She gave him a smile. “Thanks.”
A new picture of his recent halibut fishing trip was on his desk, but other than that, his office was unchanged. The same serviceable oak desk, bookcase, and filing cabinet crowded the small interior. The only thing that kept the room from feeling claustrophobic was the large window that offered an unobstructed view of Hidden Lake. She shifted her weight in the chair and crossed her legs. She didn’t want to be here, but what other choice did she have? This was her problem, and she needed to find the solution.
“What can I do for you today?” Mr. Howard said, lowering himself into the chair behind the desk. “Your loan payment isn’t due for another three weeks, so I know you’re not here to ask for an extension already.”
His tone and smile were sincere, but Jenny still felt herself turning red. “No, I’m not here about an extension, but it is concerning my loan.”
“Yes?”
Her stomach tightened; her palms began to sweat. She had the sudden, insane urge to laugh and jump up, say this was all a silly joke, and flee the room. But this was no joke. And running away wouldn’t get her anywhere or anything except an unwanted partner. She tucked her purse next to her on the seat along with the folder she’d brought in. She squeezed her hands together and resisted the urge to dry her palms off on her skirt. Oh, Steven, I need you. I can’t do this alone.
But she knew she had to. Steven wasn’t here . . . wasn’t coming back . . . and it was up to her to keep their dream alive. She just wished she’d planned a little better for this meeting. Gone over the books . . . looked at the contract she’d brought along . . . ferreted information from her brother about how she should approach the bank. But as usual, she hadn’t done her homework. She’d jumped in headfirst without stopping to look or question or seek advice. This time it was her voice in her head—not her mother’s or her brother’s—that said, Oh, Jennifer.
“I wanted to talk to you about a loan.”
John Howard was all patience. “Go on.”
Jenny took a deep breath and plunged ahead. “Well . . . Blue Sky Air is at a critical point in its expansion. The new advertising plan we’ve implemented is showing great promise. Early bookings for the summer season already show a positive growth. Plus, we are confident that the weekend getaway packages we’ve negotiated with hotels and B and Bs on the nearby islands are going to garner strong interest. Blue Sky should see a sharp increase in profits this year.” She didn’t know why she was using plural pronouns, but somehow it made everything sound so much . . . bigger. More official. There was no we any longer. Just she. The new ideas had been hers. Succeed or fail, it all rested on her. But the business was showing an increase. This time last year she only had one scheduled charter. As of today, she had two, and in her mind that was a fifty percent increase. Sharp indeed.
The bank manager sat back in his chair and studied her. As the seconds ticked by, she began to squirm, feeling like a bug under a microscope. “This need for an additional loan wouldn’t by chance have anything to do with the appearance of Mr. Worth, would it?”
“How did you—”
“I ran into Lovie Murphy at the Chamber of Commerce meeting this morning, and you know how she likes to talk. Before Sally had finished reading the minutes from our last meeting, Lovie had told everyone everything she could about her latest customer. Including his name.”
“I don’t understand. How did you know about him? About Jared Worth?”
“I’ve known about him for some time.”
She couldn’t have been more surprised if it had started snowing right then. “You have?”
He nodded, and his face took on that distinctive paternal look once more. “Naturally. Before a loan approval is granted, the bank requires a full and complete understanding of the lendee’s standings. This includes Blue Sky Air’s loan with Mr. Worth.”
“So then you understand why I’m here.”
“I’m not certain I—”
“I need a loan to buy out Mr. Worth’s interest. I will not have a partner. What I mean,” she quickly added just so he didn’t think she was being completely unreasonable, “is that like I was saying, Blue Sky is at a critical point of expansion, and Mr. Worth and I do not see eye to eye on how the business should be run.” Putting it mildly. Their differences, in a nutshell, were that Jenny saw Blue Sky continuing just as it had, while that man saw it de-winged, dismantled, and dissected into saleable bits.
“I’m sorry, Jennifer, but I just don’t think we’re going to be able to help you.”
“But—”
“You know I have great respect for what you’re trying to do, but for the bank it all comes down to numbers. Profit. Losses.” The last word was said in a soft, sympathetic tone.
Neither of them needed a calculator to determine what column her business fit in. When she looked up and into his kind eyes, she knew there was nothing she could say to change his mind. Bottom line was bottom line.
With as much grace and maturity as she could muster, Jenny stood and stretched out her arm. “Thank you for your time, Mr. Howard.”
He took her hand and grasped it softly. “I’m sorry. I wish things could be different. Come back in six months. If business is picking up like you say it is, there’s a strong chance we can work something out. In the meantime, maybe your parents—”
“Thank you again,” she interrupted, cutting him off midsentence. While everything in her screamed to run and run fast, she forced herself to walk sedately out of his office, out the front door, out into the sun’s bright light. It wasn’t until she was inside her car that she let the full impact of the refusal hit her. She tossed her purse and file folder on the passenger seat where they promptly slid off and onto the floor, spilling their contents.
“Perfect. Just perfect,” she mumbled as she took in the mess.
In pure frustration, she leaned her forehead against the hard curve of the steering wheel and waited for the rush of tears, certain they would fall. But, strangely, the tears didn’t come. It was as if she’d used up all of her tears over the last nine months, and now she had nothing left.
Slowly, she lifted her head and stared out her windshield. Ahead of her lay the road that led out of town to the western shore of Hidden Lake.
Maybe your parents.
The bank president’s words came back to her. For a moment she contemplated starting up the car, following that scenic road to her parents’ home. She tried to picture the scene in her mind. Walking up alongside the manicured lawn, the impeccably tended flower beds, to the Colonial-style entrance with its wide, white trim. She knew if she pleaded her case long enough, her dad would loan her the money.
But at what cost?
She continued to stare at the road ahead.
At what cost? She couldn’t shake that thought.
Some things were more valuable than money, and she knew if she asked her parents for this loan, she’d end up paying them back with more than just money. Always before when she’d screwed up, flunked, or just plain failed, her parents had been there, bailing her out. And each time they rescued her, she could see the ever-sinking disappointment in their eyes. She was twenty-six years old. Too old to be running to her mom and daddy every time she got into trouble. It was time for her to stand on her own two feet. For no reason she could explain, a vision of Custer and his last stand flashed before her eyes. But that’s what saving Blue Sky Air felt like to Jenny. Her last stand—the last chance she’d have to prove to her family that they were wrong about her. This time she wasn’t only fighting for her self-respect, she was fighting for her and Steven’s dream.
A car drove past, shaking her loose from her thoughts. She reached down and began to pick up the spilled contents of her purse when the file folder caught her attention. As she continued to stare at it, something her brother said came back to her. Quickly, she grabbed for the contract and scanned through the lengthy document. There, toward the bottom of the second page, she found what she was looking for
. With an ever-increasing smile, she put her keys in the ignition and brought the Corvette to life.
Jared Worth might have thought he had all the answers, but he was wrong. Jenny was in the driver’s seat now, a place she intended to stay.
A short while later, Jenny pulled onto a well-concealed dirt road at the head of the lake. Sunshine glinted off the car’s candy apple red hood, causing her to squint. She slowed the car to a crawl. Potholes punctuated the dirt. Overgrown brush stretched out from both sides of the road. With infinite care, she crept forward, maneuvering as best she could to avoid the worst of the ruts and brush.
Not once had that insufferable man mentioned she had four months left to pay off his loan. The jerk had put the fear of God into her, making her think she had to come up with the money immediately.
Instead of doing your nails tonight, read the contract.
She’d read the contract all right! Maybe he should have read it a little closer. She let out an unladylike snort, and her foot slipped on the gas. The car jerked forward. Hitting the brakes, she regained control and began the slow crawl down the road once more. Who did he think he was? She wasn’t the one who needed to read the contract, he was.
The dirt road was long and curvy but finally the lane opened up, spilling out into a small parking area. Ahead of her was the lake. In the early afternoon sun, the water glistened and sparkled, but it wasn’t the beauty of the vibrant blue surface that drew her attention, it was the motorcycle parked off to the left.
For the first time in over a day, she smiled. Score one for the home team, aka the local gossip mill. Her neighbors had yet to let her down.
After reading the contract, she’d had only one thought: locate Jared Worth. But finding him had proven more difficult than she’d thought. She’d driven around for a half hour, checking all the spots she thought he might be, until she’d remembered that if you wanted to find out something in Hidden Lake, you needed to head to the diner. She’d been there for less than ten minutes when Mr. Wilcox had come in telling anyone and everyone who’d listen about that there fancy mot-e-cycle out at the head of the lake.
God bless Mr. Wilcox and his daily fishing excursion. Feeling better than she had all day, she’d paid for her Coke and headed out.
Parking was usually tight, but since the motorcycle was the only other vehicle here, Jenny had plenty of room. Briefly she wondered how Jared had found this spot. It was a locals’ hangout, a place the tourists never found. With the sun out in earnest now, she left her windows down and her suit jacket in the car. She probably should have gone back to the house and changed out of her black suit, but she’d been too impatient. Normally she wasn’t the confrontational type, but right now she couldn’t wait to see the expression on his face when she told him to leave.
The thought made her smile.
The lake was deserted. She glanced around, hoping to spot him. Except for the motorcycle, there was no sign of him. With a sigh of resignation, she made her way down the short path to the beach. Her black high heels sank into the sand, and she slipped them off. The ground was warm beneath her bare feet, and she dug her toes deep into the sand, luxuriating in the feel. She glanced right and then left. Empty beach greeted her in both directions. For a moment she contemplated which way to go. To the right the beach narrowed against a stand of tall evergreens that abutted the water, allowing only a narrow path along the lake. Few people traveled that way. To the left the sand stretched wide as it flared and then curved back against the shore. There weren’t any trees barring that path, and the sand was less rocky. Without examining her reasoning too closely, Jenny headed to the right, certain it was the path he’d taken.
She tripped and stumbled over the rocks and logs, silently cursing him all the way. She hadn’t gone more than fifty yards when she stopped short and drew in a quick breath.
He stood near the water’s edge, one foot braced on a fallen tree. His gaze was focused out across the water, and he seemed lost in thought. He’d ditched the leather jacket she’d seen him wearing yesterday, and his white T-shirt stretched taut across an impossibly wide set of shoulders before tapering down into the waistband of his Levi’s. He seemed relaxed, as if he didn’t have a care in the world, but somehow she knew his posture was deceiving. He tossed a small rock in his hand. The picture was so perfect he looked like a model for an elite outdoorsman magazine.
On second thought, there was too much unleashed power in his stance, too much command to be a model—
Oh, for crying out loud!
“Mr. Worth,” she said louder and sharper than she’d intended, angry with herself over those outrageous thoughts.
“Miss Beckinsale,” he said without turning, and she got the distinct impression he’d known she’d been standing there, staring at him, all along, even though he’d never glanced her way.
“We need to talk.” She strove for a steady tone and feared she’d failed miserably.
Slowly, he took his leg off the log and faced her. “Do you have my money?”
“No.” She began to fidget under his sharp gaze. “Th-that’s why I’m here. I read over the contract”—as you obviously didn’t—“and the loan isn’t due for four months.” She waited, expecting . . . secretly hoping . . . to see some flicker of emotion cross his face. Surprise—disappointment—anger. But his closed features gave nothing away. “Did you hear me? I—”
“I heard you.” He tossed the rock into the lake, not bothering to see where it landed.
“I have four months.”
“I’m aware of that.”
“Then why—”
“Why what? Why not wait? You’re a sinking ship, lady, and I want to find dry land while I still have the chance.”
She took a step toward him. “You have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“I saw the business myself, remember?”
“You don’t understand. Everything is going to be different this summer. I’m going to do what Steven and I set out to do. I’m going to turn Blue Sky Air into the Pacific Northwest’s premiere seaplane service.”
“You?” He laughed; it wasn’t a nice sound. “Sweetheart, you couldn’t turn that business around if you had four years.”
“I am not your sweetheart, and I don’t need four years. I have four months. Come back then . . . or don’t. I don’t really care.”
“You’d like that.”
“Immensely,” she said with one hundred percent honesty.
“I hate to rain on your parade, but I’m not that accommodating. If you want to keep plucking away at this futile dream of yours, then by all means, have at it. But you’re not taking me down with you in the process. Buy me out.”
“You know I can’t do that right now.”
“Then we’ll do what I suggested yesterday. Sell.”
“Over my dead body.”
His gaze was hot enough to start a forest fire. “Don’t tempt me.”
“Oh . . . you . . . you . . .” Where was the killer comeback when you needed one?
“Listen,” his tone went all reasonable and placating, and for some reason, that upset her even more. Probably because he was beginning to sound like her family. “We sell, and each of us gets what we want. You don’t want to run a business. I know it was Steven’s idea, not yours.”
“Don’t presume to know what I want.”
He continued, ignoring her. “I get my money, and you’d end up with enough cash to keep you in high heels and those fancy wheels you drive.”
He could go to—“I’m not selling.”
“We’ll see about that.”
“Intimidation isn’t going to work with me, Mr. Worth. I have four months in which to repay you. And even if—even when I have the money long before the due date, I have no intention of handing it over until I absolutely have to.” Without saying another word, she turned and began to walk away. She could feel herself quaking and knew that if she didn’t get out of there soon, she was doomed. She’d put on a brave front, but
that’s all it was: a front. Because even though she’d told him intimidation wouldn’t work, it had been a lie. He did more than intimidate her; he unnerved her. And that scared her most of all.
Jared watched her stomp away. Was she for real? Did she really think she was going to get away with this? He’d seen the state of the business. If he walked away and came back in four months, there’d be nothing left. She might not give a damn that she was sinking her own financial future, but he sure as hell gave a damn about his. Thanks to the military, that money was all he had left, and there was no way he was going to let her flush his dream down the drain with hers.
I am going to turn Blue Sky Air into the Pacific Northwest’s premiere seaplane service.
He almost laughed again then realized there was nothing to laugh about. She had as much business sense as a bird.
As he watched her continue to make her way down the uneven shore, she stumbled, then immediately righted herself, but not before one of her shoes fell out of her hands and onto the sand. Leave it to her to come to the beach in high heels.
As she bent down to pick up her shoe, he couldn’t help but admire how her skirt stretched across her butt. It wasn’t hard to imagine a big fluffy white bunny tail on that tight little ass.
He’d seen a lot of gorgeous women in his time, but he had to give Jenny Beckinsale points for perfection. Cotton Tail might not have a head for business, but she sure as hell had a body for sin.
He had no doubt that most men fell at her feet, eager to grant her every wish—but not him. Maybe once, a long time ago. But he’d learned his lesson the hard way, and since then, he’d done his damnedest to avoid pitfalls like her: gorgeous women who made him forget his past and believe he was a guy who could fit, could be the type of steadfast man they wanted. There was only one thing that mattered to him right now, and it had Mexico written all over it.
Jenny was nearing the opening to the path. With each ass-swinging, sand-flying step she took, he could feel his money disappearing. He told himself to let her go. To let her walk away. Getting tangled up with her would be the worst thing he could do.
Lake Magic Page 6