Page 136 of One for the Road
“That feeling doesn’t go away as yer kids age,” she said. “If anything, it gets worse. When Teddy’s grown and making her own way in the world, do yer think she’ll be proud of a mum who played it safe, or is she going to be stronger for watching her mum chase after the things she wants? Not feeling guilty for everything yer sacrificed in her name?”
Bloody hell. Tears pricked at the backs of my eyes.Threatened to spill over. I turned so Teddy wouldn’t see them. “I’m not qualified to run a business, Jess.”
She scoffed. “Pish, nobody is qualified. Life isn’t all about fancy education. Business is about grit, determination and the ability to be stubborn as hell. Ye think Brown’s became a success overnight? One time in the nineties, I almost got evicted by this slick landlord from Inverness; he’d bought up half the high street and hiked the prices up.”
“What did you do?”
“The only thing I could. My knitting group and I chained ourselves to the oven.” She nodded to the kitchen in the back room. “Screamed bloody murder when he came near us with a pair of bolt cutters.”
“The more I learn about you, the more fascinated I become.”
She shrugged. “It worked. I annoyed him so much he agreed to sell me the building. Got a really good deal too.”
“You outmanned him.” I laughed.
“Outlived him too.” She gave me a wry smile, then turned to gaze around the quiet café, as though she were staring into the past. “And I think it might be time for me to hang up my apron.”
“What?Jess—” I sputtered. “Brown’s can’t close. It’s an institution.” There was no Kinleith without Brown’s. “Is this because of Queen’s Cakes? Because this” – I gestured at the room of mostly empty seats – “is just temporary.”
I’d take Annabelle out myself if I had to.
“It’s not just that, though it’s a part of it.” She ran her hand over the ancient till. “This place is more of a home to me than my house, another child, really. I dinnae want to see it wither and die, and to be frank, I’m tired. I’ve been holding on because I’m just as scared of change as ye are. But my body is telling me it’s time, lass. Maybe I’ll takeAngus on one of those cruises, see a bit of the world before I die.”
“Bloody hell, Jess. Can you stop talking about dying?”
She cackled, dentures gleaming in the strip lights. “There’s a lot of life in me yet, dinnae worry.”
“What will you do about this place?” It felt selfish to worry about my own job, when she’d made this major life decision, but I couldn’t pretend I didn’t need the cash. Maybe someone would be willing to buy her out, and I could keep my job. It wouldn’t be the same as working for Jess, obviously, but I—
“It’s yers if ye want it. I think this place could use some young blood at the helm.”
My head snapped her way so quickly, it made me light-headed. “Jess, you can’t give me Brown’s.”
“I’m not giving it to yer; I’m still a businesswoman. Ye can rent the shop for a year, see how it works out, then we’ll take it from there.”
A year.
My heart thundered at the prospect. My mind reeled, already picturing it. It would be perfect.
I already loved the large windows flooding the space with natural light, the counter and the old till. But it would be my bakes in the cabinet. And I could add some shelves on the wall to host items from local artists.
Could I really do it?
“I don’t even know if I can get a business loan.”
“Ye won’t ken until ye try,” she said. Still I hesitated. “How about this? Either way, yer fired. Might as well make the most out of it.”
The thought of searching for another job made me feel queasy. “Can I think about it?”
“Take all the time yer need.”
I wanted to call Alistair. Ask for his advice.
I already knew what he’d say.You’d better say yes, Lang.
Jess’s words echoed in my head.Grow your own tree.There wasn’t a doubt in my mind that Alistair would support me in that. He had done from the very start. Pushed me. Believed in me, when I didn’t believe in myself.
Even when he’d paid for the school trip, as ill-advised as it might have been, he hadn’t done it to be flash, or to try to win me over. He’d sat back, ready to let Cameron take the credit. He’d been trying to help me while taking nothing away for himself.
