style="font-size:15px;"> “Meaning with your very spotty payment history, we could start foreclosure procedures. I’ve been keeping an eye on things at the inn. You have no cash flow.”
“I’m renovating. The grand opening is scheduled for July first. I’d hoped to make it by Memorial Day, but it just wasn’t feasible.”
“How do you expect to make these next payments or the ones the month after?”
“I’ll find the money,” she assured him, even though she had no idea where.
“Maybe you should speak to your father,” he suggested. “I’m sure he’d be willing—”
Jess cut him off. “This is my project. My father’s not involved.”
Her comment silenced him, which she thought was a good thing. But then he said, “If I thought your father was backing you, I could look the other way for the short term….”
“Well, he’s not,” Jess repeated. “You’ll get your payments, Mr. Riley. You know what potential the inn has. You know it’s going to be a success.”
“With the right management, yes,” he said. “I’m no longer convinced you’re the person who can accomplish that.”
His condescension and lack of faith infuriated her. She would have told him off, but even Jess was wise enough to recognize her already precarious standing with the banker.
“Please, be patient,” she said instead. “These are good loans, Mr. Riley. You know me. You know my family.”
“As I said, if you want to bring your father in, we can discuss—”
“No,” she’d replied fiercely.
“It’s your decision, of course. I’ll expect the payments on my desk on time,” he said. “Good day, Jessica.”
That conversation had taken place on Tuesday. She’d called Abby on Wednesday, the minute she’d realized there was no way she’d have the money in time. She knew Abby was going to flip out when she heard the kind of deals Jess had made without consulting her, but in the end she’d help her fix things, because that was what Abby did. She made things right. Even when her marriage was falling apart, she’d found a way to keep her equilibrium, stay on track at work and give the twins the kind of attention they needed to get through the turmoil. If she’d handled all that, this would be a piece of cake, Jess thought confidently.
Of course, that was before she’d realized that Trace was part of the equation. She had no idea exactly what had happened between him and Abby all those years ago, but it hadn’t been good. There was a history there, and despite Trace’s assurance that he wouldn’t let it interfere with the bank’s decision, Jess wasn’t a hundred percent sure she could believe him. Nor was she certain how Abby would feel once she knew she’d be dealing with her old flame. It might be better not to mention that at the outset.
When Abby finally joined her on the porch, Jess asked about work, how the girls were doing in kindergarten, whether there were any new men in Abby’s life. Abby finally regarded her with impatience. “You’re stalling,” she accused.
Jess flushed. “Maybe a little, but I did want to catch up. We never get to have a real heart-to-heart anymore. I miss that.”
Abby’s expression softened. “Me, too. But a life-or-death problem tops catching up. Talk to me.”
An hour later, after Jess had spilled her guts and seen the dismay in Abby’s eyes, she wasn’t so sure this was going to be as easy to fix as she’d hoped.
“We can straighten this out, can’t we?” she asked her sister, unable to keep a plaintive note out of her voice. “I know I’ve made a mess of things so far, but when you see the inn again, you’ll understand why I had to do it exactly this way. It’s going to be amazing.”
“It will only be amazing if you can keep the bank from foreclosing,” Abby said direly. “Why didn’t you call me sooner? I would have loaned you the money.”
“I don’t need your money,” Jess insisted. “I can do this on my own. I just need to buy a little more time. A couple of months, max.”
“You have reservations coming in?”
“We’re booked solid the rest of the summer, and we’re starting to get reservations for the fall,” Jess said proudly. “Plus, once word of mouth kicks in about how cozy the place is and how fabulous the food is, that should take care of the rest of the year, at least on weekends. I’m going to offer some holiday specials, too, to try to boost bookings in November, December and even the long weekends in January and February. I really do have a great marketing plan, Abby.”
“In writing?”
“No, but I can put it on paper, if that will help.”
Abby nodded, her expression thoughtful. “Do that. Maybe it’s the bargaining chip you need. First thing tomorrow I’ll meet you over there and we’ll go over all your financials. We can put together some realistic budget projections, then I’ll go with you to the bank on Monday.”
Which meant, Jess knew, that she’d come face-to-face with Trace. Maybe that wasn’t such a good idea. “I know how busy you are. Once we put everything together, if you need to go back to New York, I can take the paperwork to the bank.”
“It’ll be okay. Let’s face it, I speak their language and you don’t. This is your dream, and you tend to get sidetracked by all your plans. I can talk hard, cold facts and numbers.”
Jess gave in, because she knew Abby was right. She’d get emotional, while her sister could keep her cool. “If you’re really sure it won’t be too big an imposition, then thank you. I’ll never be able to repay you for doing this for me, Abby. I have to keep the inn. I just have to. It’s the first thing that’s really mattered to me, ever. It’s my chance to prove I’m as good as the rest of the O’Briens.”
Abby stared at her with a shocked expression. “What are you talking about, Jess? Of course you’re as good as the rest of us.”
“Come on. I’ve always been the screwup, the hyper one with no ability to focus. You probably expected me to mess this up from the beginning.” The belated diagnosis that she had attention deficit disorder had come when she was ten and struggling in school. From then on, it had been her curse and, all too often, an easy excuse for her failure to follow through on things.
“That is not true,” Abby said, though her expression said otherwise. “Sweetie, you have ADD. We all understand that. Despite that, look at all you’ve accomplished. You graduated from high school near the top of your class. You got your college degree. Those are huge accomplishments for someone with ADD. You’ll figure out how to manage everything at the inn, too.”
“I barely got through college because I kept changing my major. And I’ve drifted through half a dozen dead-end jobs since then,” Jess reminded her, determined to keep it real. “I’m twenty-two and I’ve never even had a relationship that’s lasted more than a few months.”
“Because you haven’t found the one thing or the one person you were passionate about,” Abby argued. “Now you have the inn. I remember how you used to talk about it when you were little. You
