Page 17 of Tricked in October
“I’ll be the judge of that. Tell me what the problem is.”
Unable to make eye contact with Isabella, Kelsey traced a finger over the paper coffee cup in front of her. “I got behind on the payments for the business loan.”
Isabella inhaled a sharp breath. “How behind?”
“Really behind.” Her eyes flicked away, the white faux pumpkin garland draped in front of the windows distracting her. “So I took out a second loan, and got behind in those payments too. Izz, I might lose the bar.”
“No way, we’re not going to let that happen. Tell me how Leo and I can help.”
Kelsey’s throat thickened and she shook her head. “This isn’t your problem.”
Izzy placed a hand on Kelsey’s. “I think Leo would beg to differ.”
Tears pricked at the corner of Kelsey’s eyes, and she forced them to stay at bay. She wouldn’t let her kids see her cry; God knew she’d done enough of that the past several months. Kelsey held up her hand, stopping her friend from speaking any further. “Nu-uh. No way. Leo is trying to open his photography shop. And you guys are still traveling back and forth from here and New York.”
“Let’s be honest, even if we weren’t doing those things, you wouldn’t let us help.”
Her friend knew her too well.
“First things first—I’m going to talk to the O’Henrys and see if they’re interested in either buying back the bar or . . . ” She paused, clenching her teeth before saying, “Helping me get caught up on the payments.”
“What about the house? Can you take out a second mortgage?”
She shook her head. If the bar went under and she lost the house—the only place the kids knew as home with their daddy—she’d never forgive herself. “Losing the house is too big of a risk.”
“You should at least try whatever you can. You can’t let the bar go without a fight.”
“C’mon, you know me better than that,” Kelsey said.
“Yes, I do.” Izzy smiled before taking a sip of her coffee.
The sound of the rain pounding against the paved sidewalk outside grew louder and Kelsey shivered, pulling her fuzzy cardigan tighter around her. Kelsey could only hope the family business meant as much to Mr. and Mrs. O’Henry as it did to Ricky. As it did to herself.
“You know, I gotta be honest,” Izzy began, pressing her hands against the table and leaning across it like she was fixing to tell her a secret. “When you texted me that you had a huge problem and needed my advice, I assumed it had to do with something else.”
Kelsey dipped her chin, staring at the apple spice cake with cream cheese frosting in front of her like it was the most interesting thing she’d ever seen. She tucked her hair behind her ears and swallowed, afraid to ask but did anyway.
“Oh, yeah?”
“Yeah. Like why you and a certain Mr. Davis Vance were seen together at the bar soaking wet?” She waggled her dark brows.
Kelsey’s body went hot as her mind raced back to that night. The way it felt to have Davis’s sturdy body pressed against hers. The vision of him as he peeled off his tank top to give her, leaving him bare chested. She sucked her lower lip in between her teeth as a yearning rattled in her depths, a pulsing of hunger between her thighs.
“Plumbing,” Kelsey blurted.
Isabella furrowed her brows, and she tilted her head.
“I had a plumbing problem,” Kelsey elaborated. “A leaky shut off. Davis fixed it for me. That’s all.” She released a shaky breath, halfway through turning it into an awkward laugh. “Why in the world would you think anything else was going on?”
Isabella shrugged. “Maybe I was just hoping.” She winced before giving her friend a look of sympathy.
Kelsey hated that look. She didn’t want to be pitied.
“Hoping what, exactly? That something was going on between me and Davis?” Her heart raced as she spoke the words. She was grateful her voice remained strong as she said, “That’s absurd, you know that, right?”
Charlotte’s whines quickly turned into a fit of sobs.
“Not completely absurd. You guys have a lot in common. And you get along so well.”
