“I will not know until I hear it. But that is not the issue at hand right now. Does Mother know?”
“No, and for the love of all that is holy, you will not tell her. This is exactly why that man should never have stepped foot in my home.”
“Because of the chance that we would find out about this?”
“Yes! This is for me to handle, and I do not need any of you creating greater problems than there already are.”
“I hardly think I am the problem, here, Father,” Minnie said wryly. “But maybe I can help.”
“You? How could you help me?”
“You know that I have a mind for this. You saw how I dealt with the supplier at the warehouse. Explain to me where the issue lies, and I might have an idea on how to change our fortunes.”
He sighed, leaning his head forward and running his hands through his hair.
“You have no idea what could help me.”
“If the business is in trouble, then can Emmaline’s grandfather not help? He is your partner, after all.”
His head shot up quickly at that, and when his eyes met hers, Minnie saw how bloodshot with worry they were.
“You must not say anything to Emmaline, do you understand me?’
“Yes, but?—”
“You must not, Minnie. Some problems occurred with the business. Problems I must right. If word got out that I was in this kind of trouble, then it could greatly harm the business.”
“I will not say anything, Father, but are you certain you can trust this Mr. Blackwood?”
A flicker of emotion that Minnie could only describe as fear passed her father’s eyes, but she bit her lip, standing bywhat she had said. It was insulting that her father would think thatshewas the one who might threaten their family when she was only trying to help.
“You caused this by gambling, didn’t you?” she asked, seeing the guilt in her father’s eyes when he said nothing. “How could you?”
“I made a mistake. I had a shortfall that I needed to make up for and was sure that I could win back what I had lost,” he said, holding his hands out in front of him. “Then it all fell apart and I had to borrow money to pay back my gambling debts.”
“You lost,” she said bitterly. “You tried to take the easy way out, and you lost. For a man who has found such success, you made a huge mistake.”
“I did,” he said, and Minnie’s anger faded slightly, her heart breaking at the despair on his face. “I did.”
“What do you plan to do now?” she asked. “You have to find a way to pay back this man.”
“I am a man of my word, and I will pay him back,” he said, not looking at her, his eyes cast to the side. “I have one option.”
“Which is?”
“I’m not quite ready to share. But you will know soon enough.”
Minnie’s eyes narrowed as a ball of nerves began to grow in her stomach.
“Does this have anything to do with me?’
“I will tell you more soon, Minnie.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “I am happy to assist you however I can, Father, but keeping secrets is not going to help matters.”
“I know, Minnie. I need to finalize some details, and then everything will be in order. I have a solution for all our problems.”
“It had better be surer than those you gambled on.”
