Page 15 of Hometown Girl

“You’ve been waiting for the man to die?” Beth took a drink of her lemonade.

“You know what I mean. I’ve tried to get excited about hundreds of business ideas—this is the only one that’s got me completely jazzed.”

“I seem to remember you being pretty jazzed about the mobile-dog-grooming business.” Ben wiped his mouth with his napkin.

“And the frozen yogurt café,” their mom added.

“And massage therapy school,” Beth said.

Molly stared at them, that wounded-animal look on her face.

They did this sometimes—pointed out Molly’s mistakes. Laughed at her expense. Nobody ever meant to be hurtful, but Beth could see by her sister’s expression that they had been.

She expected her to push her chair away from the table, throw her napkin on her plate and storm off. That was classic Molly.

But she didn’t. Instead, she drew in a deep breath and leveled her gaze at Beth. “I knew Old Man Pendergast didn’t have any family left, so that meant Fairwind was going to go up for auction. I went to the bank and talked to Jerry. He looked over my financials and said with the right down payment, they’d approve me for the loan.”

“Jerry Harris?” Beth asked. “That’s how you got the loan?”

“So?” Molly steeled her jaw.

“He would give you his kidney if you asked, Molly. He’s been in love with you since the eighth grade.”

“That doesn’t mean he didn’t think this was a viable business option. He couldn’t have given me the loan if I was too much of a risk.” She sounded like she was trying to convince herself.

“So you got the loan and then what?” Clearly Ben had no interest in the drama of the thing.

“I went to the auction. It wasn’t as exciting as I thought it would be. Not many people, and I didn’t even get one of those little paddles. I knew how much I had to spend, so I put my bid in, and I got it.”

“Just like that,” Beth said. Maybe now their mother would see the problem.

“Just like that.” Molly grinned. “Like it was meant to be.”

Oh, Molly, always superstitious and never sensible.

Beth waited for her to go on. Waited for Ben to respond. Waited for Mom to add her two cents. When none of those things happened, Beth searched for something to say. She admired Molly’s intention—it would be wonderful for their community to bring Fairwind back to life. But she couldn’t pretend she thought this was a good idea. Especially for someone who lacked both the business and the physical skills to be successful.

“Say something.”

“I don’t know what you want me to say, Mol. I’m sure there’s a way we can you get out of the contract.”

Molly’s face fell. “I already told you I don’t want out. This is what I’m supposed to do. I can feel it.”

“You can feel it?” Beth shook her head.

“Yes, Ice Queen. If you had any emotions, you’d know what that meant.” She threw her napkin onto her plate of half-eaten food.

“Molly,” their mother warned.

It stung, that particular insult. Beth did her best to ignore it, despite the fact that it threatened to open an old wound. “I’m not going to apologize for having my head screwed on straight.”

“And I’m not going to apologize for having feelings,” Molly snapped.

“Well, yourfeelingshave done nothing but get you into trouble—and this is your worst idea yet. I don’t think you have any clue what you’ve gotten yourself into.”

Molly looked at their mom and raised her eyebrows. “Told you.”

Beth’s eyes darted to her mother. “Told her what?”

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