“You’re welcome here as long as you want.”
Finn dropped his duffel bag to the tile floor of Nick’s kitchen, then picked up the mug of coffee his friend had set on the counter for him. It had been three days since he and Kaitlin spent the afternoon in Seattle. He’d returned to his friend’s house but didn’t feel right bunking here for his entire stay in town.
“I appreciate that, but if part of the reason for returning to Starlight is making things better with my dad, it makes sense that I stay with him.”
Nick studied him over the rim of his mug, which read “Police officers do it with handcuffs.” “Is that part of your reason?”
Finn grimaced as the bitter coffee hit his tongue. “I thought a cop would be able to make a better brew.”
“I like it strong.”
“There’s strong...” Finn placed his mug back on the counter. “And then there’s tar.”
“Is that why I keep spotting you walking out of Main Street Perk?”
“You should try a decent cup once in a while.”
Nick shook his head. “I don’t do fancy coffee. I’m old-school that way. Now, stop trying to distract me from interrogating you about your prolonged return to Starlight. Will you and Jack survive a few weeks under the same roof?”
“I’ll make it work,” Finn answered. “My priority is making sure the bank survives.”
“You’re doing a good thing, Finn.” It was strange to hear so much sincerity in his friend’s voice. Nick normally kept things in his personal life light and on the sarcastic side. A defense mechanism, and it meant something to Finn to know he’d been deemed worthy of more than some easy banter.
“Why do I feel like I waited too long?” He pressed his thumb and index finger to his forehead. “If I’d come back a year ago, maybe First Trust wouldn’t be in this position.”
“And if you hadn’t come back, maybe Jack would have lost everything.”
“I know my dad loves to wax poetic about respecting the bank’s historical significance in town, but it’s still difficult for me to believe he thought he could make it through this crisis without some enormous changes.”
“It sounds like he had other priorities.”
“He swears he’s been given the all clear but I can’t help but wonder if he’d even share with me if he was still sick.”
“Kaitlin would tell you.”
“The keeper of all when it comes to Jack Samuelson.”
“I don’t know her well,” Nick said, draining his mug with a loud slurp. “But I like her. She’s friendly without being pushy and seems genuinely dedicated to your dad and the bank.”
“I guess.” Why was it so hard to admit that he’d been wrong about her? Their time in Seattle had been the most fun he’d had in ages. Not the morning, of course. The meeting with Roger had left him close to shattered at the understanding of truly how much it would take to fix the mess at First Trust. Somehow Kaitlin had sensed it and managed to shore up his tattered emotions with an afternoon at the pop-up amusement park, something Finn had never considered doing in his adult life.
“The town needs the bank, Finn. It’s a local institution. So many families and small businesses rely on the support they get there.”
He sighed. “No pressure.”
“It’s an unbelievable amount of pressure. I can’t think of anyone better equipped to handle it than you.”
“This is not how I imagined adulthood when we were younger.”
Nick chuckled. “It was going to be fast cars and no one telling you to clean up after yourself.”
“Exactly,” Finn agreed, his chest aching for the naive kids they’d been. “Now I’m cleaning up after my dad and you’re the one giving tickets to the speeding drivers.”
“And I can tell you the exact number of tickets my department has issued over the past five years.”
Finn shook his head. “We’re pathetic.”
“You’re rolling out the plan today at the bank, right?”
“Yep.”
“Text me later and let me know how it goes. I’m on duty until seven but if you need someone to buy you a beer later...”
“Thanks.”
Finn left his friend’s house and headed toward downtown Starlight. The sun glinted through the canopy of pine trees as he drove the familiar mountain roads. This valley was still relatively sleepy, even with a steady stream of summer tourists and city dwellers looking to escape to nature for a few days. Growing up, he hadn’t appreciated the quiet the way he could now.
He parked next to his dad’s Lexus SUV in the parking lot behind the bank, reminding himself that he was here to help. He had no idea how his plan would be received by anyone at the bank, but that didn’t make him less committed to carrying it out. There was no other way to turn the ship around.
“I’ve called a staff meeting for ten,” his father announced as Finn entered his office. “Kaitlin tells me I’m not allowed to fight you on any of the silly newfangled stuff you’ve come up with. I have to support you.” The words came out almost as a growl, and Finn wasn’t sure whether to smile or grimace.
He glanced over his shoulder as Kaitlin walked in behind him, carrying two cups of coffee, and cleared her throat.
“I appreciate what you’re doing to help the bank,” his father said quietly. “To help me.”
“Coffee?” Kaitlin asked, handing Finn a cup.
She didn’t make eye contact, which irritated him on some visceral level.
But he focused on his father. Even if Kaitlin had put him up to agreeing, the fact that his father was willing to meant something. He’d talked to his dad the morning after his meeting with Roger, and although Jack had been reluctant to admit how dire the situation truly was, he’d eventually agreed to let Finn implement a new strategic plan for First Trust. It had taken him a couple of days to iron out the details. Now all he needed to do was wrap his mind around the idea of working with his father again.
“I’d like to go over some of the newfangled stuff,” he said, taking a sip from the cup as he stepped forward. He almost groaned in pleasure at how much better it was than the swill at Nick’s. He hadn’t stopped at the coffee shop, so he needed the jolt of caffeine in a bad way. “The key is going to be to roll it out quickly.”
“I don’t like change,” Jack grumbled. “Do you know I’ve eaten the same thing for breakfast every day for the past four decades?”
“Yogurt, granola and half a banana.” Finn nodded. “I know. But this isn’t like a meal preference, Dad. It’s progress.”
His father scoffed.
Finn pointed to a device sitting on the desk. “You use a cell phone.”
“He likes to text,” Kaitlin added.
“I don’t like to text,” Jack grumbled. “It’s convenient.”
Finn hid a smile as Kaitlin rolled her eyes. “So are some of the changes I’m proposing,” he told his father.
“Our customers want to come into the bank, either here or the branch out near the high school.”
“Not everyone likes to do their banking on-site these days.”
“People are disconnected in the real world. Everything’s about apps and social media.”
“You can’t ignore it.” Finn placed his coffee cup on the edge of the desk and pulled a laptop out of his briefcase.
“I’m not ignoring anything.”
Except the fact that you’re running the family business into the ground, Finn wanted to argue.
“We’re going to have a Facebook page,” Kaitlin said brightly, clearly doing her best to ignore the tension between the two men. “You love Facebook, Jack.”
It was Finn’s turn to scoff.
His father’s bushy eyebrows drew down over his familiar blue eyes. “I enjoy the quizzes,” he said as if that explained everything.
Kaitlin gave Finn a p
ointed look.
Right. He was supposed to be placating his father so that he’d lend his support to the changes Finn wanted to implement. Antagonizing him would do no good, but old habits and all that.
“I’ll friend you,” he offered.
“You do that.” His father moved a few things from the middle of the desk to make room for Finn’s computer. It was a tiny gesture but Finn knew it meant something significant. This desk represented his father’s power, and he was making room for Finn.
Finn swallowed against the emotion rising in his throat. Would it have made a difference in how he’d felt about First Trust if his father had made him feel more welcome here when he was younger? Even though it had been clear his dad expected him to take his place at the bank, it had been just as evident that Jack would never relinquish any sort of real power.
Or had that been just an excuse—a rationale Finn had told himself so that he wouldn’t feel guilty for walking away from the family business?
“I have a question for you before we get started,” his dad said, steepling his hands, elbows on the desk.
“What’s that?” Finn lowered himself into one of the chairs positioned in front of the desk. He wanted Kaitlin to take a seat next to him, but she remained standing just behind his father’s left shoulder. Finn didn’t like it. It made him feel like they were on opposite sides and he wanted—needed—her in his corner.
She hadn’t given him a reason to doubt her, despite some of his less-than-chivalrous behavior toward her. She’d made herself scarce since that kiss on the Ferris wheel, but he knew she wanted the best for him, his father and First Trust. Although that should make him happy, he wished her loyalty was only to him. The shadow of the bank had loomed large over every part of his life. It had been his dad’s greatest love, often at the expense of his wife and children. No wonder Finn hadn’t wanted to dedicate himself to the institution that he’d so often resented during his childhood.
Although here he was, taking an inconvenient absence from his own life to do just that.
“Who’s going to manage all of these new initiatives when you trot back to Seattle?”
Finn felt his eyes narrow at the derision in his father’s tone. As if he’d be deserting First Trust for something frivolous.
“The staff will handle it,” he said, hating the gnawing tightness in his voice.
“Most of them aren’t equipped to handle the sort of programs you want to implement.”
“They can be trained,” Finn insisted. So much for his father supporting what he was trying to do here. He glanced at Kaitlin to see if she realized what was happening. Jack might give lip service to accepting the change, but Finn realized his doubts about his dad had been well-founded, as usual.
Jack leaned forward and pinned Finn with his assessing stare. “Who’s going to train them?”
“I will,” Kaitlin offered as she came around the desk.
She took the seat next to Finn, just as he’d hoped she would. And as he’d hoped, her presence instantly calmed him. This woman was like his own personal aromatherapy diffuser.
“You don’t know anything about marketing at a bank,” his father told her, his tone considerably gentler than the one he’d used with Finn.
“Finn will show me.” She nodded. “Train the trainer. I’ve been up late the past couple of nights researching the strategies that other community banks our size have started and the ones that have seen success. I’ve made some calls to institutions within the region.” She held up one hand as she ticked off a list. “There are a few in Washington and a couple others in Oregon. I’ve scheduled an appointment with the marketing director at Willamette Community Bank. It’s only a three-hour drive.”
Finn glanced at his dad and found Jack’s mouth hanging open much the way he figured his own might be. A moment later, Jack snapped it shut, returning his gaze to Finn. “Did you know about all that?”
“I...um...”
“It was his idea,” Kaitlin said without even so much as an eyebrow twitch. “Finn has this under control, Jack. We’ll get the staff on board, keep the current customers happy and attract new ones. It’s going to work. I know it.”
She turned to Finn, and he wasn’t sure whether to be buoyed or terrified by the quiet confidence in her dark gaze.
“It’s going to work,” he repeated. Somehow with Kaitlin in his corner, he believed it.
* * *
Kaitlin heard the voices drifting from the break room at the back of the bank’s first floor as she walked down the hall.
“I don’t know who she thinks she is.”
“I’ve been at the bank for almost twenty years now. Why don’t I get to be in charge of this new plan?”
Kaitlin recognized the voices. Liz Martin, the customer service manager, and Cassie Pope, one of First Trust’s personal bankers. Both of the women had been kind, if a bit condescending, in the way ladies who considered themselves town mavens could be. But she’d liked them. Cassie had tried to set up Kaitlin with her single nephew. So she was good enough to date a relative but not to take on any real responsibility at the bank?
“She’s not even a true local. She shows up in town one day and Jack practically adopts her—”
“As a stand-in since he messed up things with his flesh-and-blood kids, no doubt.”
“Do we know who her people are?”
“Does she even have people?”
A titter of laughter followed that rhetorical question.
But the casual and crass words weren’t funny to Kaitlin. She placed a hand on the wall, needing something to steady herself from the avalanche of emotions pounding through her.
“Don’t listen to those two old biddies,” a voice said at her shoulder.
She whirled around to find Meg Anderson, one of the young tellers, offering a sympathetic smile. “It’s how they deal with change. Those two are like dinosaurs that refuse to see the meteor coming even when fiery rocks start hitting them on the head. Liz is convinced I’m a secret drug addict because of this.” She touched the tiny diamond that flashed in her pierced nose.
“I thought they liked me,” Kaitlin whispered, somehow unable to pretend the words didn’t hurt. More evidence that she’d let herself go soft since she’d come to Starlight. She’d dealt with far worse criticisms than the ones Liz and Cassie were bandying about.
“They do.” Meg touched her arm. “I’m not sure why it took Mr. Samuelson so long to start implementing changes around here. Or how the old-timers at the bank managed to convince themselves that business was great. I’ve only been here six months, but I could see we were heading for disaster.”
“I’m not sure it’s that bad,” Kaitlin said, feeling as though she needed to be loyal to Jack.
Meg shrugged. “I want to keep my job. My boyfriend works for the Forest Service outside town, so we’re in Starlight for the foreseeable future. I like eating at restaurants too much to be a waitress. I hate waiting tables.”
Kaitlin smiled. “Me, too.”
“The ladies will get used to you being part of the management team.”
“I’m not management,” Kaitlin protested immediately.
“You will be if you do a good job with this.” She winked. “No pressure.”
“Thanks—I think—for the vote of confidence.”
Meg gave her an exaggerated thumbs-up, then continued down the hall and disappeared around a corner.
Kaitlin inched closer to the break room.
“I bet she’s sleeping with one of them,” Liz said.
“Maybe both of them,” Cassie added with a whoop of laughter.
“You’ve been reading too many of those Fifty Shades knockoffs,” Liz admonished the other woman.
All the confidence Kaitlin felt talking to Meg vanished in an instant. How could they reduce her to some sort of office stereotype
that way? She wasn’t sure why she expected better from other women, but she did.
She pressed a hand to her stomach. Suddenly the fruit and yogurt she’d put in the staff refrigerator this morning held no appeal. She turned and headed back toward the front of the bank, through the main lobby and out the antique cherry doors without making eye contact with another soul.
If she had, there was no way she’d be able to hide her embarrassment and shame. She crossed Main Street and hurried into the park that made up a full square block in the center of town. The voices of children in the playground situated in one corner filtered through the air, but she turned in the other direction. There were a few quiet corners in the park, despite its year-round popularity.
Her breathing began to return to normal as she walked along a narrow dirt path canopied by sprawling branches of mature oak trees. At the end of the lesser-used path was a weathered park bench. Sometimes Kaitlin brought her lunch to this spot, but today she just sat.
Closing her eyes, she focused on pushing air in and out of her lungs and releasing the negative emotions that plagued her. Meg was right. The women’s petty gibes had less to do with Kaitlin than they did with their own insecurities. She didn’t have to take it personally. She wondered if this was how Finn felt when Jack expressed doubt about the plan to save the bank.
If two insulting coworkers hurt her, imagine how much worse it would be for Finn with his own father.
She blinked and glanced up as heavy footsteps sounded on the gravel. As if her thoughts had drawn him to her, Finn walked toward her and then sat down on the empty side of the bench.
“I grew up in this town and I don’t think I’ve ever walked down this particular path until today. I never even noticed it.”
“The literal path less taken,” Kaitlin said, trying to make her voice light. “I’m all about it.”
“I like that about you.” His voice sounded even deeper than normal in the quiet of the shady clearing.
She hummed an acknowledgment of his words in the back of her throat, not trusting herself to speak.
“This morning went well,” he commented.
“Sure.” She swallowed back any other response.
The Best Intentions (Welcome To Starlight Book 1) Page 8