Finding His Family by Christina Miller

Author:Christina Miller
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2021-03-08T18:23:43+00:00

Chapter Nine

“It’s all over.” Rance Bailey flopped into the chair on the other side of Abe’s desk, his ever-present grin missing from his pudgy face. “I’m closing the coffee shop before the bank can foreclose.”

He had to be kidding.

But one look at Rance’s droopy eyes and Abe knew his next-door merchant friend, about ten years older than Abe, was serious. “I knew business was slow, but do you have to shutter the shop?”

“I have to face facts. The shop wasn’t doing well even before the cannery shut down on the next block. I lost all that morning business, which was keeping me going.”

“Can’t you do anything to stay afloat? Get a loan?”

Even as he said it, Abe knew he’d make the same choice in that position. One thing he’d learned from his father’s many mistakes: don’t take on debt.

“I’ve already borrowed to the limit. Every time I see JD in church or on the street, I’m afraid he’s going to call my loans. It’s time to try something different.”

Abe thought about offering to get Rance a cup of coffee but then figured it might make him feel even worse. He reached into his dorm fridge beside his desk and pulled out a water bottle instead and gave it to him. “What can I do to help?”

Rance twisted off the lid and took a long swig. “Rent’s due day after tomorrow, so I’m closing today and clearing out everything. I want to try to sell some of the fixtures and supplies to get cash so I can start fresh. I was wondering if you still have empty space in the gym.”

“Not as much as I did, since we made the showroom into the kids’ room. But yeah, I have some space in the back. You want to store some stuff?”

“I’d appreciate it. I can pay a little for storage.”

Abe waved away the offer. “What are you going to do?”

His grin looked a little forced. “Head to Jackson. There’s this girl there...”

Rance Bailey with a girl? Now this was news. “Who is she?”

“Her name is Kimmy. I wouldn’t admit this to anyone else, but yeah, she’s sort of bailing me out of this mess. When Miss—when I met her, I told her everything, how my business was failing and I was in debt up to my neck, but she says she loves me.” His pale blue eyes turned soft looking. “Kimmy wants to help me get back on my feet. She’s a good woman.”

Wow, that must have been humbling for him to admit. But wasn’t Rosemary doing the same thing, in a way, for Abe? He’d never expected her to put in as many hours and work as hard as she did. Especially since she took care of her parents and that big old house of theirs in the evenings.

The similarity surprised him, until he started to wonder how much alike he and Rance really were. They each had a good woman giving herself for them, and they each had a business that wasn’t making ends meet.

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