She’d been crunching the numbers after the faire.Without Hawk.It took a lot of time, and she was probably missing some important numbers.But she knew enough to realize… it wasn’t good.
Hawk’s reluctance to talk about the numbers made so much sense now.Heknew.And he hadn’t told her.
The realization hurt.
It was more salt on the festering wound that was her anger.But even worse was the realization that he was also right.The shop wasn’t the problem.Tenison was.
Their small little shop was so secluded.It didn’t matter how many times their neighbors and friends came by; no matter how many books they bought, it wasn’t enough.It was only a matter of time before their spending practices caught up to them.
She had been hiding her concern well enough at home, but now her father sniffed it out like a blood hound.“What’s wrong?”
“This place,” she whispered at the computer screen.“No matter what we do, it won’t make money.”
Her parents looked at each other, a silent conversation passing between them.The meaning was easy to decipher.Her mother’s wide eyes and gentle tilt of her head indicated it was Garrett’s turn to speak.
He cleared his throat.“But I thought things were getting better.You changed the prices, the new iPad.Everyone who comes by the shop says the place looks great.”
Lilian looked at her father.The man who had always made her feel like she could do anything.Always the optimist in the hardest days.But this wasn’t something optimism could fix.
“It’s not enough, Dad.The faire barely broke even, and we put a lot of extra money into setting everything up.”
“Maybe.But it's not always about making money.”Her mother offered a tired smile that quickly fell away when Lilian couldn’t hold back her tears anymore.“Oh, Lilian.”
“I didn’t expect this place to be a booming success,” she admitted.“But I wanted it to stand on its own.To help you guys.”
“Youarehelping me.”
“No.”Lilian shook her head, sniffling hard.“I did all this work.And it isn’t enough.We’re still in the red.And I don’t know what to do.I thought I was doing everything right.”
There.She’d said it.For the first time since she’d taken on the task of helping to run the bookshop, she’d finally hit a wall.One that couldn’t be fixed with a fresh idea and new paint.
“You are,” her father said.His face was ashen and solemn.“I’m the one who has been letting you down.Both of you.”
Lilian’s heart sank.The last time she’d seen that look was when her parents sat her down and said the one word that changed their lives.Cancer.
She couldn’t handle any more bad news.She looked at her mother, who seemed just as surprised and worried about whatever was coming.
“Your friend Hawk talked to me about the numbers not adding up in our accounting.He asked me if I knew anything about it, but he already knew.”
Hawk?The mention of his name caught Lilian off guard.
Her mind reeled as her mother pressed, “Knew?What did he know?”
“The shop hasn’t been making money for years.I’ve been using my profits from the repair shop to pay the bills.”
“What?”The words punched the air out of her lungs.Did he sayyears?
“I’ve always had the money to spare.And well, no one was really asking questions or keeping track of the books.It didn’t seem like any harm.But, Bea, when you needed treatment…”
“The money went to my treatment?”Her mother breathed, quickly putting the pieces together.
Her father nodded, shame creasing his face.“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier.I didn’t want it to be one more thing to worry about.”
Lilian couldn’t believe what he was saying.She’d pored over those accounting books.She knew things didn’t add up.But she’d attributed it to her lack of accounting knowledge.Now so many things made sense.There were significant profit drops after her mother had been diagnosed.Now she knew it hadn’t been a decrease in profits.It had been her father.
A part of her was relieved at the newfound realization.Then just as quickly, she was angry.“Are we in trouble?”she demanded to know.
Garrett shook his head.“No.We’re fine.But we do need to think about the future of this bookshop.”
