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Jenna’s dark eyes grew wide. “Wow! He must have really believed in you!”
“I thought he did,” Summer said.
Maybe it was the margarita, but she was so tempted to spill the beans about Greg and the disaster he’d left for her. But she couldn’t take the risk. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Jenna, but Snowberry Springs was a small town, and the only way to keep a secret was to keep silent.
She settled on the truth, minus the most important details. “We aren’t partners anymore, but I’m still committed to SummerTime. It’s closed temporarily while I make some big changes, but I’ll be relaunching it before the end of the year.”
If she kept repeating that like a magic spell, then she could make it true, right?
Even though Greg had screwed her over big time, she wasn’t willing to walk away from SummerTime while there was still a chance she could turn things around. It washerplace. Her baby.
Besides, her parents had taught her that running away from her problems never solved them. Heck, she might be in Montana right now and not California, but that was only because of Grandma Abigail and her offer.
It definitelywasn’tbecause she’d run away from her problems in San Francisco.
Besides, I’m handling the situation,she told herself.Most of her remaining savings, including her retirement account, had gone to convince the most obnoxious of her investors that she wasn’t defaulting, just regrouping.
She was keeping the rest of the group at bay with daily texts and emails describing her plans for SummerTime’s relaunch and new profit model. Walking this tightrope was exhausting, but if she could just keep from falling for the next six weeks, she’d have the money she needed.
Her phone chimed softly. She glanced down to see a text from Brock.
Mission accomplished. Friends recruited to help paint & saw. Rick said he’ll wire up the barn lights, if you find any. How’s it going on your end?
She chuckled and told Jenna, “Brock wanted me to know that his Pizza and Beer Gang is going to help with the reno next week. He wants to know whether we accomplished our mission, as well.”
Jenna giggled. “Tell him that we’re having margaritas to celebrate our success.”
Summer grinned. “He’s been stressing about closing the diner for two days in a row while we reno the dining room next week. And when he gets stressed, he gets bossy.”
She turned her attention back to her phone, and snapped a photo of their half-empty goblets.
She sent it to Brock, then followed up with a text message.
One dozen barn lights acquired. Also, margaritas and tacos. And I found something really cool for the diner. Planning to pick up Spring on the way back to help us unload it from the truck.
He replied almost instantly.It’s gonna take 3 of us to unload? What the fuck did you buy, Ms. Fancy Pants?
Wait and see,she typed, then set aside her phone to let him stew.
Their tacos arrived at the table. Summer had gotten three different kinds—shrimp, al pastor, and carne asada. Jenna had gone for chicken, fish, and shrimp.
“Hey, do you guys need any extra help for your reno?” asked Jenna when her first taco had vanished. “The café’s closed on Mondays, so I could help you lay flooring. Thanks to all the work I did turning the old Phillips & Son store into my café and bakery space, I have alotof experience laying tile and gluing down flooring.”
“That would be great!” Summer replied. “We found a great deal on vinyl plank flooring, and it’s the peel-and-stick kind that’s super easy to install. We could really use some extra hands with that.”
“I’ll ask Vince if he can help, too. He did a good job with the floor tiles last summer.”
“Thanks, Jenna. You’re the best! I really appreciate it. There’s a lot of flooring to install. If you and Vince help out, then we’ll be able to reopen by Wednesday morning for sure. And Brock won’t stroke out from a stress attack.”
Jenna waved off her thanks. “Hey, that the way things work around here, remember? We help each other out, and what goes around, comes around. For goodandbad.” She grinned at Summer. “Promise you’ll text me with Brock’s reaction to that pharmacy counter.”
Chapter Twenty-One – Brock
[Unknown Number]:Hi, Autumn. I need to ask for a favor.
Autumn:Who’s this? I don’t recognize your number.
[Unknown Number]:Sorry, it’s Brock. Your grandma gave me your number. Hope you don’t mind.
