailey said. “I can call my friend in Bigfork. They had a successful Easter market last year. If we can coordinate our event with theirs, we could attract a lot more people.”

Mabel wrote something on the meeting’s minutes. “Easter isn’t far away. Do you think you could contact your friend in the next week?”

Bailey nodded. “I’ll let you know what she says.”

John looked worried. “Just remember that we still need to hear from the county about our funding application for the budgeting and health sessions. If we’re successful, I’ll need to focus my time on the programs for the residents of the tiny home village.”

For almost a year, John and a group of paid and volunteer workers had been building tiny homes for the people of Sapphire Bay.

Like most towns around the world, homelessness was a growing problem. After speaking to the families who stayed at The Welcome Center, Shelley was shocked by the range of people who couldn’t find somewhere to live. She’d assumed most people would have low incomes or some kind of addiction issue.

But the chronic shortage of affordable homes was huge. It didn’t matter if people had a job and a good support network. If the price of houses was beyond their budget or no rentals were available, they were left with nowhere to call home.

To help people find safe, warm, and affordable rental accommodation, John was creating a village of twenty-five tiny homes. With the last three homes due to be completed at the end of March, the social housing initiative was one of the most successful in the county.

To make the project even more relevant, the church had applied to the county for funding toward the ongoing costs of wraparound healthcare and financial services.

“It doesn’t matter if you can’t help us,” Bailey assured him. “We have enough people to organize something for Easter and to help you.”

Mabel handed everyone another sheet of paper. “That brings us to the next item on the agenda; our fundraising program for the tiny home village.”

Shelley read the list of ideas. Bailey must have spoken to Mabel and added her thoughts to the draft program. She had no idea what John would think about a mystery dating night or a classic car exhibition, but at least her ideas were creative.

John’s eyebrows rose. “You left off the Miss America pageant.”

Mabel patted his arm. “I think a mystery dating night is about as adventurous as we want to get.”

Shelley grinned at John. “Besides, we don’t need fifty-one beautiful and talented women arriving in Sapphire Bay. There are plenty here already.”

John kissed her. “And I’m marrying one of them.”

Mabel sighed. “That’s too much sweet talk for me. Let’s go through each idea and see if we think they will work. If they seem promising, we’ll add them to our draft fundraising schedule.”

Shelley liked the way Mabel’s mind worked. Not only would it give them an idea of what they would be doing, but it would also help move the meeting along.

After she’d spoken to Kylie about the website, she wanted to call two wedding venues again. Hopefully, someone had a late cancelation and could slot John and her wedding into their bookings. Otherwise, she’d have to be as patient as John and wait another few months to marry the man of her dreams.

Later that afternoon, Shelley stepped out of John’s truck and enjoyed the view of Flathead Lake. Steven, her sister’s fiancé, owned a small cottage overlooking the water. Like most of the properties on this side of the lake, his house was originally a fisher’s cottage. As the years went by, the cottages were