His Small-Town Family

Picking up the new floor plan she’d sketched out for the store, she studied it again. Her training in marketing told her the plan to revitalize Latimer’s was sound, but as a daughter, she feared her plan might fail and cost her parents their business. If only she knew for sure. Her confidence was so fragile. One minute she thought she could conquer the world. The next, humiliation and shame would drag her back down into feelings of powerlessness and defeat. She couldn’t trust her own judgment, not after the mistakes she’d made.

“Nicki.”

She looked up to find Ethan in the office doorway. “There’s someone here to see you.”

He moved aside, and Gary Palmer stepped into the office. “Hey, Nichelle.”

Gary hadn’t changed much since high school. He was short and stocky with a head of unruly red hair, and his boyish grin eased some of her anxiety.

She rose and greeted him with a hug. “It’s good to see you.”

“It’s good to have you home again.”

Nicki glanced over his shoulder and saw Ethan watching her from the stockroom. The hard look on his face puzzled her, until she realized he was gauging the situation, watching out for her. The protective gesture pleased her. It was nice to have someone looking out for her. As long as it didn’t go too far.

Closing the office door, she gave her full attention to Gary. Seated at her desk, she took a deep breath. “How bad is it?”

Gary laid a folder on the desk and opened it. “Of course, I can only report on the information you gave me, but it appears that your father has been juggling accounts for some time to keep the store running.”

“What about the lump sum he deposited? Where did that come from?”

“Without access to the personal accounts, I can’t say, but I’d guess he’s tapped out his savings or mortgaged the house.”

“Bottom line?”

“Unless something changes, the store can limp along for six months, maybe a year, and then...” He shrugged. “I’m sorry. I wish I had better news.”

After Gary left, Nicki cradled her head between her hands, her thoughts tumbling with the news he’d delivered. Things were worse than she’d thought. Unless something changed, the store was facing bankruptcy within the next few months. Her father’s infusion of cash helped, but once the outstanding bills were taken care of, there wouldn’t be much left to upgrade the merchandise. Her grand plan was out of the question now. How had her father let things get so bad? And how was she going to keep it from getting worse?

Insecurity and doubt washed over her like a wave on the beach, sucking her confidence out from under her. A tidal wave of emotions swelled in her chest, but she had no strength left to fight them. Laying her head on her arms, she gave in and cried.

* * *

Ethan tossed the utility knife onto the worktable in the stockroom. Six o’clock. Time to leave. Time to tell Nicki Latimer he was quitting. He took a deep breath, resting his hands on his hips. His resolve had wavered slightly since this morning after he’d overheard Nicki’s friend telling her about the burglaries in town. A woman with a baby working alone at night wasn’t a good idea. He didn’t know Nicki well, but he’d learned enough to know she’d stay until her work was done, no matter how late the hour.

Those protective instincts that had been triggered early were growing. But that wasn’t his problem. Nicki wasn’t his problem. Nicki and Sadie together were the issue. He’d managed to keep busy all afternoon, and the few times he’d wandered out into the main part of the store, he’d been able to concentrate on his task and nothing else. Unless Nicki was there. Then he’d had to battle the wish to watch her while she worked. Another reason to leave. The lovely store manager messed with his mind. Thankfully, the baby hadn’t been with her those times or he would have had a different reaction. He’d heard the little one crying once, but that hadn’t bothered him. It was seeing the two of them together that would trigger the horror.

He wondered about the man who had stopped by. She’d hugged him like an old friend. Was there something more than friendship between them? A prick of unreasonable jealousy lodged in his chest. The man hadn’t stayed long, but the look on his face when he’d left suggested something serious.

Ethan rubbed his forehead. He had to remind himself that Nicki wasn’t his concern. His sanity was. The dark memories he’d locked away were trying to break free, threatening to pull him under again. He couldn’t stay. Scooping up his jacket, he set his jaw and headed toward the office. Best to end this quickly. She’d find more help soon enough.

He heard muffled sounds as he stepped to the threshold of the office. He looked in and his throat tightened. Nicki had her head down on the desk, sobbing. Her soft groans and sniffles pierced his heart. Had something hurt her? The baby? He glanced toward the back room, but he found no clues.

“Nicki?”

She gasped, but kept her head down.

“Are you all right? What happened?”

Slowly, she raised her head, keeping her gaze averted and swiveling her chair to keep from looking at him directly. “I’m fine.”

Clearly she wasn’t. He stepped into the office, stopping in front of her desk. “Beautiful women don’t cry when they’re fine.” That got her attention. She looked at him, wiping tears from her cheeks.

“I got some bad news today.”

“The man who was here?”

“Yes. He’s an old friend. An accountant.”

Snagging a folding chair, he opened it and sat. “And?” She wanted to tackle life alone. He recognized the symptoms.

Nicki looked away. “Nothing. I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Bad idea. Talking about a difficult situation is the only way to get past the problem.” She stared at him, and he could see her contemplating his suggestion. She shook her head and pulled a tissue from a drawer to wipe her nose.

“I have to save the store.” She kept her eyes on the tissue she was twisting in her hands.

He leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees. “Save it from what?” An uneasy feeling formed in his gut.

Her shoulders sagged abruptly, as if she’d lost all strength in her body. “Bankruptcy.”

Ethan forced his features to remain neutral and not reveal his surprise. Nicki needed to get this off her chest. The least he could do was listen before he walked out.

“Is that what the accountant told you?”

She slipped her fingers through her hair, grasping it at the back of her neck before letting it go. It fell in tangled strands across her shoulders, and he found himself wondering what her hair would feel like in his hands.

“He only confirmed what I’ve suspected for some time. The store is failing. I should have paid closer attention. I was dealing with...personal issues. I had a feeling something was wrong, but I didn’t want to know. Now I’ve got to find a way to keep this place going. It’s my parents’ only source of income.”

“Why is that up to you? Why aren’t they here helping you?”

“My father is recuperating from a kidney transplant. My mother is caring for him. When I came home after... they asked me to work at the store. Of course I said I would. I was pregnant with Sadie, but it was so nice to be busy again.” She sniffed. “Then Sadie was born, and Dad found a donor, and Charlie had to stay on to run the store until I could come back, and then he left, and now it’s all up to me.”

He tried to connect all the dots in her explanation, but one thing was certain: she was in over her head. “So your plan to change the store—moving fixtures around, bringing in new stock, giving it a hipper image—is your attempt to save Latimer’s for your parents.”

Nicki’s blue eyes darkened. “Yes. And it’s a good plan.”

He wanted to smile at her defensiveness, but didn’t figure that was a wise move. “It is a good plan. I think it’ll work.”

She blinked her eyes, still moist from tears. “You do?”

Her lack of confidence surprised him. She’d been clear and precise about what she wanted done. So why the doubt all of a sudden? “I do. But you can’t do it all by yourself. You need help.”

“I have you.”

But he was here to quit. He couldn’t stay and risk dredging up the darkness again. He might not survive a second time. “Yeah. If you don’t mind me asking, where is your husband? I would have thought he’d be here helping out.”

Her expression went from worried to closed off in an instant.