His phone buzzed again, then twice more. He reached for his pocket. “I’m sorry, I really need to check this.”
“Of course.” Elisa waved him off, relief pouring off her delicate features. “I’ll head to the floor, see if anyone needs anything.” She pushed through the swinging doors and was gone before Noah could protest.
That hadn’t exactly gone as he’d hoped. But had anything between them?
With a sigh, he pulled his phone free and checked the display of missed messages. All from Owen. His hopes lifted. Finally, news about his loan request. Maybe this day could be salvaged after all. He eagerly clicked the message box.
Owen
Sorry, bad news.
Or not.
Owen
The bank is spread too thin. Your request was rejected.
He wasn’t surprised. But this, along with the deadline August had sprung on them, put a lot more pressure on finding the last few clues.
Noah closed his eyes. What was he going to do if they couldn’t pull it off in time? At this point, he couldn’t cover the cost of the mold mitigation crew coming to work on the Blue Pirogue Monday. The deposit was already on his personal credit card.
Dad couldn’t have been right when he warned him about the inn and Grandpa’s will. Noah refused to believe Russell Hebert was right aboutanything, but especially this. He opened his eyes and read the next message.
Owen
Approvals are like catching unicorns right now.
Noah shook his head. They should wrangle Owen in with the emoji usage.
Owen
I used every connection I had and could only get you approved for a grand. $
He winced. A thousand bucks was something, but not enough to make a dent. Not enough to make it worth the additional hit to Noah’s credit.
But none of that was Owen’s fault.
Noah typed back his response.
Noah
I appreciate it, bro. Don’t worry about it. I’ll figure something else out.
He pocketed his phone and headed for the mostly deserted café floor. There was nothing to tell Elisa—she didn’t know about the loan request, about his previous temptation to ditch the hunt, or how much pressure all of this added. Elisa had too much on her own plate to worry about.
But now theyreallyneeded to find clue four—even if that meant combing all of the local churches from top to bottom. Hopefully, they could still work together after the awkward conversation just now. Maybe tomorrow afternoon they could meet up and get started. Maybe once they started looking, something would magically click for Elisa like it had before.
Funny how fast she’d become his only hope.
Noah spotted her standing by a table in the corner. He headed that way, hoping to further clear the air between them, then realized about two footsteps too late it was Pastor Dubois’s table. Had the pastor heard the courthouse rumors about him and Elisa, too?
A rush of shame worked its way up Noah’s chest. But that was ridiculous. He hadn’t done anything wrong. Maybe they wouldn’t see?—
“Noah!” Pastor Dubois rose from his chair, tucking his Bible under his arm. “I thought I saw you swoop past me earlier with a tray. Are you working here?”
Noah approached, intentionally keeping his head lifted. Maybe if he thought of the man as Owen’s father and not as the pastor whose church he’d been avoiding… “No, sir. Just helping out while Delia is laid up.”
Elisa’s smile was genuine as she beamed up at the reverend. “Pastor here is one of the Blossom’s best booth warmers. He’ll stay from one rush to another every Saturday and give me a reason to keep the coffee on.”
