I missed him so much, and I wanted him back. But I didn’t know how to apologize and ask him to come back.
I felt like a fool.
On Monday, instead of going for a walk and visiting Maggie, I sat at my desk.
The official county vote was less than a month away. Not that it mattered. They’d already informed me of their decision.
The vote was just the tidy part. The public stamp. Signed and sealed.
But until it was official, there was still a sliver of space to wedge something in.
An appeal.
A delay.
A miracle.
Because once the vote passes, we will have to deal with the reality that Ballybeg will never be the same. The pub, the fields, the land my family had fought so hard to keep—it would all be gone.
Allof it swallowed up and repackaged as progress.
I couldn’t save anything.
It was those damn taxes.
I’d been putting it off, pushing off the inevitable, but I knew I couldn’t avoid it any longer. The letter from the revenue office was sitting on my desk, glaring at me like a challenge.
I had tried to get a loan, but the bank wasn’t any help.
“We’d love to help you, Dee,” Keegan Ahren, the loan officer, said kindly. “But given your financial history and the state of your business, we can’t approve a loan at this time.”
“Come on, Keegan, you know I’m good for it.”
“If this were my bank, I’d do it, you know that. But we got rules in place, Dee. Your father defaulted on two loans.”
“I paid them off,” I protested.
“Aye, but it put you on the blacklist when it comes to loans.”
There was a blacklist? The feckers!
Now, the only thing left was for me to beg the revenue people for a break.
So, with my proverbial cap in hand, I drove to the county revenue office in Ennis, my stomach churning the whole way. The thought of walking in there to plead my case wasn’t exactly appealing, but it’s not like I had a choice.
Thankfully, they didn’t make me wait.
I was taken to an office, and the manager seemed nice enough.
When I explained why I was there, she nodded and took my details. She then typed on her computer and looked at her screen with concern.
I could see from her expression that all was not well. Hell, I knew that.
“I’d like to request an extension,” I said, forcing my voice to stay calm. “Or maybe set up a payment plan. I just need a little more time.”
She frowned, typing some more. “One moment, please.”
I sat staring at the worn tile floor, knowing that this was my last chance, my only. After this, it was over.
