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She breathed out a heavy sigh. “You’re really not staying?”

I shook my head, turning just as Alicia reached the bottom step. Our gazes clashed, and for some reason that defied all logic, I winked at her. The blush that rose to her cheeks in response threatened to rearrange my entire nervous system, so I yanked open the door and focused on getting the hell out of Dodge.

“You really are no fun at all!” Tasha shouted after me, but instead of even acknowledging that I’d heard her, I just walked right out and let the door slam shut behind me.

I really, desperately didn’t need this right now. Curiosity was for people who weren’t about to stand by and watch a train wreck happen without being able to do anything to stop it. I wasn’t one of those people.

Instead, I was the guy who was going to be standing firmly in the splash zone, or whatever that was called in train terms, and I was definitely going to get hit by the fallout.

CHAPTER 6

ALICIA

Usually, I worked on Saturdays but not today. I wished I was, though. At the library, at least people only asked me about books, or for recommendations, and on occasion, where the bathroom was. I felt far more equipped to deal with that than this.

My heart was pounding in my throat where I sat in front of the bank manager, my hands folded tightly in my lap and my lungs refusing to function the way they should. I’d been dreading this meeting for weeks, and now that it was here, I was sweating bullets.

God, I hate banks.

The man sitting across the desk held the roof over my head in his hands, but instead of saying anything, he shrewdly studied my financial profile on his computer. It had been long enough since he’d opened it that I was definitely in trouble.

Obviously, I already knew what he was looking at and there was nothing good in there, but I’d been holding out hope that maybe, just maybe, he would hand me a miracle. The hard line of his jaw and the deep furrow on his brow said that wasn’t about to happen.

The knot at the center of my chest pulled tighter. Between my salary and my student loans, there simply wasn’t any wiggle room. After my loan payment had been sent off, my checking account had precisely enough money to allow me to buy food and some basics.

That was it.

I had a savings account, but it was so close to being drained that it was hardly worth mentioning, and hell, I’d even sold my near-junkyard status Honda a couple months ago to cover my bills, but it had all caught up to me despite every effort I’d made.

This wasn’t even the first time I was in this chair, but before, I’d managed to convince them I could fix it. I’d truly believed I would be able to but not this time. Not now. There was nothing left to figure out anymore. My options had run completely dry.

As the stoic manager finally looked back up at me and shook his head, I knew they were about to take the last thing I had left. “You mentioned previously you were applying for grants, Ms. Nettles. Has there been any progress on that front?”

“No, sir. I applied, but the grants didn’t come through.”

“How about the historical society?”

“They couldn’t help.” My eyes stung as I admitted it. “I even spoke to the estate lawyer again, but there’s nothing he can do either.”

The man pulled his glasses off and folded them in one hand, leaning back in his chair before bringing his gaze back to mine. “I’m sorry, Ms. Nettles. I’m sympathetic to your situation, but I’m afraid the bank can’t offer you a loan at this moment.”

My heart sank to my knees. “I understand.”

“I don’t think you do.” He brought his elbows to his armrests, his expression softening as he looked back at me like he was explaining something to a granddaughter he was fond of, but who wasn’t too bright. “The amount of back taxes owed on the property is significant. Over ten times your annual salary.”

I flinched. “I realize that, but I was hoping you might be able to accept a smaller monthly repayment amount.”

“Ms. Nettles,” he said gently. “You don’t have investments or other assets you can use as collateral. It simply wouldn’t be responsible for us or for you to add to the debt you’re already carrying. No matter how much the monthly installments would be, you cannot afford it.”

I stared back at him, feeling like my throat was closing up and my eyeballs were about to explode from the pressure. This is it, then. I’m losing my house. My parents’ house. The last thing I had left of them.

They hadn’t been incredibly wealthy people, but they had been well off. Aside from the house, which had been paid off, they’d also left me a small inheritance. Unfortunately, it hadn’t been enough for my upbringing, college, and to keep up with the taxes on the house.

My aunt and uncle had spent most of it during my childhood, not leaving me with enough money to get a degree or to settle the back taxes. I’d been working my ass off to pay that back throughout my early twenties, but after I’d realized it was going to take more than just hard work to raise the amount I needed to settle my account with the city, I’d done everything I could.

I’d exhausted every option, filled out every form, and applied to every organization who might’ve been able to help, but it still hadn’t been enough. That was the worst part of it all.

None of this was my fault. It was never supposed to happen this way, and yet, as I stood up from my chair, I knew it was well and truly over, and it broke my heart into millions of tiny pieces.