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Chapter Eight
She knew that morning was going to come, and she was going to hate having to go to work. Exhausted didn’t even begin to describe how she felt. Coffee wasn’t going to fix it either. She needed to close her eyes and get some sleep.
Kenneth had left her place around four in the morning. But with him gone, she’d just lain there staring at the ceiling. It was as though her body was missing him and kept her awake. That wasn’t the case right now. Her eyes burned and at one point, she might have dozed off.
The door of the shop opened and she quickly pulled herself together and tried to look alive. Cheery was going to be a stretch. But this wasn’t a customer. It was the last person she wanted to see this morning.
“Granddad. What are you doing here?” The fog cleared from her brain really quickly. “Is something wrong?” she asked. He never just stopped in.
“I’m not sure. My son called me late last night and suggested I stop in and talk to you. Would you happen to know why?” he asked.
Dad. What did you do?Even if she’d been fully rested, she was unprepared for this. She had started the discussion with Kenneth last night, but became distracted and never finished. Shanda had hoped he’d be able to tell her how to move forward and still make Home Blown stable, if not successful. Now she was going to have to wing it. Granddad could read bullshit a mile away. And since Shanda was a horrible liar, she wasn’t even going to bother trying.
“Granddad, I was planning on touching base with you, but only after I knew I had a good game plan moving forward. Why don’t you sit down, and I’ll bring you up to speed with what I’ve been doing?”
“Can’t be good if you think I need to sit,” he stated.
“It’s not bad. Well, not that bad.” She could see the worry lines appear across his forehead. She needed to start talking before it started to stress him out. “Granddad, do you trust me?”
“Of course.”
“Then come and sit. I have a lot to tell you.”
There were stools behind the counter, so Shanda could still keep an eye out for a customer, while talking with her granddad.
Once seated he said, “I’m not as young as I used to be, so maybe you can skip the fluff and just get to the point.”
She smiled. “You’re not old Granddad, but I’ll do my best. But you’ll understand better if I tell you the entire story.”
“How about you give me the short version and I’ll ask questions if I have any,” he offered.
“Fine.” Should she just tell him the truth about Home Blown? She had no choice. “I’m not…doing as well as you might hope running the shop. I lack your…finesse.”
“I don’t believe that. You just don’t give yourself enough credit.”
“Granddad, do you want the facts or do you want to hear what you want to hear?” She realized that sounded…rude. “I’m sorry Granddad. I shouldn’t have spoken to you like that. I guess this is more difficult than I thought it would be.”
“Only because you’re making it that way.”
There was no beating around the bush or easing into it. Granddad wanted it straight, and that’s what he was going to get.
“I don’t want to run the shop any longer,” she blurted.
Her granddad didn’t even flinch. In a tone as though they were discussing the weather, he asked, “Did you want to close it, or hire someone to manage it?”
She hadn’t given that any thought yet. “Granddad, I haven’t fully decided on what my next step should be. I’m working with someone who is helping me with these types of decisions.”
“You’re letting a stranger guide you and not your family?” he asked, looking surprised.
I’m surprised too, Granddad.
“Granddad, what he is, is impartial. And also giving me some good advice. But trust me, I won’t close the doors without having a sit down with you and Dad. You entrusted me with the shop, and I won’t let you down.”
He smiled. “What you do with Home Blown doesn’t change how I feel about you. I love you and I’m proud of you. This shop was my dream, Shanda. It doesn’t have to be yours. You will know what to do when you follow your heart.” Then he got up and added, “I’m going to meet your father for lunch. Don’t worry about him. I’ll let him know that you have this under control.”
“But Granddad, I am not sure what I’m going to do yet.”
He kissed her on the forehead and said, “You don’t have to know. If you only knew how many times I changed my mind and wanted to quit when I ran the shop, you’d be amazed.”
