Mr. Barlowe held up a hand, cutting her off once more. “I sympathize with your situation, but business is business. The terms of the agreement are clear, and I’m well within my rights to enforce them.”
She fell silent, her mind frantically searching for a solution, any solution. But the reality of the situation left her feeling helpless and overwhelmed.
Mr. Barlowe stood, straightening his suit jacket. “I’ll expect to hear from you or your lawyer soon.” He handed her a business card. “Good day.”
As he let himself out, she noticed a hint of satisfaction in his expression, as if he was already envisioning the cottage as his own. She sank back into her chair and pulled out her copy of the agreement, reading it over again.
Dropping it onto the table, she stood and walked over to the bookshelf, picking up a framed photo of Nana, remembering her grandmother’s words: “You end up in life where you’re supposed to be.”
Maybe this meant the cottage was never truly meant to be hers.
CHAPTER 15
Randy glanced at his watch as he knocked on Evie’s door. He was a little later than normal, but he’d still picked up fresh buttermilk and blueberry muffins from The Sweet Shoppe. As Evie opened the door, he immediately knew something was wrong by the look on her face.
“What? What is it?”
“I—” Her voice cracked.
He stepped inside and pulled her into his arms. “Tell me.”
She clung to him for a moment before pulling back. She motioned for him to follow as she turned toward the kitchen without a word.
As they got to the kitchen, his eyes darted over the scattered papers on the table. Setting down the bag of muffins, he turned his full attention to Evie.
“What’s going on?” he asked gently.
She took a shaky breath, her hands fidgeting with the edge of one of the papers. “A man came by this morning. A Mr. Barlowe. He… he says he has a legal claim to the cottage.”
Randy frowned. “What do you mean, a legal claim?”
“Apparently, my grandfather used the cottage as collateral for a loan years ago,” she explained, her voice breaking. “The man says the loan was never repaid.”
His mind raced, trying to make sense of this new information. “But your grandmother left you the cottage. How can someone else have a claim on it?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know all the details. He has all these legal documents.” She gestured helplessly at the papers scattered on the table.
He moved closer. “Okay, let’s take this step by step. Did he say how much is owed?”
She nodded, reaching for one of the papers. “It’s all here. The original loan amount, plus years of interest. It’s… it’s a lot.”
His stomach tightened as he saw the figure. “And how long did he say you have to repay it?”
“He said two weeks. He can’t do that, can he?” she whispered, her voice barely audible. “If I can’t come up with the money by then, he says he’ll take possession of the cottage.”
His mind whirled with questions. “Have you spoken to a lawyer? There might be some way to challenge this or at least buy more time.”
She shook her head. “I haven’t had a chance yet. It all happened so fast, and I’m… so overwhelmed.”
He squeezed her shoulder gently. “We’ll figure this out. There has to be a solution. Do you have the man’s contact information? Maybe we can arrange a meeting and try to negotiate.”
She nodded, rifling through the papers until she found a business card. She handed it to him and he studied it carefully.
“I think our first step is to meet with a lawyer. Call Mr. Howe, Miss G’s lawyer, and show this to him.”
“Yes, that’s where I should start. You’re right.” She walked over to the counter and picked up Miss G’s address book. Sheleafed through it, then dialed. After speaking on the phone for a few minutes, she turned to him. “I have an appointment in an hour. I explained how it’s kind of an emergency.”
“Try not to lose hope. We’ll explore every option. We’ll figure this out.”
