Page 68 of Stormy Ride

She turned quickly and showed us into her private quarters down the hall from the main lobby. The table in her small dining area was set for two. Quickly, she added a place for Harlan and went to the kitchen that served the Inn to get our food.

“That woman ain’t happy I’m here,” whispered Harlan. “You been doing her too?”

I shrugged. “Sort of. She’s pissed that I broke it off, but it’s going to stay that way. There’s no going back.”

Harlan grinned. “You’re the Coyote Creek stud, Travis. You going after Marilyn next?”

“Nope. Nobody in the future. I’ve been messing around way too much and the best woman for me is in Texas.”

“But you ain’t with her.”

“Not all the time.”

“Huh.”

Olivia returned with a large tray and unloaded our plates onto the table. “Chicken pot pie with rolls and a salad is the lunch special today.”

“That’s fine, Olivia. Sit down with us and stop fussing.”

She placed a glass of Miller in front of me and gave Harlan a large glass of iced tea.

“You make me nervous, Travis. I know you’re still angry with me over Miller, and since you showed me your stubborn side, I’ve been anxious. I never pictured you digging in and being so obstinate.”

“There you go, Olivia. You found out how mulish I can be if I’m pushed, and you pushed me to the limit.”

“I’ve come to regret that, and I am sorry.”

“I’m over it.”

Harlan rolled his eyes and shoved a forkful of chicken pie into his face.

After we ate the delicious lunch and Harlan consumed two pieces of pie, it was time to talk about the financial state of the Inn that I held the mortgage on.

“In the past,” said Olivia, “I’ve done all of my communicating through Carson’s accountant, but after Carson’s death you hired a new accountant, Miss Julie Redmond, and I’ve never met her. I’ve only spoken to her on the phone. She definitely isn’t as accommodating as old Porky Flowers.”

“I’m afraid I’ve never met Porky,” I said, “but go ahead and tell me what you need me to hear and then we’ll decide what we’re going to do.”

“Business is good, and this Inn has been operating in Coyote Creek for fifty years. It’s a landmark. Thirty years with my parents running it, the next ten with my mother and me, and me alone for the last ten after my mother passed.”

“And what has changed so drastically that you fell behind on your mortgage payments?”

“There never was a mortgage on the Inn until I took it over from my mother. In her declining years, she had let it run down and I wanted to renovate and do upgrades in all of the guest rooms.”

“I can see that would need to be done, and it does look gorgeous,” I said.

“That’s when Carson gave me a first mortgage so I wouldn’t have to go through the bank and pay a high interest rate. He generously gave me a lower rate.”

“If business has remained consistent, explain how you fell behind, Olivia. It doesn’t seem like something you would allow to happen.”

“You’re not going to like this part, Travis.”

“Just tell me how you got messed up. Ever since I’ve known you, I’ve been impressed by what a savvy businesswoman you are.”

“I did something that’s going to make you change your opinion, Travis, and I’m ashamed to tell you what I did.” She picked up a napkin and I figured she was going to cry. Something I didn’t want to happen.

“Go ahead and get it over with,” I said.

“I loaned money to someone for a short term. A personal loan. Thirty days and I was to get the money back with interest.”

---