Page 1 of Alpha Bear Accountant

1

NIAM

I loved the view from my apartment window and spent most mornings admiring it as I drank my morning coffee. Once upon a time I dreamed of this being my life; a great job, lots of friends, and an apartment that wasn’t filled with roommates so we could make rent, but instead, one that felt like home. This morning the view was extra beautiful thanks to the beautiful layer of fresh fallen snow.

As I finished my coffee, my phone buzzed with a text from Jess.You’re my wingman tonight. Pick me up at eight.

I hit the thumbs-up emoji, and just as I was setting my phone back down, my dad's name flashed on the screen. Dad rarely called so early in the morning, so I answered immediately. “Hey, Dad. Everything okay?”

"I’m fine, Son. But do you have a minute to talk about the business?” Business. Of course it was business. That man lived and breathed his work. Not only that, his life’s dream was that I would too.

I held in a groan, not at all in the mood to have this conversation again. “Dad…”

“I know, but…it's Paul."

My brother's name was like a punch to the gut. Now what had he done? “What about him?”

"He's left. Just up and quit without warning. The business is in trouble, Son. I hate to ask, but?—"

"Yeah, I know." I sighed and cursed my asshole brother for always being so irresponsible and self-centered. "I'll come home."

I hung up and stared out the window, watching as the great life I'd built crumbled in just a matter of minutes. As much as I didn’t want a life in the family business and had worked my ass off to avoid it, at the end of the day, family came first. Always.

After letting Jess know I couldn’t make it as his wingman, I called my boss, telling him I had a family emergency and would be gone for at least a week. He was not happy, and he shouldn’t be. My gut was telling me a week wasn’t close to enough to fix this mess.

I threw some clothes in a suitcase and got on the road. I’d never planned to go back to Oak Grove for anything other than holidays with my family and the random wedding I felt obligated to attend. I certainly never planned to be heading there to save the family business. My dad wanted both of his sons to take overWalker and Sons Plumbing,but Paul insisted that he could run it by himself while I followed my interest in programming. I knew better than to trust Paul, but selfish me wanted to believe it so badly that I convinced myself it was possible.

We all should’ve known better than to believe him. And if he was really gone, we might not hear from him for months or years, which meant I would have to take over the company I knew next to nothing about. But also, it was better he stay gone than coming back and making messes of my father’s lifetime of hard work.

Part of me wanted to just tell my dad to sell it and move on, but I couldn't let him down like that. The company had been in our family for generations, and I wasn’t going to be the son who let the family legacy die. He would see that as me giving up on him, and he’d already been knocked down by Paul. He didn’t need me kicking him while he was down there.

Having spent most of my life in Oak Grove, I had mixed emotions about going back. Chances were high that I would be there for a while. Just when I was getting accustomed to city life, I was heading back to the small town I vowed never to live in again. It just wasn’t for me. But also, I didn’t hate it there, not really. My goals didn’t align with a life there was all. I would always be my father’s son, never anything more. That was how it worked.

But it didn’t matter what the emotional battle going on in my head was doing. Sometimes we didn't get to pick our fate. Sometimes, it was picked for us. In my case, fate was doing it now.

The drive passed in a blur of anxiety and resentment. By the time I pulled up to my childhood home, my stomach was in knots because I knew things would be different this time. I was expected to save the day instead of driving off into the sunset. And the truth was, I didn’t know if I could, if I might be the second son to disappoint my father.

Dad enveloped me in a crushing hug the moment I stepped inside the house. "Thank you for coming, Son. I know you don’t want to be here."

Guilt sliced through me for being such a shitty son. Dad had given everything to grow the business and provide for our family. Now it was my turn to step up. "I want to be here, Dad. Whatever you need, for however long it takes, I’ll be here." And as I said the words, I felt their truth. I might be pissed and disappointed that the life I carved out for myself was turning to shit, but that didn’t negate the fact that I wanted to be here for my father and that I’d missed him terribly.

We settled in the kitchen as Dad filled me in on the dire state of the company. Paul had disappeared and left a stack of overdue bills, angry customers, and empty bank accounts. It was kinda his brand. This was just as much his fault as it was ours.

One look at the books was all it took so see it was exponentially worse than I had imagined. “I’m not even sure where to start…”

"I know it's a lot to take on." Dad rubbed his forehead. "If you can't do it, I understand. This is my fault for putting it all on Paul before he was ready. I’m not gonna do that to you too. We can try to sell?—"

It wasn’t that he wasn’t ready, it was that he was Paul, but that was a conversation for a different day.

"No." I squared my shoulders and looked him in the eye, speaking more forcefully than I intended. "This business supports so many people in this town. We're not giving up without a fight."

“You sure? You've got a good life in the city. I hate to ask you to give that up just for the company."

I swallowed hard past the lump in my throat and faked a smile. "You’re not asking. I’m offering. Family comes first."

The words felt hollow, but I meant them, even as a tiny part of me screamed on the inside.

That night, as I tossed and turned in my childhood bed, I imagined the kind of life I was stepping back into. The glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling mocked me. I used to dream of escaping to the city and making something of myself. And I had done just that. For a little while, at least.

---