Page 6 of Here With Me

The store was unlocked? She ran through her memories from yesterday. Maybe she had been a little distracted after seeing David, but there was no doubt that she had closed andlockedthe door last night.

Wrapping her fingers around her keys like they were brass knuckles, Sadie wondered if the crime rate in her small hometown had skyrocketed. Unlikely, but still, maybe she should invest in something other than her keys for protection.

Five aisles stretched inside the store with the front counter running along the side wall, but nothing looked different from last night. The register was still closed. And everything smelled the same—a mix of sawdust, paint, and sweat.

“Hello?” Sadie’s voice wobbled through the empty store only to hear a familiar and gruff response from the office.

Shoulders relaxed, Sadie shoved her keys into her jeans pockets. Dad.

Sadie walked down the third aisle. A paintbrush had fallen on the floor, and she picked it up to hang it back up, except the paint brush sat between a hammer and a flathead screwdriver. Why wasn’t it with the paint supplies? Below the hammer sat a different brand of paintbrush, a garden shovel, and a Phillips head screwdriver. Looked like she’d be reorganizing soon.

She hung the brush up and headed to the back of the store. “Dad, I thought you were taking some time off. Not coming in to open the store on my first official morning.” Sadie bent over and brushed a kiss on her dad’s cheek as he flipped through the ledger on his desk. Goal one: get the books online. “That’s an awful deep V between your brows.”

“It’s all good, kiddo. Just making sure the books are in order for you. It might be a little harder to let go of the reins than I imagined.”

“You thought you had more time. Me too. But it’s okay. We’ll figure this out.”

“You’re so good at organizing. But I remembered a few invoices I hadn’t recorded yet. I wish I was handing it to you in better shape.” Her dad stood up, stretching to his full height. His shoulders were a little rounder, his back not as straight as it had been before the fall. His dark hair held some gray, and the wrinkles in his forehead were deeper. These last few months had been hard on him. It might have changed her plans, but it was time to take over. Her dad needed the break.

“I’m sure it will be fine, Dad. I’ll get everything online and fix whatever chaos is in those books.”

“I don’t think entering numbers into QuickBooks or whatever you’re using will change the numbers.”Her dad stepped behind the chair, his good hand running slowly over the back. “I guess this is yours now.”

So, it was. After all these years, even without David. This was hers. Her dad pulled the chair back and gestured for Sadie to have a seat. She placed her bag on the desk and sat down.

Her dad walked to the door. “About those books…”

“It’s fine, Dad. I’ve got this. And I’d like to hire a few people to help around the store.”Sadie pulled out her computer and opened it up in front of her.

Her dad’s feet shuffled on the ground. “I can help out at the store some.”

“I know, Dad. But you still need to heal from your surgery and make it through rehab, too. That’s part of the reason I’m here. Plus, I need time to settle in as the new proprietor. Make the store mine, you know? Oh, did you bring the keys to the back room?”

Her dad’s face turned into what she could only describe as a grimace. “About the back room—it’s sorta a mess.”

His phone rang out and he pulled it from his back pocket, a sheepish grin on his face. “Your mother is calling. I’d better get home. I’ll be back later.”

“Please bring the key next time. And tell Mom I said good morning.” Sadie settled behind the desk as her father exited the office and answered his phone.

When the bell jingled to signal he’d exited the store, Sadie opened her purse and pulled out a framed picture of her and Lottie for the desk. They’d been at Jeremy’s favorite cabin on Lake Michigan, north of Chicago, and they were both windblown, sun-kissed, and all smiles.The reminder of her why—why she was back in town, why she wanted the store to be successful, and why she had pulled it all together after another heartbreaking turn in life. To make sure Lottie had a comfortable home, surrounded by people who loved her.

Four hours later, Sadie wished for those smiles. Her eye twitched, and she rubbed at new wrinkles on her forehead. When her dad mentioned the books weren’t in great order, Sadie had wrongly assumed he meant they were disorganized. Not that the store operated in the red.

In. The. Red.

For months.

Sadie pulled open the top drawer of her dad’s desk—hers now—and dug around inside. And since it was her desk now, she could raid his secret chocolate stash without guilt.

Instead of pulling out candy, her hand found a stack of envelopes. From the bank. She opened the top one and scanned the letter inside. Her stomach tightened and turned over.

There’s no way this letter was right. But there was no mistake—payment due September 30th. When had her parents taken out a mortgage on the business?

Whyhad they taken a mortgage out on the business?

Hoover’s had been in the family for years. And they’d missed a few payments, so the bank was recalling the loan. The full amount due.

Sadie closed the computer and placed the note on top. If they couldn’t make the payment by September 30th, Sadie wouldn’t have a store to run. She had twenty-seven days to fix this.

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