I grab Thai takeout from her favorite place and head to The Frost & Ivy. The CLOSED sign is up, but I can see the lights on in the back office. I knock on the glass door.
She appears from the back, looking harried. When she sees it's me, relief washes over her face. She unlocks the door and lets me in.
"You're a lifesaver," she says, eyeing the takeout bags.
But when I get a good look at her, my smile fades.
The shop's back office looks like a bomb site. Papers everywhere. Her laptop shows what looks like mortgage documents. An empty mug sits on folders marked "Henderson Property Sale." She's cross-legged on the floor behind her desk, staring at her phone like it betrayed her.
"Hey." I set the takeout on her desk. "You okay?"
She startles. Red-rimmed eyes. "God. Is it seven already?"
"Quarter past."
"Shit." She scrambles up, shoving papers. "Sorry. Lost track. Just need five minutes to..."
"Lucy." I catch her hand. "Talk to me."
"Nothing. It’s fine. Just organizing paperwork." She won’t meet my eyes.
"Bullshit."
Her jaw tightens. "Excuse me?"
"You're a terrible liar." I gesture at the chaos. "What's going on?"
She almost brushes me off. Then her shoulders cave and she sinks into the reading chair. I pull over the desk chair and sit close enough that our knees touch.
"The building." Her voice is small. "Mrs. Henderson's selling."
"This building?" I look around. "Your landlord is selling the shop?"
"I've been renting from her for two years. She wants to move to Florida, be closer to her daughter." Lucy picks at her jeans. "She offered me first right of refusal. There's a clause in my lease."
"That's good, right?"
"Would be if I had the money." Her voice breaks. "I've saved almost everything. Worked every extra shift, lived at home with Dad to save on rent, put every spare dollar aside. I have a hundred and eighty-five thousand."
The number staggers me. Two years of brutal saving.
"How much do you need?"
"Purchase price is two hundred thousand. Fair for the property, the location." She finally looks at me. Devastation makes myribs ache. "I'm fifteen thousand short. Option to buy expires December twenty-third. Day after tomorrow."
"What happens if you can't buy?"
"Developer's already made an offer. Cash deal. He wants to convert the building to condos." Her hands twist together. "I lose the shop. Everything I've built."
I pull her against me. Let her press into my shoulder.
"The bank denied me for an additional loan," she says into my shirt. "I'm already carrying debt from the renovation two years ago. My family can't help. Connor's house is mortgaged and Dad's living on a fixed income. I've been trying for weeks to figure this out, but there's nothing left to try."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because it's not your problem." She pulls back, wiping her eyes. "I've been dealing with this since Thanksgiving. Mrs. Henderson told me then she wanted to sell. I've been scrambling to get the money together, trying to make the numbers work. Didn't want to dump it on you when you just got here. You're supposed to be on vacation, spending time with Connor, not solving my financial disasters."
"You're not a disaster."
