Page 28 of Sweet Christmas Comeback
He picked up the feed bucket, his step lighter than it had been in months. Today felt like a day for possibilities.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Danny Morrison arrived the next morning just as Leo had promised. Jade stood outside the bakery at seven-thirty sharp, clutching a steaming cup of coffee and watching an electrician van pull up to the curb. Ruth’s nephew emerged with a toolbox and a clipboard, his expression professionally neutral.
“Miss Bennett? I’m Danny Morrison. Leo Carter said you needed an electrical inspection before Monday’s official review.”
“Thank you so much for coming on such short notice,” Jade said, ushering him inside where the warm air carried the scent of fresh cinnamon rolls. “I really appreciate this.”
Danny was methodical in his approach, testing every outlet, examining every fixture, running his hands along visible wiring with the practiced touch of someone who understood how electricity moved through old buildings. Jade hovered nearby, trying to read his expression while Mabel bustled around the kitchen, preparing their usual morning batch of maple cookies.
“The display case work looks good,” Danny said, making notes on his clipboard. “Clean connections, proper grounding. Whoever did this knew what they were doing.”
“That was Leo,” Jade said, relief flooding through her. “He fixed it after I nearly electrocuted myself.”
“Smart man. But Miss Bennett...” Danny’s tone shifted, becoming more serious. “We’ve got some bigger problems.”
Jade’s stomach dropped. “What kind of problems?”
Danny led her to the back of the kitchen, pointing to a metal box mounted near the ceiling. “Your main electrical panel is from 1962. The breakers are shot—half of them don’t trip when they should, which is a serious fire hazard. And this wiring...” He indicated a section where old cloth-wrapped cables disappeared into the wall. “This should have been replaced decades ago.”
“Is it... fixable?”
“Oh, it’s fixable. But it’s going to require rewiring about sixty percent of the building. New panel, new breakers, bringing everything up to current code.” Danny flipped through his notes, his expression sympathetic but professional. “I can write up a detailed estimate, but you’re looking at substantial work.”
The word ‘substantial’ hit Jade like a physical blow. In contractor speak, substantial meant expensive. Very expensive.
“How substantial?” she asked quietly.
Danny was quiet for a moment, calculating. “For a building this size, with the age of the existing system... you’re probably looking at eight to twelve thousand dollars. Maybe more if we find additional problems once we open up the walls.”
Eight to twelve thousand dollars.
Jade felt the blood drain from her face. The bakery’s entire bank account held less than four hundred dollars. Even if they had their best weekend ever, even if every single person in Frost Pine Ridge bought cookies for Christmas, they couldn’t come close to that kind of money.
“I see,” she managed.
“I’m sorry,” Danny said gently. “I know that’s not what you wanted to hear. But the inspector on Monday is going to findthe same problems I just did. And once they’re documented officially, you won’t be able to operate until they’re fixed.”
After Danny left with promises to have the written estimate by afternoon, Jade slumped into one of the café chairs and stared at the number he’d scribbled on his business card. Twelve thousand dollars. It might as well have been twelve million.
“Oh, pumpkin,” Mabel said, settling into the chair across from her with two mugs of hot chocolate. “I was afraid it might be something like this.”
“The bakery can’t survive being closed for weeks while we find the money for repairs,” Jade said numbly. “And we can’t operate illegally. We’d lose our business license, our insurance...”
“There has to be another option,” Mabel said firmly. “We just need to think creatively.”
Felicity burst through the front door like a whirlwind of purple scarf and determination. “I came as soon as I got your text. How bad is it?”
“Twelve thousand dollars bad,” Jade replied.
Felicity whistled low. “That’s... that’s a lot of Christmas cookies.”
“It’s impossible,” Jade said flatly. “Even if we had the best month in the bakery’s history, we couldn’t come close to covering that kind of expense.”
The three women sat in silence for a moment, the weight of the situation pressing down on them. Outside, snow continued to fall in lazy, fat flakes that made the world look peaceful and manageable. Inside, Jade felt like everything was falling apart.
“What about a loan?” Felicity suggested. “Banks do business loans, right?”
