Sarah's Surrender Read Online Free
Author: Lynda Chance
herself to try to make friends. And she had.
She'd gone to the small town swimming pool by herself, and the few kids there were curious enough about her to start the conversations. Some of the kids had felt threatened by her, simply because she was from a large city, but she'd met one girl in particular who had turned into a great friend. Jaime was a year older than Sarah, and that must have given the other girl enough of a sense of superiority that allowed her to open up to Sarah.
The two girls had spent their summers together, roaming the small town, driving up and down the main drag, and flirting with boys every chance they received. They stayed in touch with each other during the year, and recently, free cell phone minutes and social media had made the miles between them virtually disappear.
Sarah didn't have any siblings or first cousins on either side, and now her father and grandparents were all gone. Her mother loved her and they had a close relationship, but Sarah was old enough and experienced enough to know that what the older woman had found in Australia with her new husband was priceless and she truly didn't begrudge her for moving away.
So now Sarah had a small farm that was home to her and if there was any possible way she could make enough money to live here full time she would do it. But she couldn't think of a way, so every school year she returned to Dallas and her teaching position that paid for her condo and supplied her with enough funds for the taxes and utilities on the farm.
There simply weren't enough job opportunities in the community to allow her to live here full time.
And that was the gist of the problem.
No job opportunities. Not enough families, not enough kids for the school to stay open. If new jobs weren't created, the few families left in town who didn't own farming land would end up moving away and the school would be even more at risk.
Without the school, the town would wither and die.
And Sarah was determined to prevent that.
She'd researched the problem, because it was happening to small towns all over Texas. She knew the answer to the problem lay with the aging population and especially with the wave of baby boomers coming up in age.
The way she saw it, if the town could come up with the funding for not only a nursing home, but assisted living and possibly senior housing for those still active, then that would create jobs, as well as bring in older people to live in the facilities offered.
It would be a win-win for the town, the school, and the aging population. It wasn't a new idea, and the county had at one time, held a bond election for just that purpose. But it had failed because it meant a rise in taxes that the people could little afford.
So now Sarah struggled with how to make it happen. And that was part of the problem.
When she mentioned it to people, they were interested and knew it was a good idea, but were mostly busy with their own lives and barely squeaking out a living in the harsh economy.
She began scribbling out ideas as they came to her and was chewing on the end of her pen, deep in thought, when her phone rang. She glanced down and happiness pierced her when she saw Jaime's name. There was no question about it, the other woman was like the sister she'd never had.
Sarah activated the call. "Hey."
"Finally! You're home!" Jaime's voice made it sound like they hadn't seen each other in six years instead of the six months it had been since they'd visited at Christmas.
"Yep," Sarah agreed, much pleased herself.
They had spoken briefly, but hadn't seen each other in the five days since Sarah had arrived. Jaime worked at the office of the county commissioner, and was only now getting some free time in the form of the weekend arriving.
"You up to party tonight?" Jamie asked her now.
"Party?" Sarah sounded skeptical. There wasn't much to do around here. "You mean like you and me and a bottle of wine and something good on Netflix?"
Jaime snickered. "No,
She'd gone to the small town swimming pool by herself, and the few kids there were curious enough about her to start the conversations. Some of the kids had felt threatened by her, simply because she was from a large city, but she'd met one girl in particular who had turned into a great friend. Jaime was a year older than Sarah, and that must have given the other girl enough of a sense of superiority that allowed her to open up to Sarah.
The two girls had spent their summers together, roaming the small town, driving up and down the main drag, and flirting with boys every chance they received. They stayed in touch with each other during the year, and recently, free cell phone minutes and social media had made the miles between them virtually disappear.
Sarah didn't have any siblings or first cousins on either side, and now her father and grandparents were all gone. Her mother loved her and they had a close relationship, but Sarah was old enough and experienced enough to know that what the older woman had found in Australia with her new husband was priceless and she truly didn't begrudge her for moving away.
So now Sarah had a small farm that was home to her and if there was any possible way she could make enough money to live here full time she would do it. But she couldn't think of a way, so every school year she returned to Dallas and her teaching position that paid for her condo and supplied her with enough funds for the taxes and utilities on the farm.
There simply weren't enough job opportunities in the community to allow her to live here full time.
And that was the gist of the problem.
No job opportunities. Not enough families, not enough kids for the school to stay open. If new jobs weren't created, the few families left in town who didn't own farming land would end up moving away and the school would be even more at risk.
Without the school, the town would wither and die.
And Sarah was determined to prevent that.
She'd researched the problem, because it was happening to small towns all over Texas. She knew the answer to the problem lay with the aging population and especially with the wave of baby boomers coming up in age.
The way she saw it, if the town could come up with the funding for not only a nursing home, but assisted living and possibly senior housing for those still active, then that would create jobs, as well as bring in older people to live in the facilities offered.
It would be a win-win for the town, the school, and the aging population. It wasn't a new idea, and the county had at one time, held a bond election for just that purpose. But it had failed because it meant a rise in taxes that the people could little afford.
So now Sarah struggled with how to make it happen. And that was part of the problem.
When she mentioned it to people, they were interested and knew it was a good idea, but were mostly busy with their own lives and barely squeaking out a living in the harsh economy.
She began scribbling out ideas as they came to her and was chewing on the end of her pen, deep in thought, when her phone rang. She glanced down and happiness pierced her when she saw Jaime's name. There was no question about it, the other woman was like the sister she'd never had.
Sarah activated the call. "Hey."
"Finally! You're home!" Jaime's voice made it sound like they hadn't seen each other in six years instead of the six months it had been since they'd visited at Christmas.
"Yep," Sarah agreed, much pleased herself.
They had spoken briefly, but hadn't seen each other in the five days since Sarah had arrived. Jaime worked at the office of the county commissioner, and was only now getting some free time in the form of the weekend arriving.
"You up to party tonight?" Jamie asked her now.
"Party?" Sarah sounded skeptical. There wasn't much to do around here. "You mean like you and me and a bottle of wine and something good on Netflix?"
Jaime snickered. "No,
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