Page 11 of The Hermit on the Hill

"Fine. I'll keep her company so she doesn't feel like a fifth wheel, but don't try to set us up or give her any ideas, understand?"

"Beat you to that one, man." He smirked and looked down his nose at me. "I don't want my future sister-in-law dating some guy with baby mama drama."

"Thanks for that."

"You're welcome. Now, the bad news. Lila can't make rent this month."

I groaned. "Damn it, this isn't on us, Marcus. We told her she needed to hire someone who learned how to cut hair after 1980 or get the training to do the modern styles herself."

"She got training, but it somehow made her skills worse. She also hired her granddaughter, who has watched lots of online videos, but has never actually been to cosmetology school."

"We've already floated her for two months. If she can't turn her business around, we have to kick her out."

"I'm not evicting an eighty-five-year-old woman, Sammy. I'm just not doing it."

I cleared my throat and pressed my fingers into my eyes. "This has never been about helping anyone. We can't cover rent for all the folks who don't know how to run a profitable business."

"When?" Marcus met my gaze with all the intensity of looking into my fucking soul.

"When what?"

"When are we going to move on to the next level? You said we'd do it when we owned fifty percent of Catalpa Creek, then when we owned fifty-five percent. We're at sixty now and you haven't given me the word yet."

I met his gaze and stared right back. "Soon, Marcus. I just need some time to figure out this mess with Jenna and the possible baby, and—"

"Or maybe you're starting to like being this lord on a hill, overlooking it all."

I crossed my arms over my chest and narrowed my eyes. "Or maybe that's what you want to believe, because you actually like this town. I told you I won't touch Damian's restaurant, and I meant it. But we haven't talked about what happens when we're done here since you started dating Damian. What happened to my best friend? The guy who whined daily about how much he missed the city. The guy who had big plans for all the money we're going to make here."

"I changed. And so have you. You'd realize that if you stopped being so damn pig-headed and took a moment for introspection."

I rolled my eyes. "I'm not getting soft. But if you want to change the plan, let's ask Nana what she thinks." I looked at the ceiling. "Nana, what do you say?"

Marcus paled, but he held his ground. Of course, this time Nana didn't bother to weigh in.

"Thank you, Nana. You are much kinder than your grandson." Marcus looked at me. "She understands my discomfort with her mode of communication."

"You mean the way she slams doors and throws things around? You jumped so high the last time I swear your head almost hit the ceiling."

"And you went white as a…" he grimaced. "Fuck it, you went white as a ghost." He finished his kombucha and set the bottle in the recycling bin. "Let me know what you want to do about Lila. The rental on college avenue has a toilet that won't flush."

"I'll take care of it."

"We should hire someone to handle the maintenance."

"You should stick to figuring out how to keep Lila from losing her business."

"Not my job," Marcus said. "I'm the people person. You're the ideas and money guy."

Marcus was a sociable guy. He scouted properties, made connections with the local business owners, and handled the more delicate issues I tended to make a mess of. Without Marcus, I would have told Lila to buck up, be realistic, and accept that she shouldn't be cutting hair anymore. I would have advised her to move behind the scenes and hire some genuine talent. I would have been right, but I also would have made her cry.

"Heard of anyone in town who's looking for a job at a salon?" I asked.

"No. And you're avoiding my question. Why haven't we hired a maintenance guy?"

"Goodbye, Marcus. Don't let the door hit you on the way out." I winked. "Or do. Consider it a love tap from Nana."

He grimaced. "I'm not afraid of you or your Nana, Sam. You wanna know what I think?"

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