Page 72 of My Small Town Silver Fox Billionaire

May sits up, her expression sober. She gestures to the desk.

“Go over there and read that, dear.”

I walk over to the desk and unfold the paper. I look it over, taking in each word.

“This isn’t—”

“It is dear. I wanted to tell you sooner, but I wasn’t sure how.”

My hands shake as I read the contents. I haven’t ever seen that many zeroes.

“This is from debt collectors. May, what’s going on?”

May looks down, another hacking cough escaping her.

“I didn’t want to tell you because you love this place, but I haven’t been able to pay the bills for some time.”

“So, you’re saying that this place is in debt?”

“Correct. In fact, a lot of debt. It’s finally catching up to me. The bank wants this paid in full in the next thirty days, but there’s no way that I can. It looks like I’ll have to sell this place and then—”

“Please don’t. This place means something to you, doesn’t it?”

“It does, dear, but I don’t have the collateral to pay.”

I bite my lip, assessing my options. All of my hard work here on the farm will be for nothing if I lose this place! All of the memories, the animals, everything. It’ll be gone.

“You know they’re going to turn these animals into meat, May. We can’t let them do this!”

May looks down, shaking her head in defeat. “I wish I had the money. If I could, I would pay for it and give the place to you. I don’t, however. My accounts are shriveling up. I don’t even know where I’m going to live once this place is given over to creditors.”

This can’t be happening. My home away from home, a place that means more to me than most places, is my dream. It’s now gone, becoming a shell of what it was before.

“We can’t let them do this.”

“It’s too late. I don’t know what to do—”

“Please, don’t give them an answer yet. I’ll think of something.”

May purses her lips and doesn’t respond.

“Sara, I know that you mean well, but I don’t have the money to keep this place alive.”

“I don’t either, but there’s got to be something. I’ll talk to one of my coworkers at the café. They might know someone who can help with this.”

“All right,” May replies dismissively. My hands rest on my hips as I look at her.

“May, I get it, but I’m not going to let this place die because of these bills. It means the world to me. YOU mean the world to me.”

She smiles, the wrinkles more apparent than before. The news must have aged her.

“Thank you, Sara. But at the end of the month, if we don’t have any answers, I’m going to have to give this place up. As for the animals, I’m not sure. You can take the cat, but . . . .”

“Don’t think about that, May. I’ll fix this.”

I grab her hand and squeeze it. May coughs, holding the covers. After she recovers, she looks at me.

“You know, I planned on giving this place to you. I wanted to retire next year after I got the bills sorted out. Now, I feel like I must do the opposite of what I want.”

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