Page 76 of Still Afraid

Bonnie retrieved a mug and filled it with coffee. “Not much longer now.”

“Eight days.”

“But who’s counting?” She handed the mug to Josh with a warm smile.

How was he so blessed to have such amazing in-laws and parents? Thank You, Lord.

The three continued chatting while they sipped coffee, and a few minutes later Poirot trotted into the room. Bonnie poured another cup of coffee and handed it to Chloe when she joined them a moment later.

“Thanks, Mom. I was thinking about a few logistical things for the wedding. Dad, do you have time to talk through them with us?”

“Sure, but eat some breakfast first.”

“I suppose I could do that.”

Before they could even get some food out, Josh’s phone rang. “Maybe that’s Buck with information.”

He pulled the phone out, but it wasn’t Buck. He answered.

“Hi. Is this Mr. Josh Schneider?” a deep, sophisticated voice asked from the other end of the line.

Dismissing the doctor part of his name didn’t normally bother Josh—and maybe he was on edge from everything—but the man’s tone rubbed him the wrong way. “This is Josh.” He left the kitchen and walked around to the living room.

“Hello. This is Richard Montego of Brier Glen Chapel.”

Why was Breana’s father, the owner of the wedding venue, calling Josh? “How can I help you, sir?”

“We’re trying to reconcile accounts, and it has come to my attention that you have yet to pay beyond your initial deposit. You should have received several notifications about this bill, both through the mail and via email.”

Seriously, he didn’t expect to get paid for an event that couldn’t happen, did he? Or was he punishing Josh for his interactions with Breana? “I did see something come in the mail earlier this week, but considering the facilities inability to host our event, I believe we are no longer required to pay the remainder. I do understand our deposit is not refundable.”

“You’re past the cut-off date for canceling. It’s too short of notice. You’re required to pay in full.”

“We didn’t cancel on you. The tornado caused us to be unable to have our wedding at your location. While I can appreciate the financial difficulty this puts you in, we also have faced financial difficulty because of it. We’ve had to find a new location and had to rent items that wouldn’t have otherwise been necessary.”

“I’ll give you until next week to make the full payment, but that’s the best I can do.”

“My lawyer will be in touch.” Josh hung up. He wasn’t going to say anything more that could be construed as agreement to pay.

His blood ran hot. This guy had to be off his rocker. Maybe Josh was wrong and payment should still be made, but he was pretty sure Richard Montego was being unreasonable. He most likely had that place well-insured and Josh’s money would mean nothing.

“What’s wrong?”

Josh turned to Chloe, who had come into the room behind him. He didn’t want to tell her, didn’t want to give her one more thing to worry about, but they’d promised to talk to each other about everything, so he told her about the phone call.

“Do you think Breana has anything to do with that call?”

“I wouldn’t put it past her. It’s weird that the owner called me. He didn’t strike me as someone who would do those kinds of tasks himself.”

“Either way, though, what are we going to do?”

“I’m going to reach out to the lawyer at church and see if he can help or point me to someone who can.”

“Is that going to be cheaper than just paying the money?”

Josh shrugged. “That’s a fair question, but at least they can advise if I’m in the wrong.”

Chloe nodded. “Whatever you think is best.”