“Heather used to drive him around the block over and over again to lull him to sleep,” I said.
Nash scratched his chin.
I cleared my throat. “I guess it’s been a long time since you’ve seen the store.”
He pointed to the far wall. “There used to be rows of t-shirts over there.”
“They were poor sellers. The store still carries some but they are higher quality.”
“Do they all have the words Hawk Valley on them?”
“Pretty much.”
He scoffed. “I don’t know who wants to buy that garbage except for people who already live in Hawk Valley.”
I argued with him. “You’d be surprised. We’ve had more tourist traffic through here in the last few years. The city council just voted to fund a campaign to change the town slogan to ‘Discover Hawk Valley: Gateway to the Hawk Mountains.’ The population in the Phoenix area continues to grow and people are always looking for weekend escapes to somewhere slightly cooler.”
Nash smirked. “You sound like a travel brochure.”
“So? I think Hawk Valley is a great town.”
He raised an eyebrow. “So that’s why you stayed here?”
No, that wasn’t why. I’d always dreamed of a big city future. Things just didn’t work out that way. Still, I felt defensive and irritable that Nash was knocking my hometown. There were far worse places to be.
“I like to think I can appreciate what’s in front of me,” I said, “instead of always hunting for something else.”
Nash laughed outright.
“Shh,” I warned. “You’ll wake Colin up.” I didn’t know what I’d said to entertain him. “Why do you find me so funny?”
Nash looked at me. “I don’t, Kathleen.”
“That’s the second time today you laughed in my face.”
He frowned. “When was the first?”
“When I gave you my business card.”
“I don’t remember laughing.”
“It was evident from your expression that you were barely holding it in.”
He let out an obnoxious low whistle. “Damn, have you always been this psychic?“
“Cut it out.”
“No, seriously, you could monetize that skill.”
“Your sarcasm leaves a lot to be desired.”
“You could rent a little hovel on Garner Avenue, hang beaded curtains in the doorway and charge people twenty bucks apiece while gazing into a glass ball and pretending to see something exciting.”
“Nash!”
“Kathleen,” he said, mocking my frustrated voice.
“You’re exhausting,” I said wearily.
“And you’re easily flustered,” he said and yawned.
I took a breath, trying to keep my temper and failing. “Look, my plate is full. I’m a business owner, a mother, and a student. But I’ve bent over backwards to help you and I don’t appreciate being regarded as a joke!”
“Shhh.” Nash put his finger to his lips and glanced toward the office doorway. “Now who’s gonna wake the baby up?”
Nash wasn’t laughing now but he was clearly enjoying himself. I was struck by how little I really knew him. He’d been a puzzle even to his family. Heather confessed that she kept hoping he’d mellow out and accept Chris’s attempts at reconciliation. But that never happened because evidently Nash was still a stubborn bastard. I shouldn’t be surprised. The boy who went around with a truck-sized chip on his shoulder had never evolved. He’d just gotten bigger. Stronger. Better looking.
Apparently Nash realized he’d overstepped. He sighed and his expression became almost remorseful. “I don’t think you’re a joke, Kathleen. Not at all. I apologize if I gave that impression.”
I wasn’t sure he meant it but I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. “Apology accepted. And you can call me Kat.”
“I’ll stick with Kathleen.”
“Suit yourself.”
Nash looked around again. “So what am I doing here?”
It was a deep question. “I know it’s not ideal but Colin needs you and-“
“At the store, Kathleen. What was so urgent that I needed to come down here today?”
I had to move to the counter where I’d left my laptop. Nash watched me from less than two feet away. I flipped open the lid and examined the data I’d already memorized.
“Net income is still in the red this year. Sales were hurt over the winter when there was a ton of road construction on Garner Avenue. There’s a temporary cash flow problem. It happens now and then and Chris would usually loan the money to the store out of his personal funds but the renovations he and Heather completed on the house were costlier than expected. He didn’t have much to spare. Compounding the problem is the fact that the bank changed his line of credit terms. There’s enough to pay utilities and meet payroll but not enough to order new seasonal inventory and with the busy summer season coming up it’s essential to address the issue. Plus every day the store stays closed is a day without sales.”
Nash looked at the door. “Doesn’t look like anyone’s beating a path to get in here.”
My eyes narrowed. “The big sign that says CLOSED might have something to do with that.”
“So the store is failing?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“You sure didn’t paint a rosy picture.”
“You need to reopen, Nash. And you need to address the line of credit issue and order new inventory before the summer rush.”
He sighed. “For crying out loud, I don’t know anything about running a souvenir shop.”
“Of course you do. This is your family’s business. You were practically raised here.”
“No, I grudgingly operated the cash register during the summer when I was a teenager. I never knew or cared how the place functioned.”
I shut the lid of my laptop. “Well, it’s time to care, Nash.”
He didn’t agree. He again glanced toward the room where Colin slept. “Maybe it’s time to let it go,” he said softly.
My mouth fell open. “You can’t do that.”
He gave me an odd look. “It’s a souvenir shop, not a national treasure. The world will be just fine without more ugly ceramic mugs.”
My fists clenched. “This was your father’s business. He would have wanted it to survive.”
“Yeah, he probably wanted to survive himself. But as I reminded you earlier, that’s not the reality we’re dealing with.”
“Nash,” I said sharply, then bit off the next words. My mother had always warned me that bossiness was not an agreeable quality.
Actually, her words were, ‘Don’t be so bitchy,” but the sentiment was the same. I couldn’t bulldoze Nash into seeing things my way. He had a lot on his plate too.
“It’s important,” I said softly.
He raised an eyebrow but waited politely for me to continue.
“The store,” I continued. “It’s hard for small businesses to hold on in this day and age. Your family has run this place in one form or another for over forty years. It means something to the people around here, and it will mean even more to them now that your dad’s gone.” I scanned the back wall where paintings from artists in the area hung in expectant silence, waiting for a buyer. “Everyone wants a reason to be optimistic.”