Page 69 of Until We Break

He held up a manila envelope. “These.”

I grimaced. Dean’s business visits were never about good news, especially ones that were accompanied by brown envelopes. Hehad seemed in a perpetual bad mood in the last few weeks since his boat sank in the storm. It was a sore subject and he grumbled when I mentioned it, so I learned to drop it. The fact that Caleb was the one to find the boat seemed like the bigger insult.

“Want to come in for coffee?” I asked.

He smiled. “I’d love to.”

Dean followed me inside the cottage. The humidity already made the porch feel like a sauna. There weren’t enough fans to keep it cool. We had to sit inside at the kitchen table.

He glanced around while waiting for me to grab an extra mug. “It looks different in here.”

I laughed. “You mean, I cleaned out most of Walt’s things. You can actually see the floor now and I used a mop. Clever trick I have.”

He sat, his elbows resting on the Formica tabletop. “Yes, I guess that’s it. But it feels different. Not a bachelor pad anymore. It’s cute, Margot. You’ve done a good job.”

I placed the coffee on the table and sat across from him. “I wish I could do more, but you already know my financial situation. I’d like to put in some new windows that aren’t cracked and paint.” I shrugged. “One thing at a time, I guess.”

Dean opened the envelope and revealed what was inside. “This is a notice from the IRS.”

My stomach churned with the coffee I had just sipped. “What kind of notice?” I peered at the top of the paper but couldn’t make out the words.

“If the back taxes aren’t paid in full, they are going to seize part of the property.”

“What? No. They can’t do that. I just inherited the place. I’m still figuring all of it out. Can’t you stop them?”

“Hey, slow down.” Dean’s hand reached across the table, but I pulled away before he could take my hand into his. He cleared his throat. “Anyway, I can try to stall with a counter-filing, but we need a plan to pay the back taxes. Do you have a plan to pay this year’s taxes?”

I closed my eyes. “No.”

“Listen, I wanted to talk to you about something. Can you just hear me out before you shut it down?”

“I guess.” I felt as if the floor had fallen out from underneath me. The money problems were piling up. Uncle Walt had amassed debt after debt. Now they were coming after me. It was hard to still my mind enough to listen to what Dean had to say.

He tucked the tax announcement back into the packet. “Remember that friend of mine I was telling you about at the bank? The one I wanted you to talk to about the small business loan?”

“Yes, I remember. But the interest rate was too high.”

Dean sighed. “It’s not only the interest rate. I spoke to him this morning. The bank has a new tax policy. There’s a cap on how much debt you can owe the government now for the loan and it’s shitty, but the Blue Heron is in over its head. He can’t do the loan. He called to tell me on the way over.”

My stomach sank. I hadn’t put much stock in that option, but it felt as if one more door was closing in my face. Without a loan, what would I do?

Dean stared at me. “I have a backup plan for you.”

“I’d love to hear it because right now I’m out of ideas.”

“I’ve got some money. It’s not a lot, but it’s my own savings and it’s not tied to anything. Why don’t I loan it to you and you can pay me back whenever you want? Interest free. It will give you some breathing room while you work on the Blue Heron.”

I was stunned. “You want to give me money?”

“Yes. I want to help. None of this is your fault. I can take some of the pressure off, especially with the IRS. What do you say?”

“I can’t take money from you, Dean. I’m supposed to pay you. You’re handling all of the documents, running back and forth, fending off real estate poachers. No.” I shook my head. “I can’t take your money interest free when you’re the one working on the estate.”

He huffed. “I had a feeling you’d say that. So, it’s not a one-time offer, or conversation,” he added. “Think about it. Think about what the money could do for you and the marina and how you could actually start turning a profit here if you had cash.” He rose from the table.

I opened my mouth to protest again. I didn’t want his handout and I didn’t want the complications that seemingly would come from taking something from Dean.

He squeezed my shoulder as he walked past. “Thanks for the coffee. I’ll take this back to the office and get our accountant tofile the correct paperwork to stall. But in the meantime, think about what I said.”

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