Chapter 1 #3
He’d never be ready to lose Grandma, but especially not now—before he’d figured out some way to restore his family’s faith in him.
But this job…maybe it was a start.
“So she’s okay?”
“She’s okay. Physically, at least.”
Declan stilled. “What do you mean?”
“Apparently the reason she had the episode in the first place is because the county is foreclosing on her home.”
Foreclosing—it took a second. “What?” Declan schooled his voice as the elevator stopped again.
He glanced, and the woman got out, leaving him, blessedly, alone.
“Why would they do that? The house has been in the family for more than a hundred years. It’s on the same road as all of us.
All the kids. Aw, we should have never let her live alone. ”
“We? Dude, you haven’t lived here for ten years—since graduation.”
“I know, I know—sorry, it’s just…”
Brandon’s voice softened. “I get it. You never really leave the island.”
Huh. But he was trying to, wasn’t he?
“Apparently, she owes ten years’ worth of back taxes…ever since Grandpa died,” Brandon said. “And she didn’t tell anyone, despite multiple warnings from the county. Now, it’s too late.”
Declan swore under his breath just as the elevator opened again. Oops, his floor.
He stood there, not moving.
This was his fault, wasn’t it?
The doors started to close, but he stuck his foot into them. “Why didn’t she ask Dad for help figuring out her taxes?” Frank Kelley, Grandma’s oldest son, was a CPA and handled all of the accounting and marketing for the three family businesses.
“He asked the same thing. Apparently she didn’t want to be a bother.”
“Aw, Grandma.”
A female receptionist greeted visitors from behind a sleek black desk, the logo of the McGentry Food Company behind her. She sent Declan a friendly smile, wiggling her fingers at him while she spoke into her fancy headset.
Shoot. He took his foot out of the door. It closed.
Declan leaned against the back wall. “Surely someone in the family has the money to bail her out of this.”
“It’s a lot of money, Dec.”
“I get it—I’d do it myself, but most of my savings went to paying down my student loans and living while trying to land this job.”
“I get it too. We all want to help. It’s Grandma.
But everyone’s strapped—money is tied up in businesses and home and debt.
They don’t have enough pooled between them.
And you know what the pandemic did to us.
Every restaurant is leveraged, just trying to stay afloat.
Mom with Good Day Coffee, and Uncle Patrick with Kelley’s Bar & Grill, and your mom with Martha’s on Main.
And it doesn’t help that the competition has rolled into town with the one-dollar houses?—”
“The what?”
“It’s a marketing thing—the town has been giving away houses for a buck for businesses that move to the island.”
“Seriously?”
Someone had called the elevator, and it began to move.
“You do know they’re restoring the Grand Sullivan Hotel, right?”
“I feel like Mom mentioned that, but kind of zoned out when she was talking. Shoot. I have to go, bro.” The doors opened on the floor below, and Declan got out into a hallway of law offices.
He followed the signs to the stairs. “Thanks for letting me know about Grandma, and please keep me posted. Are you on island right now?”
“I’m at the hospital in Port Joseph at the moment, but yeah, visiting my mom for a while. But Dec?—”
“Declan, is that you?”
Oh, great. He opened the door to the stairwell. “Hi, Mom.” Clearly she’d stolen Brandon’s phone from his hands. “I heard about Grandma. I’ll be praying for her, all right?”
“Yes, it’s just awful.” But Martha Kelley’s voice didn’t sound tearful or weepy.
It sounded…well, the same it always did.
No nonsense. Commanding. There was a reason she’d assimilated so well into the Kelley restaurant dynasty on the island, running the café herself after she and Dad had gotten married, changing its name from Kelley’s Diner to Martha’s on Main.
Nobody could say no to her. “You need to come home right away.”
He stood in the cold hallway and rubbed the vein between his eyes—the one that always throbbed when he spoke with Mom. “I’m starting my new job today, remember?”
“Right.” She sighed. “If they’re a good company, they’ll understand that family comes first.”
Ha. And the words were right there, on his lips—then why didn’t she get along with her own brother-in-law? Then again, if anyone outside the family ever spoke ill of Patrick, she chewed that person out. Apparently, only a Kelley could insult a Kelley and get away with it.
“Listen, Mom. Brandon said Grandma’s doing okay.
Maybe I can come visit this weekend, once she’s out of the hospital.
” He did the mental math—he’d have to leave early on Friday to beat the traffic out of town for the Fourth of July weekend.
Six hours to the ferry in Port Joseph, and then another hour to the island.
“You should be here. Now.”
He sighed. “Mom, I appreciate your desire for our family to be together at a time like this?—”
“What I appreciate is that shrewd brain of yours. You’ve got financial savvy, and we need that now to save Grandma’s house.”
“Me? What about Dad? He’s the accountant.”
“And he’s good at what he does, but I need someone who can think outside the box.”
Voices lifted in the hallway. Declan caught sight of several businessmen and women stepping off the elevators. He glanced at his watch, frowned. People were starting to arrive for work, and he was going to be late for his eight a.m. with his new boss. What kind of impression would that make?
“Send me all the information and documents, and I’ll work on a solution from here.” He started up the stairs.
“Declan James Kelley, this needs to be your main focus. Put that big MBA brain of yours to use.”
“I’m trying,” he muttered.
“What’s that?”
“Nothing.” Another glance at his watch. “Mom, seriously, I’ll call you back in a bit. I promise, I’ll think of something.”
“It’s so sad. Grandpa never forgot to pay his mortgage. Grandma’s been lost without Grandpa.”
And there it was. The reason he’d mostly stayed off island for the last decade except for holidays and a few weeks in the summers between classes.
Because the guilt would always be there, would always be a part of him, something he’d never forget. And if he did, his family was right there, more than happy to remind him of what he owed them.
What he owed Grandma.
Blowing out a frustrated breath, he squeezed his eyes shut for a moment. “I’ll do my best to come.”
Another sigh. “The family needs you, Declan. We can’t lose that house.”
She made it sound like they were in the mafia. Sheesh.
“Mom. I can’t request a leave of absence on my first day of work .”
“I know.” Her voice shook.
“No, I don’t think you do. If I do this—there’s no guarantee my job will be here waiting for me when I return. And it took me six months to find this one.”
“I know.” A big sob. “It’s fine. I just…we need you, Declan.”
Oh, shoot, those were the words, weren’t they? He closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Calm down, Mom.” He sighed, and the words just spilled out. “I won’t let you down.”
Because it had only taken one selfish decision to let down the entire family ten years ago. One mistake that had changed everything. That had made him the family pariah.
And the consequences of that error in judgment had been fatal.
“I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
He barely heard her thank him as he hung up.
Then he sighed and stared up. So much for his first day of triumph.