“You know Harry left me Perk Me Up.” They didn’t meet himother than in passing, but I mentioned my fishing buddy enough they had some idea who he was. “It’s no secret I’ve struggled to settle into small business ownership. I’m not good at it, but I’ve held onto it. I guess I’m trying to honor Harry’s memory.”
Running a successful coffee shop seems like a poor way to honor a man who was more at home on a river than in town. Just like me. But that “Do better” admonition has haunted me, leaving me more unmoored than he probably ever intended. Maybe Rose was right that he didn’t mean it as criticism of me. That he meant me to live my life to the fullest in a way he didn’t.
That’s still a lot of pressure to put on a guy.
“I got an offer on the coffee shop today.”
Lucy gasps. The others look thoughtful.
“You’re going to sell?” Nathan asks.
I shrug, splaying my hands. “That’s what we’re here to talk about.”
“Is it a good offer?” Luke would have been the most logical choice for me to talk to one-on-one, as a small business owner himself. Same with Dad, who owned the hardware store first. But it’s not just about the business side of things. This isn’t a cut-and-dry, pure numbers scenario.
“Better than I’d list it for.”
Luke nods. “A few other businesses in town have received offers, too. More tourism’s bringing us more attention, and bigger companies want in on it.” He levels me a hard look. “Which you would know if you came to the Sunshine Small Business Society meetings.”
I wave him off. Not the time. “The money’s not important.”
“Right.” Nathan grabs another slice of pizza. “Because you’re so rich.”
I tick my head to the side. He stares. “Wait. Are you?”
“That’s the other thing. Harry didn’t just leave me the coffee shop. He left me his money, too. A lot of it.”
“Are you telling us you’re a millionaire?” Lucy asks.
I shrug again. “I don’t want to get down to details, but yes.”
“How did he have so much money? If that’s not a completely inappropriate thing to ask.” Graham carefully uncovers his drink to take a sip.
“He was an aerospace engineer. With no family to spend it on and a few good investments in the eighties, it’s not hard to imagine it adding up.” He mentioned once that he sold his house for a good deal when he left Seattle. From the documents I received, the house alone was worth over two million dollars when he sold it.
“So you’rerich-rich,” Nathan says.
“Don’t look at me like that. It doesn’t change anything. I’ve barely spent any of it.”
Lucy gestures toward my cabin. “Obviously.”
“It’s not for that.”
“What do you think it’s for?” Luke asks. His gentle tone just about breaks me. So calm and rational.
“I don’t know.” I stand and stride over to the river like I might throw myself in. “I didn’t ask for any of this. I didn’t earn that money. I didn’t want the coffee shop, either, but I work there anyway, trying to live up to my friend’s last wishes. I can’t…”
I rake my hands through my hair, tugging on the ends as I pace. “I can’t be whatever he was trying to tell me to be. I’m a failure at the coffee shop. Spending his money would make me a fraud, too.”
“The coffee shop’s more successful than ever,” Lucy points out.
I shake my head. “That’s all Rose.”
I would have folded the first year without her.
“Have you ever thought that Harry meant it as a gift and not a cage?” Once again, Luke’s using his patient voice on me. I suppose I need it, tearing up the sparse grass out here with my boots like I am. “If a gift doesn’t fit you or is making you unhappy, it’s okay to let it go.”
“The offer’s from a chain. I looked it up. They just want the location. They’ll come in and rebrand, bringing in new people.”Probably firing Rose and Troy, too, which I can’t let happen. “We’ll lose our small-town appeal and become just another number to them.”
