Page 52 of Fifty-Fifty

Pro: Leaving a mark on people. Making a difference.

Con: Losing my home.

Pro:

“Are ya finished yet?” Harold interrupts me, making me jump a mile from my seat. I was so invested in my list making that I didn’t hear him approach.

“Shit, Mr. Harold! You scared the crap out of me!”

He chuckles under his breath. “Sorry. Just wanted to see what ya came up with.”

I shrug. “I’m not finished yet.”

He grabs the paper and pen then starts scribbling on it, completely ignoring me. “Let’s start with the pros, shall we?”

I try to see what he’s writing by looking over his shoulder, but he edges away from me.

Bastard.

“Now. Fulfilling a lifelong dream of bein’ your own boss. That’s a good one,” he states while tapping the back of the pen against his mouth.

“Yeah... I don’t want to give that up.”

He nods his understanding before continuing, “And ownin’ your own shop? That’s a pretty great accomplishment, now ain’t it?”

“Yeah.”

“And leavin’ your mark on people? Makin’ a difference? Ain’t that all we really want in life?”

Again, I nod.

“Yeah. I think it’s pretty darn great.” He looks up from the pad of paper, pinning me in place with his pointed stare. “You’re missin’ somethin’ though, boy.”

Normally his use of the term boy would ruffle my feathers. But today I feel like a little boy. A naïve kid who needs someone to guide him. To tell him what to do. Because writing those cons damn near broke me.

“And what’s that, Mr. Harold?” I murmur, holding his stare with my own.

His eyes gleam with pure wisdom before he slides that same pad of paper across the table. “The whole point of life in general.”

His cowboy boots echo through the shop as he steps away, leaving me to my own thoughts as I examine his chicken scratch handwriting.

Pro: Owning my own shop. - Who says it can’t be in Love, Georgia?

Con: Losing Beau. - You’d be an idiot to let her slip through your fingers.

Pro: Fulfilling a lifelong dream of being my own boss. - You’re already your own boss. You own an inn with a gorgeous woman who looks at you like you hung the moon. Get your head out of your ass, Noah.

Con: Losing Mac. - That girl’s special. She needs a daddy to look after her though, and I hadn’t met anyone who was right for the job until you came to town.

Pro: Leaving a mark on people. Making a difference. - You don’t think you’ve already left your mark on the people in this town? On Beau? On Mac? Get your head out of your ass, Noah. Oh wait, I already said that.

Con: Losing my home. - You don’t have to, son. Stay.

Pro: There ain’t any pros to leaving, Noah. With the money you’re making at the inn, you could open up a shop in town. Be close to the woman you love. Let her keep her dream instead of sacrificing it for a guy who will only regret asking her to. Hell, I’ll even be your first customer. Just don’t tell Betty.

I laugh at his last comment, knowing Betty would take a rolling pin to my balls if I ever gave her husband a tattoo. But the rest of the paper? Yeah. It definitely has some merit to it.

I don’t know how much time I spend staring at that damn piece of paper as I consider the possibility of staying. Of creating a new dream with the love of my life by my side. I know I had said I wasn’t in love with her yet. But Harold’s right. I need to get my head out of my ass.

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