Page 9 of Here With Me

Finally, David had direction. A list and a plan. He’d prove he was ready to return to Costa Rica, and he’d make certain he didn’t bump into Sadie again for at least another ten years.

The bell jingled as the door to the hardware store opened and a customer walked out. It had been five days since David had walked into the store, but even so, every time the welcome bell jingled—even when Sadie knew it was someone leaving—her heart rate picked up and sweat dotted above her upper lip.

It wouldn’t be David. Because there’s no way he’d come back into this store on purpose. He’d been a champion at avoiding her after he sprang the news of Costa Rica on her, so he wouldn’t willingly waltz back into her life now.

The bell jingled again, and like Pavlov’s dog, her heart picked speed, and she started sweating.

“Good morning,” Sadie called out as she stood up and squeezed past the open box in the center of the aisle to greet whoever walked in.

Bob Whittiker stood inside the store, his hands in his pockets and his posture slightly hunched. The stark wrinkles of his face were even deeper as he looked around the store.

“What can I help you find? I’m doing a bit of rearranging, but I’ll have it cleaned up shortly.”

Bob stopped at the top of the aisle Sadie had been working in. An opened box with smoker pellets sat next to a pushcart filled with a project Sadie had taken off the shelf. He harrumphed at the sight and pointed at the aisle like he would point at a mess a dog made in the house. “What is all that?”

“Well, typically people smoke and grill outside, so I thought it would make more sense to have the pellets next to the charcoal in the outdoor living section.” Sadie brushed the dust off her jeans.

“Where are the paint brushes now?” Bob glared down the aisle.

“I moved those to the paint section. What kind would you like?”

“I’ll get it myself. I don’t understand why you’d try to fix what’s not broke. I’ve found my way around this store since you were in diapers. It was fine the way it was.” The man beelined to the paint section and reappeared less than a minute later with a brush in hand. He paid and grumbled about young’uns changing things.

“Have a good day, Mr. Whittiker,” Sadie called out with her best cheerful voice. The door had barely closed when she let her shoulders slump.

One cranky man, but how many more regular customers would be unhappy or unable to accept the changes she wanted to make?

Might as well finish the outdoor living section before someone else came in and fussed about the mess. The bell jingled, and Sadie’s dad hollered a greeting.

“Hey, Dad. Did you bring the keys for the back room?”

Her dad wrinkled his nose and grumbled something under his breath.

“No worries. I’ll get it later. Let’s step into the office.” Sadie led the way to the back of the shop.

“I take it you opened my chocolate drawer.” Her dad settled into a black plastic chair in front of his old desk.

Sadie tapped the letter she’d left on the desk yesterday with a pencil. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I had planned on straightening everything out, but when I fell…well, this transition happened sooner than I expected. I didn’t want it to be your problem.”

“Since I’m taking over the business, I think this falls under my problem.”

Her dad leaned forward. “Your mother and I took out that loan when the roof needed replaced. I kept thinking the store would turn and we’d be able to pay it off, but with each month, we got further and further behind.”

“What are we going to do?”

“I’ll fix this. It doesn’t really affect the store or you.”

“How can you say that?” Sadie bit back angry words and took a deep breath. This didn’t need to turn into a screaming match. “If the bank forecloses, they can take the store.”

“I know. I know. But I’m going to do what I can to make sure that doesn’t happen. The store has been in the family for four generations now.” Her dad’s shoulders rounded. He looked down at his hands and threaded his fingers together before he looked up, his eyes rimmed in red and glassy. “And I promise that it’ll remain in the family for generations to come.”

Sadie opened the envelope and stared at the number again. The amount due was more than Sadie could scrape together. “I have some money set aside, but this is far more.”

“Honey, I don’t think this is your battle to fight.” Her dad stood. “I’ll talk to Bo Mackers at the bank.”

“Since I’m taking over, this is my battle.” Sadie stood, too, keeping eye contact with her dad. She would not back down from this challenge. She might have jumped into this without all the details, but she couldn’t trust anyone else to solve her problems. And this was definitely a big one.

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