Chapter 10
I’ll say this for Nick and Nathan—they sure know how to run a B I cannot cry again. “I can’t believe I have to pay that man actual money to run a video rental store. For the rest of his life. He’s probably going to outlive me.”
Nick and Nathan share another look.
“You know that store is a money pit, right?” Nathan asks, but gently.
I sigh and put down my fork. “I know. My plan is to close it down, rent out all the storefronts and apartments, and send Abraham a check from Alabama because it’s honestly the least depressing of my options. Y’all know any good real estate agents?”
Nathan grimaces. “Oh, honey…”
“What he means to say is that”—Nick rubs his beard—“if those properties were rentable, they’d be rented.
Maggie used to bitch about it all the time, said she was too old to do that much work and didn’t have any young people she could bully into doing it.
The theater has water damage, the hardware store is full of old hardware and not fit to be anything else, the antiques market has vermin.
One of the apartments got trashed by an angry renter she kicked out, and the other one was owned by a hoarder.
They would take a significant amount of work to get in shape to rent. ”
Shit.
Shit shit shit.
Colonel didn’t tell me how bad it truly was before I signed those papers.
Maggie definitely lied about it.
And now I’m stuck with it.
“Your best bet is probably to just sell it all to Joyce Blakely and call it a day.”
I slurp the last of my amazingly delicious latte, knowing I’m going to need every bit of caffeine within to keep from sliding onto the floor like a defeated slug.
“I can’t sell it. The trust says it all has to stay in the family.
And my grandmother hated Joyce Blakely, so even if that was an option, I’m pretty sure that would be the last thing in the world she wanted. ”
At that, Nick and Nathan exchange a grimace.
“Yes, there were several feuds. Bad blood,” Nick says.
“Little old people in little old towns, I swear,” Nathan adds.
“Like they just need something to fuss about. And I never could get the actual story out of anyone. But here’s someone we can ask…
.” He smiles like butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth.
The front door opens and closes, and there’s Hunter Blakely.