“Come in. Come in.” Kurt stood, a wide smile pulling up full lips. He smoothed his fingers over a white dress shirt snugged tight at his neck with a navy tie that accented his fair coloring. He had a kind face, welcoming her into the room.
David rose and pivoted. He wore a power business suit with a white shirt and striped green tie. He held his shoulders back in a rigid stance as his appraising gaze gave her a thorough once-over.
Mia’s hand flew to her mouth. Thankfully it did or she might’ve said something she’d regret. Her brother had turned into a photocopy of a younger version of their father. His expression, his eyes, his lips. The entire package screamed Dad. She wanted to run. Fast and far. But she planted her feet.
He adjusted his tie, and his expression mirrored her discomfort. Was he picking up on her reaction? Likely. She forced a blank look to her face. He approached and lifted his arms as if he might try to hug her.
No. Not that. Not yet.She thrust her hand out and looked him in the eyes. “Good to see you, David.”
His charcoal eyes darkened, but he didn’t lose a beat and firmly clasped her hand. She shook but quickly withdrew and pushed the strap of her handbag higher on her shoulder to mask her sudden action.
David opened his mouth but nothing came out.
“I…um…uh.” He gestured at Kurt. “This is my partner, Kurt Loomis. Since he handles Evergreen’s accounts, I asked him to join us. Hope you don’t mind.”
“Not at all, and I’m happy to meet you, Kurt,” Mia said with honest enthusiasm and held out her hand to him. “I don’t know the first thing about running a business. I have to count on Verna to do the bookkeeping and you to do whatever it is you do.”
“Actually, Verna doesn’t really do the bookkeeping anymore.” Kurt’s hand was warm and dry, his face earnest and welcoming. “When we took over the accounts a few years back, we set up a system to be more GAAP friendly.”
Mia’s mind went blank, and she looked at David for help.
He chuckled. “GAAP is an acronym for generally accepted accounting principles. In this case, we separated the duties of taking in the money from spending the money. So Verna takes it in, and Kurt pays the bills. I reconcile the accounts. Keeps everyone on the up and up.” David clasped his hands behind his back. “So what is it you wanted to see us about?”
“Ah…no…I didn’t actually come to talk about the business. This is more of a personal call.”
“Oh.” David’s eyes widened.
Mia instantly regretted her visit. Why did she think her brother wanted to have anything to do with her? Not when he’d always sided with their father. Seemed like that hadn’t changed.
She would give him an out. “If you don’t have time, I can go.”
“No. No. That’s fine. Let’s head to my office.”
“Nice to meet you, Mia,” Kurt said. “David and I are preparing financial reports for you. Once we’ve gathered a comprehensive look at the business, we can get together to review it.”
Mia crinkled her forehead and faked a shudder.
Kurt laughed. “I promise to help you understand them.”
“Thanks.” She smiled, and it wasn’t hard to do. She liked David’s partner. He seemed down-to-earth and friendly. Maybe once she and David broke the ice, he’d warm up the same way.
“And I’m sorry about Wally’s passing,” Kurt added. “I enjoyed working with him.”
Mia smiled. “I love hearing how much people liked him.”
“He was one of the good ones for sure,” Kurt said.
“This way,” her brother said and led her down the hall to an office similar to Kurt’s in size, but causal in design. He’d decorated in muted beiges with blue accents. With a slight nod, he urged Mia to sit.
She sat in a leather and chrome chair while looking at the multitude of family pictures perched around the room. He’d placed on the table next to her a candid shot of their father with two adorable girls. They were grinning at him as he returned the smile with the love Mia had always wanted to see reflected at her. She swallowed a gasp and almost ceased breathing.
“That’s Dad and my girls after Easter services,” David said. “Now that you’re back, it would be great if you came over to meet Penny and the girls.”
Mia swallowed a few times to recover from the shock of seeing the picture before she was able to speak. “You have daughters?”
“Figured Wally would’ve told you about them.”
“We didn’t talk much about what was going on here. But it would be nice to meet them. Your wife too.” Maybe Mia wasn’t all alone and could have a family after all.
