“I can get up to a hundred thousand.”
Jaxon started at her. “You have that much equity in your house?”
“I saved up money and Daddy chipped in.”
He was struggling to understand what was going on. “And you’re willing to loan it to me? Okay, what’s the punch line, Tully?”
“There’s no punch line.”
He lifted his eyebrows. “Sorry, but you want to use all the equity in your house to give to a man you think robbed a gas station. Forgive me if that seems like a joke.” He turned for the door, but she grabbed his arm. She wasn’t strong enough to stop him, but the arch of electricity that spiked through him was.
She must have felt it too because she quickly released him as if burned.
But she didn’t stop talking.
“I know it seems foolish. I can’t explain my infatuation with Honky Tonk Heaven. All I know is that I really want to see the dancehall reopen. This isn’t a joke, Jaxon. I’m being completely honest. The money is yours if you want it.”
“And you’re not the least bit worried that we won’t meet the deadline? Or that I’ll take all your money and run off?”
“You’d never do that to your siblings.” She hesitated. “And you’ll make the deadline. I’ll make sure of it.”
“You’ll make sure of it?”
She got a stubborn look. “Yes. If I’m footing the bill, it’s only right that I get a say in the renovations.”
“Nope.” He shook his head. “I’m not going to have you underfoot through the rest of the renovation.”
Anger snapped in her eyes. “I’m not some child who will be underfoot. I’m an adult who knows how to stay out of the way. In fact, I won’t ever show up at the jobsite . . . at least not during the day when you’re working.”
“Of course you won’t. You don’t want your daddy and the townsfolk to know you’re hanging out with the Hennessy Hooligans. But you’ll still be asking all kinds of questions . . . and giving a lot of opinions that I don’t want or need.”
She leaned up on her toes and pinned him with angry brown eyes. “Well, considering I did the blueprints you’re working off of, who better to offer opinions?”
He didn’t know why he wanted to smile. Maybe because he liked this feisty Tully. Or maybe because his desire to finish Honky Tonk Heaven was once again within his reach.
“I’ll think about it. But if I do take you up on the offer, I’ll pay every cent back with interest . . . even if I don’t make the deadline and get my inheritance.”
“Actually, I’d rather have a share of Honky Tonk Heaven.”
That surprised him even more than her offering him money. “We aren’t keeping the bar, Tully. Once it’s reopened, we’re selling it.”
The disappointment was easy to read in her eyes. “Oh . . . I just thought that one of you would want to run it. I think your mama was hoping for the same thing.”
He laughed. “Doubtful. She knew how much we hated the bar. Which is why she had to bribe us to rebuild it. And if you want the bar so badly, why didn’t you offer to buy it from Rosie? It sounds like you two got close before she passed.”
Her eyes widened. “The town deputy can’t own a rowdy country bar.” She shook her head. “No. I don’t want the entire bar. I just wanted a small share.”
“You mean you just want a secret share. Something no one knows about. Well, sorry to burst your bubble, but we Hennessys don’t want Honky Tonk Heaven. Now if you’ll excuse me, I got a boat to keep in a tree.” He turned to leave, but once again she stopped him.
“Jaxon.” When he looked at her, her eyes held a neediness that punched his heart. “I’ve never seen a treeboat before.”
He knew he shouldn’t spend any more time with her when she made him feel things he had no business feeling, but an image of a lonely girl playing all alone in a tree house popped into his head and he couldn’t shake it.
He sighed. “Then I guess you’re in for a treat.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
Tully didn’t know what had happened. One second, she had been sitting in between Birdie and Daddy in church, listening to Birdie sing “Amazing Grace” in her off-key voice, and the next second, she’d been driving out to the Hennessys to offer them a loan.
