Page 14 of Here With Me

Well, she was too. Sorry for jumping into a family-run business after her husband up and died on her and after her dad had surgery. Sorry she’d let herself get carried away without looking at all the little details before uprooting her entire life.

Maybe she should have let her dad deal with the bank. He could have gotten a meeting with Bo Mackers, since they were friends, rather than her waiting two days for a meeting with Eddie.

And what was with the Ms. Hoover? Formal. Aloof. No small-town closeness here. The words sucked the hope right out of Sadie’s lungs. She ran her thumbnail along a cuticle. She really needed to file her nails and put on some lotion.

“I’m sure your hands are tied, Mr. Fry.” She could be formal too, even though he’d been her study buddy in advanced chemistry. “But I just took over the hardware store, so if I could have a few more months, I’m sure I could pay the amount the bank is seeking.”

Eddie folded his hands on top of the desk and let out a sigh. Perhaps she was wearing him down, and he’d give her some more time.

Eddie looked up, adjusting his glasses. “I want to help you. I do. But it’s not my call to make. I tell you what, though. I will talk to Bo Mackers and see what he says. I can call you later this afternoon with an answer.”

“Thank you, Eddie.” Sadie stood up and quickly left the bank. As soon as she made it outside, she leaned against the brick wall of the building, the rough texture scraping through her forest green sweater.

She pulled out her phone and opened up her banking app, looked at the numbers. Jeremy had left her with money. She’d set aside a huge chunk into a CD for Lottie’s college fund. Untouchable now, and secure for Lottie.

But with the remainder…she’d hoped to buy a house. Have some cushion for the what-ifs in life. If she poured it all into the store, there would be no cushion left. No house. But if she didn’t and it went under, where would she be? Living off the cushion, which wouldn’t go far. And even if she gave everything she had for the store, she still needed several thousand more to save it.

Sadie stood up and tucked her phone into her pocket. She had to find the positives.

She took a few steps forward into the sun, the warmth heating her body. She hadn’t even realized the brick had been cool, chilling her. Normally she hated being cold. Living in Michigan, she had to laugh through the winter months. At least she had a warm apartment and a comfortable place to sleep.

And her rent was free.

Wait.

Sadie’s steps faltered. If the store was foreclosed, she’d lose more than her job—she’d lose her apartment over the store, too.

“Morning, dear!” Margret Bunting called as she walked past Sadie toward the diner. Sadie’s stomach growled, but no food would be entering the tempest of coffee sloshing in her gut. Not until she had direction. Or money.

Maybe it would be a winning diet plan and she could drop the few pounds she’d gained since Jeremy died.

Sadie sidestepped Otis, who still sat in front of the window of the hardware store, and rounded the corner to the front door. The familiar jingle welcomed her, and her dad stood up from behind the counter, his gaze shifting to an aisle—his unspoken way of letting her know they weren’t alone.

“Didn’t go well?” Her dad’s soft voice rolled over her.

He could say that. She nodded toward her office. “Can you meet me when you’re done?”

A look crossed her dad’s face, almost sheepish. “Well?—”

Oh no. “What now?” She couldn’t handle too much more—the loan was more than enough.

His eyebrows dipped so low a V formed between his brows. “You said you wanted to hire someone, so I did.”

They couldn’t afford to pay their loan. How on earth could she pay an extra employee, no matter how much she needed one? “You know I can’t pay anyone.”

Her dad wrinkled his nose. The last time Sadie had seen him this hesitant, he had to fess up to her mom that he’d dropped her favorite crystal bowl—which had originally been Sadie’s great-grandma’s. “That’s not a problem, because he doesn’t need paid.”

“You know we can’t have the high school students volunteer here.”

“What if I told you he wasn’t in high school…” Her dad looked over her shoulder and beckoned someone closer. Sadie looked behind her, but no one was there. Her dad pulled out a handkerchief and rubbed his face before tucking it away. “It’s temporary. A few weeks. And the best news? You already know him and work well with him.”

That narrowed down the choices. There were only two hims she had worked in the store with over the years. Her brother and…David. Toby wouldn’t come all this way from Florida to help for a few weeks. He had his own job and a wife.

Oh no.

No. No.

No. No. No.

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