Free The Firefighter Daddy by Margaret Daley Page B

shouted.
    â€œOr a garage sale,” an older woman suggested. “I have tons of stuff I’d like to get rid of.”
    Brandon leaned toward Liam and muttered, “But would anyone want to buy it?”
    â€œA silent auction” came out of Liam’s mouth before he realized he’d actually spoken.
    All eyes were on him, and he wanted to squirm in his seat. He hadn’t intended to say anything, since he was new to the town and the fund-raising committee, but he remembered attending a silent auction in Dallas. It had been well received and had raised quite a bit of money for the charity.
    Sarah grinned then said to the group, “I like that. We could have a dinner and sell tickets to it. During the evening, items can be displayed for people to bid on, then at the end have a bachelor auction to wrap up the fund-raiser. I’ve heard in other places they can be quite successful. I attended one in Tulsa, and it brought in a lot of money.”
    â€œWe’ve had some where I’m from, and they were popular.” Liam didn’t add that single firefighters were often asked to participate in the bachelor auctions.
    â€œI like that idea the best. Something a little different,” Brandon chimed in, with several others agreeing.
    The mayor twisted his mouth into a thoughtful expression. “Okay, but in the past we’ve tried to let all ages participate in some way in the fund-raiser. If we have a sit-down dinner, is it for adults only? I saw one on television once, and it was fancy. Black tie and everything.”
    Sarah rose and faced the committee. “It can be either fancy or casual. We can have different classes at the school or a softball team or any group of children donate baskets for the auction. It’s a great way for kids to give to other kids. The dinner can be a buffet or waiter service. We could use teenagers to be the servers.”
    â€œLet’s vote. We have several choices,” Beatrice Miller said, sitting next to the mayor.
    â€œOkay. A show of hands for a talent show.” Mayor Adams counted the few who voted. The garage sale got a couple of more raised hands for the fund-raiser, but the overwhelming majority wanted a silent auction/bachelor auction combo.
    Pastor Collins stood. “We can use the church’s large hall off our kitchen for the dinner. At one end we have a stage where the bachelor auction can take place. The corridors and entrance would be a great place to set up the items for the silent auction. I would suggest myself, Sarah Blackburn, Liam McGregory and anyone else who is familiar with this type of event be on the planning committee. We can meet and come back next time with what subcommittees we’ll need, then you all can sign up to be on one or two of them.”
    When Liam heard his name included, he wanted to shout no. I don ’ t know what I ’ m doing with my nieces, let alone a big fund-raiser! He couldn’t shake the sensation of being steamrollered, and he felt overwhelmed just thinking about it.
    As several people raised their hands to be added to the planning committee, Liam leaned toward Brandon. “Is Pastor Collins always like this? He didn’t even ask me if I wanted to do this.”
    â€œYep, usually in a more subtle way, but this sounds big and with the potential of bringing in more money than we have in the past. We should have started last month. When he sees a job that needs to be done, he digs right in.” Brandon grinned. “You’ll be fine. So many of us have a job on the side when we aren’t at the fire station. You don’t, so you should have plenty of time for this. Look on the bright side, the kids are still in school so it will be easier.”
    Liam chanced a look at Sarah. Her eyes were as round and large as the wheels on the ladder truck. For a few seconds that bond he’d felt before sprang up between them. They were in this together—reluctantly.
    When