Page 46 of Warrior Security
I didn’t trust it. The last time I’d trusted a man, I’d ended up with a scar on my arm and choosing a new name under fluorescent lights in a women’s shelter.
I was saved from my own spiraling thoughts by my phone ringing.
I grabbed it from the shelf and recognized the Kalispell number. James Ellison, the banker. Shit, I didn’t have time to get away from Logan, so I answered.
“This is Lark.”
“Lark, it’s James. I’m glad I caught you.” His voice carried that careful warmth that always preceded bad news. “I heard back from Pinnacle Property Group this afternoon. The ones that bought the second mortgage.”
My hand tightened on the phone. “And?”
“Unfortunately, they’re not willing to extend. I explained your situation, your payment history, the nature of the business. They were polite, but the answer was no. They want the missed payments brought current within thirty days, or they’ll begin default proceedings.”
The barn went flat around me. The medication log blurred, and I pressed the pen hard enough into the clipboard to dent the paper. I turned so my back was to Logan, not that that would change the news or cause him not to hear.
“How much to bring it current?”
He told me. I already knew. I’d run those calculations so many times, the numbers lived behind my eyes twenty-four seven. But hearing someone else say them made them heavier,more permanent than the figures I ran alone at two in the morning.
“And I have thirty days to come up with that,” I said.
“Yes. They’re adamant. This happens sometimes, although not often. I’m sorry, Lark. I pushed as hard as I could. We can still work with you on the first mortgage, but that one… They want their money now.”
“Okay. Thank you for letting me know.”
I hung up and set the phone on the shelf, then stood there with the clipboard pressed against my sternum and my jaw clenched so tight my back teeth ached.
I needed to do what I always did: process it, put it away, figure out the next step. I needed to turn back to the medication log, finish the afternoon rounds, find something that needed fixing. As long as I kept moving, I could pass for someone who had it all together.
“Lark.”
Logan’s voice, close behind me. He’d crossed the barn while I wasn’t tracking him, and he was standing at the edge of the feed room with a screwdriver loose in one hand, watching my face.
“What happened?”
I should have deflected. I had a dozen possibilities ready: a joke about Clarence, a question about Duke’s latch, a sudden need to check on Duchess. My mouth opened to grab one.
“That was the bank.” The words came out flat, before the deflection could catch up. I was looking at the clipboard, not at him. “The investment group that bought my second mortgage. They won’t give me more time. I have to come up with everything I owe in thirty days or they start the default process.”
The silence lasted three seconds. I counted them.
“How much do you owe?” he asked.
I told him. The number sat in the air between us, ugly and specific.
He grimaced. “What are your options for covering it?”
“There’s a grant application still out.” I gripped the clipboard to my chest. “I should hear back in a few weeks. But honestly, I don’t know if I’ll get it. I’ve never had trouble getting grants before this year, but two fell through back-to-back in the last nine months without any good explanation. So I can’t count on them anymore, and I’ve got to have this second mortgage up to date by the end of the month.”
“Is there any extra income Pawsitive generates? Outside the grants.”
I looked up. He was leaning against the doorframe with the screwdriver resting against his thigh, his expression level and unhurried. There was no pity in his face, no careful tilt of concern. He was engaging with my problem as if it had an answer we could find together.
“I don’t know. I’ve been turning it over for months.”
“What about doing some sort of fundraiser here in Garnet Bend? Pawsitive means something to people. If they knew what you were dealing with?—”
“No.” It came out harder than I meant. “Nobody finds out about this. I’m not standing in front of this town with my hand out, Logan.”
